NORTHWESTERN – Sioux City Journal

Pat Fitzgerald is 96-70 in 13 seasons at Northwestern. The Wildcats went 9-5 last season and won the Big Ten West Division — the program’s first division title — with an 8-1 mark. They were within three points of Ohio State in the Big Ten title game, but the Buckeyes pulled away for a 45-24 victory. Northwestern lost some key players but returns plenty of experience, which is why Fitzgerald was annoyed to find out his team was picked to finish fourth in the West in a preseason media poll. Only one of the 34 voters picked the Wildcats to win the division. “We’re not great clickbait, I guess, so picking us first isn’t real sexy,” Fitzgerald said. “But we’ll just earn it.”

Junior linebacker Paddy Fisher (right) has 229 tackles in his first two seasons. He had 116 last season and shared the Big Ten lead with four forced fumbles, including one in a 31-17 victory over UW.

Senior defensive end Joe Gaziano has 21 career sacks, the most in the nation among active players. … Northwestern won the West Division despite finishing last in the Big Ten in rushing offense, and 12th in both scoring and total offense. … Fitzgerald is hoping to get off to a better start this season: Northwestern lost all three of its games in September after opening the season with a win at Purdue, and opened the 2017 campaign by losing three of its first five games. That won’t be easy in 2019, because the schedule is front-loaded. By the end of October, they’ll have played Stanford, UW and Nebraska on the road, and Michigan State, Ohio State and Iowa at home.

Can the Wildcats be more dynamic at quarterback?

For all his faults, Clayton Thorson was a four-year starter who finished his career with 10,731 passing yards and 61 touchdowns. Northwestern won 36 of his 53 starts. But the fan base is ecstatic about the arrival of Hunter Johnson, a former five-star recruit who sat out last season after transferring from Clemson. Senior TJ Green was Thorson’s backup last year and Fitzgerald wouldn’t rule him out as the starter, but it’d be a surprise if Johnson doesn’t win the job. Either way, replacing Thorson’s productivity won’t be easy. “You can’t compare yourself to the last guy,” Fitzgerald said. “That’s not fair to the new quarterback and it’s not attainable. Just be the best they can be, lead the squad, take care of the football, and when he steps on the field, everybody that touches our program has to believe that we’re going to win because of him.”

15-1 | Northwestern’s record in its past 16 Big Ten regular-season games.