Week 1 award winners

After going over the game film with the keen eyes of IRS agents, Northwestern's coaches today named the following weekly award winners for the Wildcats' 24-17 season-opening win over Boston College.

Offensive player: Kain Colter. This hardly comes as a surprise. The sophomore quarterback made his first career start in place of the injured Dan Persa and finished 17-of-24 for 197 passing, with one interception, and added 71 yards rushing and one touchdown.

Offensive big playmaker: Drake Dunsmore and Demetrius Fields. These may seem like curious choices, given that the two receivers combined for four catches and 37 yards. But Dunsmore and Fields were recognized for their blocking, which contributed to the Wildcats' 227 yards rushing.

Offensive practice player: Paul Jorgensen. The redshirt freshman will have to wait another year before taking over for left tackle Al Netter on Saturdays, but he's contributing during the week.

Defensive player: Brian Peters. The senior safety picked up five tackles, 1.5 TFL, including a sack, and two PBUs.

Defensive big playmaker: Jordan Mabin. The fifth-year senior cornerback was NU's co-leader with eight tackles, and his second-quarter interception of Chase Rettig ended a BC drive into Northwestern territory. He also made the touchdown-saving tackle on Andre Williams on the first play of the game.

Defensive practice player: Drew Smith. The true freshman from Cincinnati has already made a name for himself during fall camp, and he was recognized for helping to prepare Northwestern's offense for BC's defense last week.

Special teams player: Pat Hickey. About the biggest compliment a long snapper can enjoy is that he wasn't noticed. The sophomore snapped for both punts and kicks without a hitch.

Special teams practice player: Cameron Dickerson. The true freshman wide receiver may not get any playing time this season, but his contributions during the week were recognized by the staff.

Two-deep notes

Northwestern also released its two-deep for Saturday's game against Eastern Illinois on Monday. It is largely the same as it was for Boston College, with a few exceptions:

Colter OR Persa are listed as the co-No. 1 quarterbacks. That should surprise no one, as NU is still in day-to-day mode with Persa's recovering Achilles.

Jacob Schmidt is the No. 1 running back, with Mike Trumpy as his backup. The two backs were listed as co-No. 1s last week, so Schmidt has earned the starting job -- although with as many backs as NU is using, that doesn't mean too much. Trumpy left the Boston College game with what was initially reported as a possible concussion, but coach Pat Fitzgerald said on Monday that everyone that played "we expect to play, and those that did not play I would list as day-to-day."

Jack DiNardo is OUT with a leg injury. He left the game vs. Boston College. Will Hampton is now the No. 1 defensive tackle in DiNardo's place, and Sean McEvilly is his backup.

To see the complete two-deep, click here.