WMU not a typical MAC opponent
Pat Fitzgerald knows that the numbers are on his side when his Northwestern Wildcats host Western Michigan on Saturday at Ryan Field.
The 11th-year head coach of the Wildcats is 9-1 in season openers. He is also 9-1 against MAC teams in his tenure, including a 38-17 win over these same Broncos in 2013.
But when he looks at film, Fitzgerald doesn’t see a typical MAC opponent. He sees a MAC title contender with weapons all over the field and Big Ten-level talent.
“(I’m) very impressed watching Western Michigan on video,” Fitzgerald said at his Monday news conference. “They’ve got plenty of playmakers everywhere. They’re very well coached. They’ve done a terrific job recruiting and to see, especially, the way that they played last year, they very easily could have won the (MAC) championship.”
“They’re definitely a Big Ten-caliber team,” added senior cornerback and captain Matthew Harris. “One of the best in the MAC.”
Western Michigan head coach P.J. Fleck seems more like a televangelist than a football coach, an excitable dynamo who makes the ultra-positive Fitzgerald look like Debbie Downer. His “Row the Boat” mantra has become such a fixture that the team often features boat oars on their helmets and uniforms despite the fact that they're nicknamed after a type of horse.
It may seem a little hokey, but it works -- especially in the living rooms of high school players. Known as a tireless recruiter, Fleck has stockpiled very un-MAC-like talent in Kalamazoo. He got the job in 2013 and went 1-11. Since then, he has posted back-to-back 8-5 seasons and assembled recruiting classes that have ranked among the best in the conference.
Rivals ranked Fleck’s 2014 class 62nd in the nation, six spots above a Northwestern group that featured four-star prospects Justin Jackson, Clayton Thorson, Garrett Dickerson and Parrker Westphal. WMU’s incoming freshman group this season features players who had offers from Illinois, Iowa, Oklahoma State, Virginia, and, yes, even Northwestern. He also reeled in a former Michigan commit, Matt Falcon, who had collected offers from Ohio State, UCLA and 14 other Power Five programs before suffering a devastating knee injury.
The Broncos offense, especially, is loaded with firepower. They have a veteran at quarterback, Zach Terrell, who has thrown for 8,571 yards and 61 touchdowns over his career. They also have two 1,000-yard rushers in the backfield: Jarvion Franklin, the 2014 MAC Offensive Player of the Year who rushed for 1,551 yards and 24 TDs as a freshman, and Jamauri Bogan, who ran for 1,051 yards last season.
To top it off, WMU also has Darius Phillips, a cornerback and returner who took a kickoff back for a touchdown against Michigan State last season. “When I pop on the tape, he looks like a Big Ten returner,” said Fitzgerald.
The Broncos’ headliner, however, is wide receiver Corey Davis, who most experts agree is destined to be an NFL draft pick next spring. The 6-foot-3, 213-pounder is the leading returning receiver in all of FBS, with 3,785 yards and 33 touchdowns over the last three seasons.
Northwestern fans may recall Davis from 2013, when the then freshman from Chicago powerhouse Wheaton (Ill.) Warrenville South caught five passes for 112 yards against the Wildcats, including a 75-yard touchdown pass. Fitzgerald certainly remembers him.
“He’s a great player,” said Fitzgerald. “He was an instant impact player in the program as a freshman, now to see his progression, he’s just very impressive. He’s a complete wide receiver. He’s got great hands, he runs great routes, he’s physical, he’s really good at blocking, they move him around. They do a lot of really good things with him and he makes big plays happen in a lot of different ways: down the field, intermediate throws, timing throws, screens…
“I don’t think anybody has stopped him…you just try to limit explosive plays.”
Harris will look to line up across from Davis as often as possible, but you can bet that the Broncos will be trying to move their star around to get him matched up with Montre Hartage, if possible. Hartage, a sophomore, will be making his first career start in place of Keith Watkins II, who went down for the season with a knee injury in practice two weeks ago.
Facing a Broncos offense that racked up 36.0 points and 490.8 yards per game last season may seem like a baptism by fire for Hartage, but Harris believes that his counterpart is ready for the challenge that Terrell, Davis and Western Michigan represent.
“Since he stepped foot in the door, his goal has been to become a starter, and he’s trained like a starter. He’s excited, he’s ready to go,” said Harris. “It’s all about just keeping him calm and really just having him trust in his abilities because he can go out there and play. He’s definitely one of our top corners here. Definitely mad love and respect to him because he’s a great player.”
The whole defense, not just Hartage, has to bring its "A" game on Saturday, according to middle linebacker and captain Anthony Walker Jr.
“We have to come in with the mindset that we’re facing a Big Ten opponent,” said the redshirt junior All-America cadidate. “They’re going to come out ready to play. We’ve got to come out ready to play. They have weapons all over the field.”