Tag Archives: Dan Persa

>Ticket City Bowl

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>Northwestern vs. Texas Tech

   Northwestern has lost all seven bowl games it has played since winning its first one — the 1949 Rose Bowl. The Wildcats (7-5) are making their third consecutive postseason appearance despite losing five of seven games after starting 5-0 for the second time in three years.

   The Wildcats will be without All-Big Ten quarterback Dan Persa after he suffered an Achilles’ tendon injury in a victory over Iowa.  So redshirt freshman Evan Watkins, who has started the two games since  Persa went down, will be starting what is probably the biggest game of his young career.  Watkins has thrown for 258 yards, a touchdown and four interceptions in those two games.

   While Watkins will likely target Jeremy Ebert, who led the Big Ten with 919 receiving yards, Northwestern could be without its top three rushers. Leader Mike Trumpy may sit out due to a wrist injury suffered in the Illinois loss, and the Wildcats definitely won’t have Persa or Arby Fields, who led the team in rushing in 2009 but recently decided to transfer.  But if Trumpy has to sit, Northwestern can rely on senior Stephen Simmons, junior Jacob Schmidt and true freshman Adonis Smith. Unfortunately the three have combined for only 419 yards and four touchdowns.  Schmidt has all the touchdowns.

   Quarterback Taylor Potts is a big reason Texas Tech is making its 11th consecutive bowl appearance. He’s completed 65.9 percent of his passes for 3,357 yards with 31 TDs and nine interceptions. The senior has helped Texas Tech rank eighth in the FBS in passing with 314.8 yards per game while averaging 32.1 points, including 99 over its final two games — non-conference victories over Weber State and Houston.
   
   Northwestern also must contend with Potts’ former teammate at Abilene High School, Lyle Leong. The senior has a team-high 808 receiving yards and is second in the FBS with 17 touchdown receptions.  But he isn’t the only big-play threat.  Detron Lewis has a team-best 79 receptions for 803 yards and six scores. Lewis caught 10 passes for 114 yards and a TD in last season’s bowl win.

   While Texas Tech is a pass-first team, this is the 11th straight season it has had a quarterback throw for at least 3,000 yards, it may be running backs Baron Batch and Eric Stephens who are the difference in the game against the Wildcats, who allowed 848 rushing yards and 10 TDs over the last two games.

Prediction:  Watkins struggles against the Red Raiders and Potts leads an  aerial attack that ambushes the Wildcats.  Tech 35-14.

>Weekend Observations

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  • Northwestern continues to be Iowa’s kryptonite, winning five of the last six meetings.  Unfortunately, the Wildcats lost QB Dan Persa for the season after he threw the game winning pass.  He ruptured his Achilles and is out for the season.  
  • Wisconsin scored 11 touchdowns against Indiana, the most in Wisconsin history and the second-most by a Big Ten team since World War II.   The Badgers rolled up 83 points, the most Wisconsin has scored in a Big Ten game and tied for the third-most points scored in a Big Ten game. It was the most points scored by any team in a Big Ten game since Ohio State scored 83 against Iowa in 1950.
  • Cameron Gordon’s 58-yd fumble return was the first defensive TD of the season for Michigan, whose defense ranked 114th (out of 120 teams) in yardage entering the game. Ryan Kerrigan set Big Ten and school records for career fumbles forced, with 14.
  • The win against Ole Miss snapped Tennessee’s six-game losing streak against SEC West opponents.  The Vols have never gone a season without an SEC win and have won at least three conference games every season since 1977.
  • Wake Forest (2-8, 1-6) lost its eighth straight game, its longest slide since dropping its last 10 in 1978.
  • Army became bowl eligible for the first time in 14 years. The Black Knights (6-4) continued their best season since going 10-2 in 1996 — they were 35-115 over the next 13 years. All three service academies have winning records now, and only twice since 1960 have all three finished above .500: in 1963, Army was 7-3, Air Force 7-4 and Navy 9-2, and in 1996 it was Army at 10-2, Navy at 9-3 and Air Force at 6-5.
  •  The Orange finished the regular season 4-0 on the road in Big East play and are bowl-eligible for the first time since 2004. And with a road win at Akron, Syracuse has five true road wins in a season for the first time since 1992.  At 7-3 (with two regular-season home games left and a possible bowl game), the Orange are guaranteed to have their first winning season since 2001, when they finished 10-3.  Doug Marrone now has more wins in less than two seasons at Syracuse (11) than Greg Robinson had in four seasons (10).
  • Ryan Broyles caught three TDs and now has 32 TD receptions in his career, most in school history.  
  • Washington State snapped a 16-game conference losing streak with a 31-14 win over Oregon State.It was the Cougars’ first Pac-10 win since a 16-13 overtime victory against Washington in the 2008 Apple Cup. 
  • South Carolina won for the second time in 19 tries against Florida, snapped an 0-for-12 streak in Gainesville and earned a spot in the league title game for the first time since joining the SEC in 1992. The Gators lost to a division opponent for the first time in 17 games, dropped their third consecutive home game and proved they didn’t deserve to play for a championship. It’s the program’s first three-game losing streak at home since 1989. Marcus Lattimore had the ninth 200-yd rushing game in South Carolina history; 1st since 2000 and 1st in SEC play.
  • Oklahoma State ended a 12-year losing streak to Texas with a 33-16 victory Saturday night. Oklahoma State won four straight road games for the first time since 1985. The Longhorns lost for the fourth time at home this year to equal the total amount of home losses for Texas since 2000. Texas lost four straight home games in the same season for the first time since 1956. Texas needs to win each of its final two games to become bowl eligible. It has not missed a bowl since 1997 and if they don’t make a bowl, it will be the first time in the BCS era that a team playing in the title game doesn’t make a bowl the following season. 

    >Weekend Preview

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    >Wow talk about a lot of awesome games between ranked teams!

    Big Ten games

    Illinois @ Michigan

    Both teams come in at 5-3, so a win earns them bowl eligibility.  The road game starts a streak of three away games in the Illinois’ last four contests.  Quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase is coming off of a week which saw him be named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week.  He completed 16-of-20 passes for 195 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for 118 yards on 21 carries.

    After starting the season 5-0, the Wolverines have lost their last three contests, with all being Big Ten games.  They’ll be looking to get back on the saddle against the Illini and as always, will look for Denard Robinson to lead them.

    Illinois wins if…Scheelhaase plays as well as he has been lately.  He seems to be flourishing as he becomes more comfortable in the college game.  If they stop Robinson, they have a real chance of leaving with a win.

    Michigan wins if…it shuts down the Illinois running game and it goes back to what was working the first five games of the year.

    Northwestern @ Penn State

    Joe Paterno can join John Gagliardi and Eddie Robinson as the only college football coaches to record 400 career victories, and he can become the first man in Division I-A/FBS history to do so.  Who will they choose as their quarterback tho?  Rob Bolden is back from a concussion, but Matt McGloin did well in his first start.  Rumor is both will play.

    Dan Persa, on the other hand, is coming back home.  Growing up a Penn State fan and going to games at Beaver Stadium, he had grown up wanting to play for the Nittany Lions, but was passed up in the recruiting game.  It will be his first start in State College and it comes at a time where the ‘Cats are looking to get their mojo back.

    Penn Stats wins if...it doesn;t let the thought of Paterno’s 400th win get in the way.  Choosing a quarterback is vital too.  Both are good, but who will take the reigns. 

    Northwestern wins if…Persa is Persa.  He was amazing for most of the Indiana game, but then suffered what seemed like a concussion.  If he is over that and the emotions of his homecoming don’t take over, the Wildcats might n Paterno’s quest for 400.

    National Games

    TCU @ Utah

    3 vs. 5. Last time the two will face as Mountain West foes. Undefeated. Chances at a National Title.  That’s all that’s at stake in the game between these bitter rivals.  It’s the Mountain West’s premier matchup, the first on league history pitting two ranked top-10 teams and one that will go a long way in deciding not only a conference champion but also who will remain a potential BCS buster.  TCU has never won in three trips to Salt Lake City, including a 13-10 loss in 2008 that eventually propelled the Utes to a BCS bowl game — knocking off Alabama in the Sugar — and landing the Frogs in the Poinsettia Bowl, where they beat Boise State.

    The Frogs are averaging nearly 41 ppg, while the Utes nearly 46.  TCU has the top-ranked defense in the nation and is giving up just eight points per game.  They’ve given up 16 points total in the last five games.  They will have to shut down a Utes team that averages 450 yards per game.  Oh yea, their defense is pretty good too.

    TCU wins if...it shuts down the dynamic Utah offense.  Their defense is tops in the nation, but their offense is just as great.  Led by Andy Dalton, the team has been whooping everybody all year.

    Utah wins if…it can score.  They boast a good defense too and if they can stop the Horned Frogs, they might walk away with a win.