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Football preview: Northwestern looks to contend in Big Ten West

Last year, Northwestern won 10 games for just the fourth time in school history. The Wildcats opened with an upset victory over No. 21 Stanford and later won close games at Nebraska and Wisconsin.

It sounds like a great year, except for three losses that all featured four quarters of severe tire damage. The Wildcats lost to Michigan 38-0, Iowa 40-10, then to Tennessee 45-6 in the Outback Bowl.

Maybe the best way describe the state of Northwestern football is pretty good, but still a long way from the top. The Wildcats open the 2016 season on Saturday against Western Michigan at Ryan Field.

"I think we're hungry," said junior running back Justin Jackson of Carol Stream. "We were 10-3 last year. Not good enough, personally. I want to go undefeated. I want to go to the Big Ten championship. Not good enough.

"We really just want to go out there and play well, show them our offense is back where it should be and our defense is as stout as it has ever been. Really just go out there and play Wildcat football. That's just being scrappy and playing our butt off on every single play."

There are reasons to feel optimistic about the Wildcats' chances this season. The schedule isn't one of them. They play No. 17 Iowa, No. 12 Michigan State and No. 6 Ohio State on the road in October.

But Northwestern does welcome back two of the Big Ten's best returnees. Jackson, from Glenbard North High School, was the conference's second-leading rusher last season, behind Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott, finishing with 1,418 yards.

Junior linebacker Antony Walker Jr. led NU in tackles by a wide margin. Coach Pat Fitzgerald, an All-American linebacker in his Northwestern playing days, said Walker is "poised to be one of the best we've ever had."

The defense has some veterans in cornerback Matthew Harris, safety Godwin Igwebuike and defensive tackle C.J. Robbins. But they'll have to replace defensive ends Dean Lowry, a fourth-round pick of the Green Bay Packers, and Deonte Gibson, the team leader with 9 sacks last season.

On offense, the line includes four players with starting experience and should improve. Fitzgerald expects the Wildcats will pick up their passing game this year.

"Most games we saw eight, nine guys in the box," he said. "We've got to be able to throw it more efficiently to be able to loosen some people up to respect our passing game to be more explosive."

Wheaton North grad Clayton Thorson won the starting job last year as a redshirt freshman. He threw for 1,522 yards and ran for about 400. There's room to improve, though, with a completion percentage of 51 percent and 9 interceptions compared to 7 touchdowns.

"I'd pay a lot of money to have that experience to start that year again, you know what I mean?" Thorson said this week.

Northwestern is rebuilding at receiver. Four-year starting tight end Dan Vitale moved on. The top returning wide receiver is senior Austin Carr, who had 16 just catches last season. Fitzgerald moved former Stevenson High School receiver Cameron Green to Vitale's "superback" position, which is basically a tight end that moves around. Green, a redshirt freshman, is listed second string behind junior Garrett Dickerson.

Jackson is confident Thorson will elevate Northwestern's passing game in his second season as the starter.

"(He's) head over heels better. It's like night and day," Jackson said. "He knows exactly what everyone is doing every single play. He knows what checks to make. He has that confidence to go out there and be the leader."

Fitzgerald is beginning his 11th season as head coach and has gone to a bowl game in six of them. The Wildcats play their first four games at home, so there's a chance for a fast start before facing the October obstacles.

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