Bacher or Kafka vs. Ohio State?
On Monday morning, the Big Ten named Northwestern quarterback Mike Kafka the league's co-offensive player of the week for his record-setting showing at Minnesota.
A few hours later, Pat Fitzgerald named C.J. Bacher over Kafka as his program's starting quarterback.
How do those seemingly incongruent statements make sense?
Because Fitzgerald's designation doesn't necessarily apply for the No. 24 Wildcats' sold-out game with No. 11 Ohio State on Saturday at Ryan Field (11 a.m., ESPN2).
Check out the caveats that Fitzgerald dropped Monday.
They suggest that Kafka, whose 217 rushing yards against the Gophers were the most by a Big Ten quarterback in at least 66 years, has a good chance to start against the Buckeyes.
"C.J.'s our starting quarterback," Fitzgerald said. "If C.J.'s healthy, he'll be our starting quarterback."
Bacher missed his first start in 26 games Saturday with an injured right hamstring - an ailment he clearly favored while leaping around the sideline on Brendan Smith's game-winning interception return against the Gophers.
"My No. 1 job is the safety, the health and the well-being of our players," Fitzgerald said. "And if I don't believe that our guys are in the right place to go out and play, then I'm going to do the right thing for our players in consultation with our doctors and our medical staff.
"Our young men trust me and I trust them. They do a great job communicating. I'm going to do what's best for them. I'm going to do what's best for our program."
For the record, Fitzgerald's depth chart lists Bacher "or" Kafka as the starter for the first time this season.
But against an Ohio State defense that ranks eighth nationally in points allowed (13.3 ppg) and yards allowed (267.1 ypg), the Wildcats might prefer to have both guys ready in order to provide as many different looks as possible.
"This is going to be a huge challenge for us," Fitzgerald said. "The biggest challenge we've had all year. The best football team we've played all year.
"We're going to have to play our cleanest, most effective game of the year for us just to compete to have an opportunity."
Browne out: Redshirt freshman defensive end Vince Browne tore a ligament in his left knee during the Minnesota game.
Browne, who suffered the injury without getting hit while covering a kickoff return, will undergo surgery this week and miss at least the rest of the regular season.
Though he didn't play nearly as many snaps as the starters, Browne shared second place on the team with 4 sacks.
"You'll probably see (defensive tackle) Marshall Thomas out a little more maybe than you have in the past," Fitzgerald said. "We'll do some different things creatively to get our best 11 guys rushing the passer."
Redshirt freshman ends Kevin Watt (Glenbard West) and Jack DiNardo (Hinsdale Central) also could see more time.
Reward time: In addition to Kafka sharing the Big Ten's offensive player of the week honors with Purdue's Justin Siller, safety Brendan Smith won the defensive player of the week award.
Smith, who also returned an interception for a score in the season opener against Syracuse, appears to be one of four FBS players with 2 touchdown returns this season.
He joins San Jose State's Duke Ihenacho, Florida's Ahmad Black and Missouri's Sean Weatherspoon.