Previewing Northwestern (2-0) at Army (0-2)

Northwestern (2-0) at Army (0-2)

When: 2:30 p.m. at Michie Stadium

TV: CBS Sports Network (Ch. 613 on DirecTV)

Radio: WMVP 1000-AM, WNUR 89.3-FM, wgnradio.com

Series: Northwestern leads 3-1.

Coaches: Pat Fitzgerald (36-29, sixth year at NU); Rich Ellerson (12-15, third year at Army; 72-56 overall)

Players to watch: Northwestern gains one running back (Mike Trumpy) and loses another one (Adonis Smith) this week. Trumpy posted 85 yards in the opening win at Boston College, but missed last week with a concussion. Smith will be out with an injured lower right leg. QB Kain Colter will make his third straight start, though senior Dan Persa did more work this week and seems on target for a return Oct. 1 at Illinois. Keep close tabs on safeties Brian Peters and Ibraheim Campbell. The latter is a redshirt freshman who has made one expensive mistake in each of the first two weeks. The Wildcats can afford none against the disciplined Black Knights.

Junior QB Trent Steelman makes Army's triple-option offense go. Though he missed a few snaps of last week's loss to San Diego State after taking a big hit, Steelman still rolled up 157 rushing yards and 3 scores. Malcolm Brown owns 169 rushing yards for the year. Veteran LB Steve Erzinger ranks eighth nationally with 25 tackles. He racked up 3½ tackles for loss in Army's season-opening loss at Northern Illinois.

The skinny: Army, unsurprisingly, ranks No. 2 nationally with 353.0 rushing yards per game. Northwestern, surprisingly, ranks 14th nationally with 273.5 rushing yards per game. With time of possession such a key component to both teams' strategies, don't expect Colter and Steelman to start flinging the ball all over West Point. The Wildcats keep saying their offensive line is better and more consistent than in years past. With an open date next week before the Big Ten opener on Oct. 1, this would be a perfect time for NU's line to assert its superiority. It's not easy to put a helmet on every guy on the line in Army's Double Eagle defense under normal circumstances, but NU can use its tackles-turned-superbacks (Brian Smith and Fremd's Jack Konopka) to handle the job.

Fast fact: Special teams could be huge in a game like this. Watch out for NU sophomore Venric Mark, who leads a kick-return team that ranks eighth in the country with 33.2 yards per return. Did we mention Army's 5 lost fumbles are tied for the most in the country?

— Lindsey Willhite