Guest Blogger: James Quintong

Last year I asked ESPN's James Quintong about his alma mater Northwestern. Now it is time to take on the Wildcats again, so I asked him back to get us up to speed on NU. Although he's a Cat, James's brother is an Eagle, so he's familiar with BC and our recent struggles. My questions and JQ's answers below. 


ATLEagle: Last season BC prepped for Persa. Of course Colter started and killed BC on the ground. Now Colter is less than 100% and NU is playing two QBs. Who plays Saturday and how should BC try to shut the offense down? 

James Quintong: I still think Kain Colter will start on Saturday despite a subpar passing game against Vandy. Part of that, though, was due to some uncharacteristic drops from a solid NU receiving corps. Colter did make up for that with a great game-sealing 29-yard TD run late in the fourth quarter. Overall, Colter is the most dangerous player in the offense given the many ways he make plays, running, throwing and even catching the ball. However, Trevor Siemian has shown he can lead the team in late situations (he was under center for the go-ahead field goal against Vandy), and he's probably the better "traditional" quarterback. I think NU can put up points no matter who's at quarterback, although each gives the team a different look. However, the early star on offense this season is speedy junior Venric Mark, who was already a huge factor in the return game during his career (and returned a punt against Syracuse for a TD) and now has become the 'Cats' go-to running back. He may be a little guy (listed at 5-8, 175 pounds, and teammate Tyris Jones compared him to Gabby Douglas in training camp) but he looks comfortable carrying the load so far. He might be the key to stopping the NU's attack at this point, as he can open things up even more for the quarterbacks, or at the very least bail out the offense if the quarterbacks aren't getting the job done.

ATLEagle: Syracuse put up a ton of yards and points in the opener. Last week, NU contained Vanderbilt. Which unit is the real Northwestern defense?

James Quintong: I was impressed by NU's defense in the second half against Vanderbilt, although I still think the defense is a little bit closer to the one that got lit up by Syracuse. In fact, Vanderbilt was making plays in the first half before the 'Cats turned things around later. The secondary is still somewhat vulnerable, and the pass rush has had its moments, although the run defense has been pretty decent so far. The one thing that has helped NU in both games this season is forcing turnovers at critical times. Both turnovers against Syracuse turned into TDs, while NU stopped a late first-half Vandy drive with a fumble (opening the door for the second-half comeback) and sealed the win with another fumble recovery. Linebacker Chi Chi Ariguzo has been the big-play guy so far (getting both turnovers against Syracuse), while defensive end Tyler Scott had a sack and a forced fumble against Vandy.

ATLeagle: The Wildcats are 23-16 under Fitzgerald at home. Spaz isn't great on the road. Would you consider Ryan Field a tough place to play in general? Any advice for BC fans making the trip? 

James Quintong: The 'Cats have done pretty well with nonconference home games under Pat Fitzgerald, but during Big Ten play, it's not unusual for Northwestern fans to be in the minority at Ryan Field, given the huge alumni contingents from places like Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois making the relatively short trek to Evanston. So I wouldn't necessarily consider Ryan Field to be a huge homefield advantage, generally speaking. I would imagine the atmosphere at Ryan Field for this game could be similar to my experience at last year's game at Alumni Stadium with decent pockets of BC alums within a stadium that won't be anywhere close to a sellout. The area around the stadium is very nice (FYI: it's about a couple of miles from the main Evanston campus, which is worth checking out, especially in the areas overlooking Lake Michigan), and it's also accessible via the El train for those coming in from Chicago or downtown Evanston.

ATLeagle: What is your prediction for the game? 

James Quintong: After a while, I think I've just become used to high-scoring shootouts with this Northwestern team, and I can see BC throwing the ball a lot on this defense (I remember Chase Rettig throwing for 375 yards against NU in last year's opener). I still think the 'Cats have more than enough weapons to keep up, and playing at home will help. Since I'm used to close nailbiters against teams of relatively similar stature, I'll go with NU 31, BC 27.

Guest Blogger: James Quintong

To kick off a new season and get a better feel for Northwestern, I've asked my friend and ESPN writer James Quintong a few questions about his Wildcats. The added benefit of picking JQ's brain is that he is pretty familiar with BC since his brother is an Eagle. Below are my questions and his answers.


1. If Persa is less than 100% do you think Northwestern can be as prolific on offense? What sort of schemes give the Wildcats the biggest problems?

JQ: I still have a few questions about Persa's health, so I'm curious to see how the offense will operate early on. While Persa's running ability is one of the more obvious things that had put him on the map, his ability to avoid bad mistakes last year was a bit underrated (and was exposed in a big way when Evan Watkins and Kain Colter took turns replacing Persa at QB). So even at less than 100%, Persa should at least make a bunch of plays from the pocket, although how many compared to last year is a big question. Thankfully, most of his receiving corps from last year is still around.

I'm also wondering how the running backs will fare, as that has been a spotty part of the offense the past couple of years. Sophomore Mike Trumpy had his moments last year and looks to be the guy worth watching heading into this season.

2. Last year teams ran all over the Northwestern defense. Have there been any adjustments this year? Do you think it will remain the Achilles heel?

JQ: Somehow, when Persa tore his Achilles last year, the defense seemingly did too, as their worst games of the season came after Persa's injury. I think the run defense can still be an issue this year, with a number of youngsters picking up more of the slack, especially at the linebacker position. As a whole, though, there is some optimism with this unit, given the experienced starters on the d-line and in the secondary.

3. BC fans often feel slighted by the Boston media. How would you rank Northwestern on the Chicago sports landscape? Do NU fans even care about respect and perception? Has Northwestern done anything to try to change that perception?

JQ: BC and Northwestern are very similar in the context of their cities' sports landscapes. They're both smallish private schools (at least in comparison to their conference mates) with high academic reputations in big cities dominated by major league sports, and thus they both lag way back in the pecking order. In Northwestern's case, the school definitely lags behind the five major league sports teams, but it also has to battle with Illinois and Notre Dame for attention among the local college teams. (Actually, the Northwestern blog Lake the Posts does a good job in showing how similar BC and Northwestern are in terms of citywide perception.)

I think there is a good segment of fans, especially the more diehard ones, that want a bit more respect, especially with regards to bringing more Northwestern fans into the stadium. When it comes to home games, the size of the crowds can depend on who's playing, because despite Northwestern's recent success, there are still huge swaths of fans from the other teams (especially during conference season).

Recently, the school has been marketing itself as "Chicago's Big Ten Team" (as seen on the Dan Persa billboards and on the new basketball court) to try to draw in more of the local Chicago audience. We'll see if it actually works, but at least it's a start. The recent "Persa Strong" Heisman campaign (complete with billboards in both Chicago and Bristol, Conn.), the new Pat Fitzgerald banner outside Ryan Field, and even the Facebook campaign to help choose a new basketball floor (with one of the choices being a Boise State-inspired purple court) are all ways to get the Northwestern name out there even more.

4. What is your prediction for the game?

JQ: I think whether or not Persa plays, this will be a bit of a slog of a game. If Persa plays, I see a Northwestern winning 20-17. If not, it's BC winning 17-14.