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VOLUME 25, ISSUE 6 103 They had better be, because last season was a mess defensively, though it didn't stop Illinois from closing the season strong, with a 16- 14 win over offensively challenged Penn State and a 47-33 rout of disap- pointing Northwestern. Those wins landed the Illini a spot in the Heart of Dallas Bowl, where its positive momentum proved short-lived. Texas Tech won 35-18. Illinois will need to reach the post- season again, most likely, for Beck- man to avoid the guillotine. For that to happen, the offense will have to carry it. It starts with quarterback Wes Lunt and running back Josh Ferguson. Lunt's health is crucial, even though Illinois actually won import- ant games after he was lost for the season last year against Purdue. The former Oklahoma State transfer was the Big Ten's leading passer at the time of his injury and Illinois figures to put the onus on his right arm once again this season. Whether it was Lunt or now-de- parted backup Reilly O'Toole under center, Illinois QBs were sacked 37 times in 2014 and now its offensive line lacks experience. "He has to stay on his feet this year and that's a big emphasis for the staff this year, to figure out ways to protect him and keep him up-right," Bucshon said. "He didn't take a lot of hits in the spring and I don't think they'll let him take too many hits (in practice) this fall, either, leading up to that first game." While Lunt might be Illinois' most important player — there are no vi- able alternatives — Ferguson (735 yards rushing, 427 receiving) might be its best. He'll shoulder the lion's share of the work in the backfield, though freshman Ke'Shawn Vaughn will get carries too, but also be featured as a receiver, particularly in light of the loss of sophomore wide receiver and budding standout Mike Dudek to an ACL injury. — Brian Neubert A fter back-to-back 5-7 sea- sons following a five-year bowl run, Northwestern folks might be starting to get antsy. "It's starting a little bit of a (down- ward) trend," said Louie Vaccher of WildcatReport.com, the Rivals.com site that covers Northwestern. "Peo- ple are starting to get concerned about the direction the program's go- ing right now. "This is going to be sort of a pivotal year." For it to turn out well, the Wildcats will need their offense to carry its share alongside what could be a re- spectable defense. "They have some questions on the offensive side of the ball, but the de- fense should be pretty solid," Vaccher said, "which is completely opposite of what we used to say about North- western around five years ago. It was always a prolific offense and a de- fense that couldn't stop anybody. Now it's kind of reversed." Offensively, running back Justin Jackson looks like he's good enough to become Northwestern's next star at the position. He ran for just under 1,200 yards and scored 11 total touchdowns as only a true freshman, for an offense that didn't provide him a whole lot of complementary support. "There were high expectations for him because he was a pretty decorat- ed recruit, but I don't think anybody thought he'd be this good this fast," Vaccher said. "He made something out of nothing a lot. He's a pretty spe- cial back." 8/30 CALIFORNIA . . . . . . . . L, 24-31 9/6 NORTHERN ILLINOIS. L, 15-23 9/20 WESTERN ILLINOIS . . . W, 24-7 9/27 at Penn State . . . . . . . . W, 29,6 10/4 WISCONSIN . . . . . . . W, 20-14 10/11 at Minnesota . . . . . . . L, 17-24 10/18 NEBRASKA . . . . . . . . . L, 17-38 11/1 at Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . L, 7-48 11/8 MICHIGAN . . . . . . . . . . L, 9-10 11/15 at Notre Dame . . . . . . W, 40-43 11/22 at Purdue . . . . . . . . . . W, 38-14 11/29 ILLINOIS . . . . . . . . . . L, 33-47 Who's in Charge? COACH PAT FITZGERALD Record at Northwestern: 60-53 (nine seasons) Record vs. Purdue: 3-3 Northwestern Wildcats 2015 OPPONENT PRE VIE W N OV. 14 • RYA N F I E L D, E VA N S TO N • T I M E: T BA • T V: T BA 2014 Results (5-7) 2015 Schedule G O L D A N D B L AC K 'S E A R LY L I N E : N O R T H W E S T E R N - 3 OF NOTE: Northwestern blocked six kicks last season, tying it with seven other schools for the best mark in the nation. 9/5 STANFORD 9/12 EASTERN ILLINOIS 9/19 at Duke 9/26 BALL STATE 10/3 MINNESOTA 10/10 at Michigan 10/17 IOWA 10/24 at Nebraska 11/7 PENN STATE 11/14 PURDUE 11/21 at Wisconsin 11/28 at Illinois