Syracuse will try to avenge last season’s loss to Northwestern when they travel to Illinois this Saturday:
COLTER LIKELY TO PLAY: Syracuse fans should remember Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter well. In Northwestern’s 42-41 win over the Orange last year, Colter threw for 135 yards and a pair of touchdowns. In Northwestern’s 2013 opener against Cal, Colter suffered a concussion after the second offensive play and didn’t return to the game. In his place, Trevor Siemian threw for 276 yards and a touchdown. The Wildcats went on to beat the Golden Bears on the road, 44-30. Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerlad was optimistic that Colter would play against the Orange this week, and Colter told Teddy Greenstein of The Chicago Tribune that he was “ready to go.”
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SCOUTING THE WILDCATS: Syracuse had all kinds of problems containing running back Venric Mark last year. He returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown and added 14 carries for 82 yards. Mark was used sparingly (11 rushes, 29 yards) against Cal because of a lower body injury, but is expected to play against the Orange. With Mark limited, Treyvon Green rushed 16 times for 129 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, watch out for linebacker Collin Ellis, who returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns. He had a 56-yard return in the third quarter and then returned another for 40 yards midway through the fourth that made for good fantasy football points.
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HISTORICALLY SPEAKING: The teams have met 10 times in their history, each winning five games. SU has won five of the last seven meetings. The last time these two teams met, Demetrius Fields caught a nine-yard touchdown pass with 44 seconds left as Northwestern hung on for a 42-41 win on Sept. 1, 2012.
GAME INFORMATION: Saturday, Sept. 7, 6 p.m. in Evanston, Illinois. TV: Big Ten Network.
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