2016 record: 7-6
Head coach: Pat Fitzgerald (12th season)
When Northwestern last faced Duke, it was limping. After starting the season with a loss against Western Michigan and scoring just seven points versus Illinois State, an eventual 6-6 FCS team, head coach Pat Fitzgerald's team was 0-2.
From then, the Blue Devils and Wildcats went in opposite directions.
Northwestern torched Duke’s secondary in a 24-13 victory and proceeded to finish the season on a 7-4 run, establishing themselves as Big Ten West title contenders headed into this season. The Wildcats played close contests against then-No. 20 Nebraska and No. 8 Wisconsin, and nearly pulled off an upset against eventual College Football Playoff finalist Ohio State.
Then-sophomore quarterback Clayton Thorson throttled the Blue Devils for 320 passing yards, and figures to build upon his breakout second-year season this year. Northwestern returns seven other starters alongside him, including running back Justin Jackson, who averaged 5.1 yards per carry.
Although their offense appears poised to improve once again this season, the Wildcats will build around what figures to be one of the best defenses in the Big Ten, featuring an elite secondary.
In last year’s contest, quarterback Daniel Jones was held to a 28.3 QBR, and the Blue Devils' ground attack sputtered to gain just 3.4 yards per carry. Do not expect it to get much easier for Duke this time around—Northwestern will return four of its top six tacklers, including safety Godwin Igwebuike, who could be an early selection in the 2018 NFL Draft. Montre Hartage, who picked off five passes last year, will also be back to work in the secondary alongside Igwebuike.
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Managing Editor 2018-19, 2019-2020 Features & Investigations Editor
A member of the class of 2020 hailing from San Mateo, Calif., Ben is The Chronicle's Towerview Editor and Investigations Editor. Outside of the Chronicle, he is a public policy major working towards a journalism certificate, has interned at the Tampa Bay Times and NBC News and frequents Pitchforks.