Duke Blue Devils football 2024 opponent scouting report: Northwestern

No one wants to feel homeless. However, that's what the Northwestern Wildcats football team will be in 2024.

With their stadium undergoing massive renovations, the Wildcats will have to play the majority of their home games at a temporary stadium on campus this year. It is expected to hold around just 15,000 people, over 30,000 fewer fans than their home, Ryan Field, held prior to the construction project.

Thus, when the Blue Devils head to Chicago in week two of the season, it will be a much easier task for Manny Diaz's squad given that Northwestern won't have much of a home-field advantage. That's going to be one interesting component of this pivotal non-conference matchup on September 6.

Since the atmosphere for this game won't be anything to speak of, will the Wildcats have much to offer on the field? Let's take a look at what to expect from Northwestern this season.

Northwestern is coming off of an improbably successful 2023

Some may not remember but the Wildcats were the surprise story of the Big Ten last fall. After having to fire head coach Pat Fitzgerald in July due to allegations of hazing within the program, few expected the Wildcats to put up much of a fight in 2023, much less finish second in the Big 10 West and win eight games, but that's exactly what they did.

Now, the reality of last season's surprise run is that it was built upon beating bad teams. The 2023 Wildcats were unable to beat either of the ranked teams they played (including No. 21 Duke in September) and six of the teams they beat had a record of .500 or worse at the time they beat them.

Still, getting to nine wins under interim head coach David Braun, including a bowl victory over Utah, was a remarkable feat last fall. Now, they will try to surprise the country again but it won't be easy with games against Ohio State, Michigan, Washington, and Iowa on the schedule this fall.

Northwestern is having to make a change at QB

Last season, Northwestern utilized two quarterbacks to guide the offense. Now, both are gone with Brendan Sullivan having transferred to Iowa and Ben Bryant having graduated.

In their place comes Mississippi State transfer Mike Wright. A super-senior, he will get a chance to start this year after being primarily a backup at Vanderbilt and Mississippi State.

Wright has never attempted more than 175 passes or thrown for more than 1,042 yards in a season. What's more, he's just a 55.5% career passer. However, he is a threat to run with over 1,200 yards and 10 TDs on the ground in his career.

The ground game could propel the Northwestern offense after being poor last year

The best weapon Northwestern brings back is running back Cam Porter. Last year, he led the Wildcats on the ground with 651 yards and four TDs. However, that's not all that impressive given that the Wildcats were just 119th nationally in rushing yards per game at 101.9.

One problem, though, is that second-leading rusher, Anthony Tyus III transferred to Ohio leaving questions behind Porter. Still, the ground game has to be strong for the Wildcats in 2024 given the questions at the QB position.

Northwestern's Defense will be it's calling card

Perhaps it was because it played in the Big 10 or perhaps it was because of great fortune on the turnover front but whatever the reason, Northwestern was fantastic defensively last season giving up only 340.8 points per game game, 35th-best in the nation.

Again, though, it wasn't as if the Wildcats played some of the top offenses in the nation in 2023. Still, some key pieces return to give Northwestern a chance to be good on defense again this fall.

After putting up 6.0 sacks last year, Aidan Hubbard is back to lead the pass rush. It was a big jump forward for a player who had only 1.0 sacks the year before. Can he take another step forward in 2024?

In the middle of the defense, linebacker Xander Mueller (who had 110 tackles a season ago) returns as a potential All-Big Ten performer. However, the graduation of last season's leading tackler, LB Bryce Gallagher will be impactful.

Also, in the secondary, Northwestern must replace top corner Rod Heard, who left for Notre Dame, and a pair of key pieces, Garnett Hollis and Jaheem Joseph, both of whom are now at West Virginia.

In all, it will come down to how well the Wildcats can force turnovers again. Last year, they ranked third nationally in turnover margin averaging one more turnover gained than their opponent each week. Northwestern took the ball away 22 times a season ago, tied for 25th most in the NCAA. If the defense can come close to that productivity again, then the Wildcats could hang in most games they play.

Early thoughts on Northwestern vs. Duke

It is hard to say what this early-season matchup will look like given all of the questions that both Duke and Northwestern have to answer this year. What's more, we don't know if Northwestern will have any semblance of a home-field edge when Duke travels to the shores of Lake Michigan in week two.

In the end, Duke needs to win this game in order to get to a bowl game. If the Blue Devils prevail, there is a path to six wins but if they don't it will be tough for Manny Diaz and his program to get to a 13th game this gall given how difficult the ACC road is for Duke.

Duke should expect to win this game. Playing in front of only 15,000 fans is like playing in front of a large high school football crowd in the South so there won't be any atmosphere to overcome. Thus, this contest between evenly-matched teams will come down to execution and that's what will make it such an intriguing non-conference game.