Northwestern’s run defense has been shaky at times this season, a trend lost amongst the long string of injuries in the secondary. That doesn’t bode well for Saturday, where the Wildcats will be introduced to Jonathan Taylor and Chris James and reacquainted with Bradrick Shaw. With no disrespect to Shaun Wilson or Josh Cleveland, these are the three most talented running backs they will have seen in 2017.
In Week 1, Jaxson Kincaide and Kelton Moore combined for 126 yards on just 20 carries. In Durham, Mike Hankwitz’s defense let quarterback Daniel Jones rush for 108 yards and two touchdowns as the Blue Devils racked up 233 yards on the ground.