Henry Bushnell and Ben Goren debate whether the Wildcats' defense will improve upon last year's dominance.
Ben Goren: Northwestern's defense last year was alright. I mean, if you're into top-five S&P+ defenses who surrender fewer passing touchdowns than any other team in the nation, 2015 Northwestern was right up your alley. With playmakers on every level of the defense and (gasp) NFL talent aplenty, Northwestern had its best defensive year under Pat Fitzgerald, and probably the best defensive year since Fitzgerald was wearing a jersey himself. That squad set an awfully high bar that next year's crew has to match.