Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Northwestern Wildcats Complete Game Preview

Notre Dame returns home after a disappointing trip to Tempe, dubbed "The Debacle in the Desert" by Brian Kelly during his Sunday teleconference. While the Irish's hopes at the College Football Playoff are dashed, there is still plenty to play for. 

With three games left in November, the Irish have a chance to finish the regular season with 10 wins for only the third time in the last dozen years. That will put them in line for a nice postseason destination with Notre Dame's new ACC bowl affiliation, and position the young roster to be one of the teams to watch in 2015. 

But before we look too far into the future, Pat Fitzgerald's Northwestern team awaits. A week after losing in the final seconds to Michigan, the Wildcats are hoping to find a way to salvage another disappointing season with a big road victory. 

A week after turnovers ruined Notre Dame's chances of beating one of the Pac-12's most dynamic teams, the Irish can get back on the right track if they figure out how to play a clean game. 

Date: Saturday, November 15

Time: 3:30 p.m. ET

Place: Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana

TV: NBC

Radio: IMG College Sports, SiriusXM Channel 129

Spread: Notre Dame by 16.5, according to Odds Shark.

Notre Dame Keys to Victory

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Help Everett Golson Recapture His Mojo

After a flawless start to the season, Everett Golson has turned the ball over 17 times in the past five games. Those turnovers have made it impossible for Golson to play up to the standard he's capable of, not to mention the one Brian Kelly demands of his quarterback.

After laying the ball on the ground twice in Notre Dame's first two series against Arizona State and throwing four interceptions last Saturday, it'll be up to Kelly and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock to craft a game plan that can help Golson reestablish his confidence before turning him loose. 

While Northwestern's 3-6 record is another disappointing campaign for Pat Fitzgerald, their defensive play hasn't been bad. And after watching Arizona State provide the blitzing, attacking playbook for forcing Golson into making some bad decisions, you can expect defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz to bring the heat. 

Don't Let Northwestern's Mediocre Offense Beat You With Big Plays

For the first time since 1999, Northwestern has been held to single-digit point totals in consecutive games. That's just one illustration of how much the Wildcats are struggling, coming off a Saturday against Michigan when they were held to negative rushing yardage and turned the football over three times. 

Injuries and ineptitude seem to be the biggest reasons for the offensive collapse, with quarterback Trevor Siemian on borrowed time and Wildcats fans clamoring for redshirt freshman Matt Alviti, a one-time Notre Dame recruit who saw the field for the first time last weekend. 

Northwestern is an abysmal 117th in the country in total offense, averaging just 322 yards a game. While the Irish are hobbled by injuries and thin in the secondary, Brian VanGorder has an opportunity to take advantage of the Wildcats' struggles along the offensive line with some well-timed blitzes.

But he also needs to be careful not to let that aggressiveness turn into quick-strike opportunities, forcing the Wildcats offense that's made a habit of self-destructing to work its way down the field. 

Northwestern Keys to Victory

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See if Matt Alviti Can Give the Offense A Spark

With senior Trevor Siemian struggling through another lost season, it's worth trying to shake things up and see if Matt Alviti can give the Wildcats a spark. The mobile redshirt freshman quarterback got a few rushing opportunities against Michigan, with Pat Fitzgerald and offensive coordinator Mick McCall searching for answers in an ugly game where offensive football went to die on Saturday.

How viable an option Alviti truly is remains to be seen. As most backup quarterbacks tend to be, he's a fan favorite, especially with Siemian struggling behind a porous offensive line. Considering the blocking up front, Alviti might be better off playing, with his mobility giving him a chance to survive.  

With a victory needed Saturday to get Northwestern's bowl hopes alive, Fitzgerald will likely take some chances. Playing the team's quarterback of the future seems like a logical one. 

After Derailing Wisconsin's Season, the Wildcats Defense Needs to Go Big Game Hunting Again 

Nearly 20 years ago, Northwestern's gigantic upset win over Notre Dame is still viewed as the turning point of the Wildcats football program. So even with their Big Ten hopes dashed and very little to play for, Northwestern comes into Saturday with nothing to lose. 

For as bad as this Wildcats football team has been, their upset of Wisconsin sticks out as the obvious high-water mark of the season. What's amazing about the Wildcats' victory is the fact that they were able to allow Melvin Gordon to run for a career-high 259 yards and still come out with the victory.

The Wildcats secondary was able to get to Badgers quarterbacks Joel Stave and Tanner McEvoy, with safety Godwin Igwebuike making three interceptions in a shocking upset victory that's looking more and more improbable as the season goes on. A week after watching interceptions turn Notre Dame's fortune, a surprisingly talented secondary will try to do the same thing this weekend. 

Northwestern will need to do more than just force turnovers. They'll need to get off to a good start, like they did against the Badgers with a 10-0 lead. They'll also need to control the clock, something they did behind true freshman running back Justin Jackson. 

Notre Dame hasn't played Northwestern since the Wildcats pulled off the shocking upset in 1995, winning as 27-point underdogs. Fitzgerald already pulled off a big win against Wisconsin. Do it against Notre Dame, and some will say the season has been salvaged.  

Notre Dame Players to Watch

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Notre Dame's Offensive Line

It was a miserable day for the five men in charge of blocking for Everett Golson. After showing great progress over the past few weeks, and dominating the line of scrimmage against Florida State, Harry Hiestand's offensive line played really poorly against Arizona State. 

While Everett Golson is (rightfully) taking the heat for his performance over the weekend, some of the blame needs to shift to the line in front of him. Batted passes turned into two interceptions. Seven sacks and countless other hurries kept Golson running for his life. 

Missed assignments from various blitz packages created mistakes that erased the explosiveness the Irish displayed against Arizona State. Expect Northwestern to try to create the same type of confusion up front, hoping that the Irish will self-destruct like they did last weekend. 

Max Redfield

Notre Dame's star safety made a team-leading 10 tackles last weekend, including nine solo stops. But it's the one tackle he didn't make that has Irish fans buzzing about the sophomore safety. 

With the Irish within three points and Arizona State taking over with just over six minutes left, Redfield missed a key tackle on the sideline of D.J. Foster, going for the big hit and instead missing completely. Three plays later, the Sun Devils were in the end zone and back ahead by 10 points.

Against Northwestern, Redfield needs to commit to playing a complete game. That means wrapping up on tackles and providing help over the top in coverage against an offense that's really struggling.

Northwestern quarterback Trevor Siemian has only made it through three games without throwing an interception. The opportunities will be there for Redfield to get his first interception since Michigan in early September. But before he can make the great play, he needs to focus on making the routine ones. 

Northwestern Players to Watch

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Justin Jackson

The true freshman running back has been asked to carry the load for the Wildcats, averaging almost 24 carries a game since October. His 4.3 yards per carry is a relatively modest number, but considering the struggles Northwestern has shown moving the ball, Jackson is one of the team's best playmakers.

Just a few months after picking Northwestern as a 4-star recruit with offers from Mississippi State, Boston College, Cal and Missouri, Jackson will be looking to make his mark against a Notre Dame defense struggling in recent weeks.

The Wildcats ended up with negative yardage on the ground against Michigan last week, with Jackson held to just 35 yards on 17 attempts. Northwestern average just 110 rushing yards per game on the season. But if Jackson can establish some type of ground game, the play-action passing game has a chance to take advantage of Notre Dame's young secondary.  

Chi Chi Ariguzo

Northwestern's leading tackler has been rock-solid all season, with his 80 tackles and four tackles for loss key to the Wildcats defensive success. Lined up at the weak-side inside linebacker position, Ariguzo will be in the middle of everything as the Irish try to reestablish their running game after gaining just 41 yards on 38 official attempts last Saturday. 

In Northwestern's 10-9 loss to Michigan last weekend, Ariguzo led the Wildcats in tackles with eight. He's also shown a habit of creating turnovers, with nine career fumble recoveries and six interceptions from his linebacker post. That could come in handy against a Notre Dame team that's lost 19 turnovers this season. 

Prediction

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Just because Notre Dame's playoff hopes are dead doesn't mean you should expect the Irish to fall apart down the stretch. With the offense's first-half implosion against Arizona State still on the minds of every player and coach, expect Saturday afternoon to be a cathartic experience for all involved. 

Brian Kelly hasn't lost consecutive regular-season games since opening up the 2011 season. With Northwestern's offense looking lost and their defense unable to hold up all afternoon against the Irish, a return to the friendly confines of Notre Dame Stadium is exactly what's needed for the Irish to rebound.

Ultimately, Everett Golson is too good of a quarterback to continue to make the same mistakes. And Brian Kelly is too smart of a play-caller to put Golson is those same situations. While Notre Dame's young defense needs to calm down after three straight difficult games, the battle between two academic powerhouses won't be close. 

Final Score: Notre Dame 45, Northwestern 20

*Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand.