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The Northwestern Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald enters his seventh season with the NWU football team, hoping to finally cross the 10-win threshold.
The Wildcats made it the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas in 2011, but lost to the Texas A&M Aggies, 33-22. They finished the season 6-7, and 3-5 in the Big Ten Conference.
According to Stewart Mandel of SI.com, if the Wildcats want to improve in 2012, they well need to show serious progress in the secondary:
Northwestern: Can the 'Cats shore up their secondary?
Northwestern's pass-happy offense is exciting to watch, but its defense could not contain opposing passers last year... Now, Pat Fitzgerald must find replacements for [S Brian Peters], [CB Jordan Mabin] and [CB Jeravin Matthews] (rising sophomore Daniel Jones started for an injured Mabin in the bowl game) while hoping [S Ibraheim Campbell], who finished as NU's leading tackler, makes significant strides this spring. It would also help the defensive backs quite a bit of if their teammates up front could generate a more formidable pass rush.
The Wildcats get started on their 2012 season September 1st, taking on the Syracuse Orange.
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