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(2) Northwestern Bulls (1-0) vs. Columbus Explorers (1-0)
Friday at Traz Powell Stadium, 7:30 p.m. *War Zone Game of the Week*
A classic Miami-Dade County matchup between two of South Florida’s upper echelon teams.
Northwestern has been the talk of the town since the offseason – when they “loaded up” and assembled what I’d venture to call its most talented team since 2009-10.
The Bulls had good showings in the past couple of weeks – a 53-14 win at Tallahassee Rickards in the preseason classic and a 47-0 week one win over Hialeah American. But the most impressive thing up to this point is how Northwestern is handling the pressure that comes along with the success.
Playing for or coaching at Northwestern comes with a different type of pressure that overwhelmingly surpasses the expectations at just about every other school. Fans and supporters always want more and they always want better, so the the fact the Bulls are a top 50 team in the country means that expectations are exponentially greater.
This week, the Bulls will take on a Columbus team also produced a pair of wide-margin wins during the preseason and week one.
I know a lot of people are casting aside the Explorers for a new “flavor of the month” – Miami High – but I maintain, Columbus is the type of program that fits the saying “you haven’t beat them, until you beat them”.
Looking at the matchups between these teams, I’d say that the Explorers represent the first true test for the Bulls this season.
Columbus is well-coached and they do have talented players. I expect Jeramy Passmore and Dylan Perez – under the direction of D-Line coach Pete Marti – to make a few plays in the backfield and put some pressure on Bulls quarterback Chatarius “Tutu” Atwell.
I also think Columbus will be able to use the aggressiveness of Northwestern’s defense against it to manufacture a couple of scoring drives.
Ultimately, though, the Bulls will prove too much for Columbus. Northwestern has too many offensive firepower – Atwell, Davonne Kendrick, Jacquez Stuart, Justin Hill, and Nigel Bethel Jr. – and too stingy of a defense for the Explorers to combat for 48 minutes.
Northwestern wins Friday as Columbus begins “murderous row” of games – with Miami Carol City (Sept. 9) and Miami Booker T. (Sept. 16) on the horizon.
Bald Prediction = Northwestern wins 34-17
