First, as much as I criticized Lagow, I don't think I would start Diamont unless RL's head is shot and he mentally can't get in the groove. There is a reason he's the guy.
His father said he runs a 4.7 forty..OK, let's let him challenge the edge a little. At least have something in the bag like the threat of a run and make his faking much more effective. I know that puts a big risk of injury out there and then we have to go with Diamont, but with his body size, I hope he's not fragile. I would love a good day from Redding and Majette to balance out the equation. NU will certainly load the box to stop the run and challenge us to pass. That said, it will give one on one coverage to the outside in many situations. Let's test if the DB's are soft. We have decent receivers , even with the injuries. Let's give someone an opportunity to shine. If we can get a superior athlete in a one on one match up in 1/3 of the field, short or deep, I'll take that.that could lead to some great plays. If NU can cover or the DL get past the line, we may have some trouble. That is when it appears to me RL's decision making gets suspect. So, we need to be able to hold them back. Based on the fact that Illinois State held them to such a low score and Michigan St. put so many points up that doesn't seem unreasonable. If we can do that, and have 0 interceptions, I think we can put it on them.
On defense, we need a good solid game at least. In previous years, asking for that would get you laughed off this board, but this year, I believe we can hold teams and Tom Allen's D has shown that to my satisfaction. I think the D has been the shining spot for this team this year. (Who'da thought we'd be saying that?) How many here think, If we had a couple of key defensive players, this defense could really be outstanding? I don't think we're that far away. Do confusing things up front and get after their QB, let's see if his NU smarts have him dissecting the defense. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. In the case of the latter, hopefully we win the turnover battle and put us in position to win this and set the stage for the next three games. their injury report is light compared to ours so, we need some guys to step up.....opportunity abounds for our guys.
Just my thoughts........