Oct. 13--Northwestern will be without starting cornerback Matthew Harris indefinitely, coach Pat Fitzgerald said Monday. Harris suffered bone fractures in his face while making a tackle against Michigan late in the third quarter Saturday.
"Matt will be out for at least the foreseeable future," Fitzgerald said during a news conference in downtown Chicago. "I am not going to put a timetable on him. ... Probably a good time to ask me will be after the bye week (Oct. 31)."
In the meantime, the 20th-ranked Wildcats (5-1, 1-1 Big Ten) are trying to "flush" the memory of their 38-0 defeat to the Wolverines while preparing for No. 17 Iowa (6-0, 2-0) on Saturday at Ryan Field.
"We put ourselves in third-and-long the entire day, which, with their defense, is a recipe for disaster," Fitzgerald said of Michigan, which has shut out three straight opponents.
The Wolverines limited Justin Jackson to 32 yards on 12 carries and the Wildcats to 38 net rushing yards, including sacks.
"We've got to get our run game going," Fitzgerald said. "That's our bread and butter. Iowa will make it another challenging week. They are very good up front. They are very good at linebacker. Their safeties get involved in run fits. It's going to be a challenge."
Reunion time: As part of homecoming weekend, Northwestern will observe the 20th anniversary of the 1995 Rose Bowl team.
"I typically don't talk about me a lot. If I were to reference that squad, I would talk about what the team accomplished," said Fitzgerald, an All-America linebacker on that Big Ten championship team. "That group had a lot of fun. You know, winning helps when you do that. But that group had great brotherhood."
fmitchell@tribpub.com
