Kafka in control...and Jeske's chant

Straight outta Evanston...

Backup quarterback Mike Kafka took all of the first-team snaps on Tuesday morning as Northwestern practiced inside to prepare for Minnesota's "Rollerdome" atmosphere.

"The more you get out there, the more you get used to the speed of the game," Kafka said. "The game slows down for you. We're just trying to get better as an offense day-in and day-out."

Kafka hasn't been declared the starter for the game. First-stringer C.J. Bacher, who attended the practice and basically hung close beside offensive coordinator Mick McCall the whole time, is still listed as questionable after injuring his right hamstring on Saturday at Indiana.

In other Cats news:
--Remember how Northwestern committed 5 turnovers on Saturday and Indiana didn't commit any? That ratio reversed itself on Tuesday. The first-string defense forced the scout team into 5 turnovers, while the first-string offense was flawless.

"We had 100 percent ball security," said coach Pat Fitzgerald. "That's all we can control and that's what we prepared...there's no doubt it's a point of emphasis on both sides of the ball and the kicking game."

--After the first-string defense forced one of its turnovers, reserve linebacker Chris Jeske did a roundoff on the sidelines. Jeske, whose promising on-the-field career has been ruined by injuries to this point, has maintained a presence as a leader and role model.

To help rev up the defense on Tuesday, Jeske was chanting this from the sideline: "Eat his heart! Eat his heart!"

Love it.

Read more in Wednesday's Daily Herald.

LW