By Cade Kennedy, Senior Reporter
After a devastating season last year, the Northwestern Rangers are ready to compete on the gridiron.
The Rangers have completely rebuilt the program, as Ronnie Jones has taken over as the head coach for Northwestern. Jones is not the only change on the coaching staff, as nearly every member of last season’s 1-10 squad is no longer in Alva.
The coaching staff is not the only place where change has taken place, as multiple players entered the transfer portal during the offseason. The most notable departure is quarterback Tanner Clarkson, who threw for 1,141 yards and 7 touchdowns in six games.
Despite all these changes, the Rangers still have a lot of work to do to climb out of the bottom of the Great American Conference. The Rangers came in last in the GAC preseason coaches poll, while Ouachita Baptist received eight first-place votes to finish at the top.
This is not surprising, as the Rangers still have several problems that have lingered throughout the past few seasons. The main concern is the defense, as Northwestern gave 39 points per game last season. This included five games where the Rangers gave up at least 44 points, including a 62-31 loss in last year’s season opener against Southern Arkansas.
The Rangers have shown signs of improvement on the defensive end, as the defensive line has done a better job of disrupting the offense in practices. While one or two more stops may not seem like it could make a major difference, the confidence these plays create can drastically change the mindset of a team. If the defense can continue to play with this mindset, the days of getting torched by multiple offenses could soon be over.
The defense is not the only concern the Rangers had last season, as the offense had several opportunities to stay in games, but could never find rhythm. Some of that problem occurred because of injuries, causing the quarterback position to become a rotation of three different players instead of one starter.
Northwestern has not announced a starting quarterback yet, as several players are competing for the job. Despite the position battle, the offense has still had some highlights during practices, with the passing attack looking stronger than the ground game.
The season kicks off on Aug. 31, when the Rangers battle the Boll Weevils of Arkansas-Monticello at Ranger Field at 6 p.m. If Northwestern wins the game, it would be the first home win since November of 2021 when the Rangers defeated Southwestern.
The home schedule contains multiple massive matchups, as the Rangers play Harding in the homecoming game on Oct. 7 at 4 p.m.
The Bisons placed second in the GAC preseason coaches poll and have several playoff appearances in the past decade.
On Oct. 14, former Northwestern head coach Matt Walter returns to Ranger Field when Northwestern faces off against East Central at 2 p.m. The final home game is on Nov. 11, as Northwestern takes on Southwestern in the last game of the regular season.