Oh boy.
Northwestern's best running back, sophomore Mike Trumpy, is done for the year after his knee took a bad twist against Illinois on Saturday. Just when things were going well, huh?
The ballcarrier sophomore wasn't listed as starter on the depth chart but had taken the lion's share of carries at running back and was clearly the best player coming out of the backfield, leading the team's corps in runs and yards. He was tearing up Illinois on the ground with 12 carries for 63 yards before getting hurt, and, well, sadly, it's serious.
After leaving the game, NU's run game sputtered - although Dan Persa got hurt pretty simultaneously. Treyvon Green looks promising and did have nearly 70 yards on 17 carries, and Jacob Schmidt actually had one of the best runs of his career churning his legs into the end zone for NU's final touchdown, but I don't think anybody can act like Trumpy hasn't been the best runner. Adonis Smith has looked alright but only had one carry against Illinois despite not being on the injury report. We best not burn Jordan Perkins' redshirt. And last but not least, Alex Daniel has been practicing with the scout team, but I think this is just to confuse everybody - he isn't on NU's roster.
To be especially frustrating, Trumpy played in one too many games to qualify for a medical hardship year. (You need to play in 20 percent or less of your team's game, that means 3/12, or 25 percent, is too many.)