Injury report: Northwestern O-line, wideouts banged up

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It could be a tricky week in the Northwestern passing game, as the Wildcats' offensive line and wide-receiving corps are banged up heading into a Week 2 matchup with Eastern Illinois.

Starting offensive linemen Brad North, Eric Olson and Ian Park are all various degrees of injured, with No. 1 right tackle Olson out, No. 1 center North listed as questionable and No. 1 left guard Park listed as probable.

Similarly, the receivers are dealing with their own injuries. Cameron Dickerson is listed as out for the second straight week. Miles Shuler, who caught two passes for 33 yards in Week 1, is listed as questionable.

[MORE BIG TEN: Rutgers going with Chris Laviano as starting quarterback]

Additionally, safety Jared McGee is out for this week's game.

While we don't know exactly how many of those guys will play, the further injury-related losses to the offense is less than ideal for first-year starting quarterback Clayton Thorson. Thorson rattled off a 42-yard touchdown run to highlight his debut, but he failed to impress much throwing the ball, completing 12 of his 24 passing attempts for 105 yards. While he had some good throws — a second-half, third-down throw to Shuler stood out — he also had a few that were evidence of his inexperience, throws that perhaps should've been intercepted.

Losses on the offensive line and in the wide-receiving corps can't help Thorson's development. Thankfully for Thorson and the Cats, Eastern Illinois is an FCS opponent which lost its season-opening game, 33-5, to Western Illinois.

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