Tressel has outscored Pat's teams 112-17 in two games.We're counting down the weeks until kickoff by profiling a different Big Ten team each week. Today, Fitzy's Wildcats are up.
Pat Fitzgerald is entering his third season at the helm of the Wildcats and is coming off a summer in which he was elected to the college football HOF, being inducted before Chris Spielman, WTF? While Spielman was the best of the two on the field and will be in the hall soon, Fitzgerald holds the edge in the coaching department.
COACHING: Pat has compiled a 10-14 record in his first two seasons and this is expected to be his breakout year. After Randy Walker's sudden passing, Fitzgerald has done a remarkable job at holding this program together and there should be no hot seat for him this year, although his best team is expected and a bowl game is going to be the goal.
OFFENSE: The Wildcats return seven starters on offense, including CJ Bacher and Tyrell Sutton. Bacher lead the conference in yards per game last year, accounting for just over 307 yards per contest, 304 of which came through the air. Sutton enters his senior season, hoping to stay healthy. After eclipsing the 1,000 yard mark in his first two seasons, Tyrell missed over half of last year and finished with just 531 yards on 108 carries.
Sutton will be joined by Omar Conteh, another senior who ran the ball 96 times for 479 yards last season. Both players averaged 4.7+ yards per carry and could be a sleeper dynamic duo in the conference. Bacher returns 3 of his top 4 receivers (all seniors), including Eric Peterman, who caught 66 passes for 744 yards last year. Ross Lane and Rasheed Ward combined for 95 catches, 1083 yards and 7 touchdowns (all by Lane) and will add experience to this receiving corps..
The offensive line will have to replace 3 starters from last year and the returners have a combined 36 starts. With seniors at all the skill positions, the line should have a couple of games to develop, which is going to be key to Northwestern's season.
DEFENSE: Northwestern returns eight starters on defense, but needs to replace 3 of their top four tacklers from last year, including Adam Kadela, the Columbus native who lead the team with 125 tackles.
To help the transition, Fitzy brought in Mike Hankwitz, the DC at Whisky the last two seasons and a veteran of 38 years, 32 of which have been winning seasons. The Wildcats, on average, have given up no less than 25 points a game over the last six seasons, so Hankwitz has his work cut out for him.
Mike's defense should be anchored by his front seven, as the line returns all four starters and the linebackers return 2 of the top 3. The defense last year gave up 31 points a game, so I don't know if returning all of these players is beneficial. Until the Wildcats prove they can consistently stop teams, shootouts could be the norm for the 2008 season.
KEY GAME: The key game for me, is Duke. The Blue Devils came into Evanston last year and knocked off Northwestern 20-14 (Duke's only win). The Blue Devils are under new leadership and back-to-back wins against a Big Ten opponent will only be fuel for the fire of Big10 haters across the country. Another loss, this time in Durham, could send the Wildcats into a disappointing season.
BEST-CASE: Going with my theme for the year, the Wildcats should take care of their OOC schedule, which includes home games against Syracuse, Southern Illinois, Ohio U. and at the aforementioned Duke.
If they go .500 within the conference, they should reach a bowl game and end up with a 8-4 record. Sutton and Bacher are going to lead this team throughout the season, but need to stay healthy. The Wildcats have Whisky and PSU off their schedule, so wins over Iowa and Michigan on the road are going to be vital.
This is going to be a pivotal year for Pat Fitzgerald, his team is going to have high expectations amongst their 10,000 fans and nothing less than a Sun Bowl appearance will be accepted.
For those of you who haven't been to Northwestern for a game, it is worth the trip. You can take a train to the game, drink the only local bar out of beer and sit five rows off the field, then take the train home. It is more of a home game for the Bucks and sweet seats are always available.
Comments
Just a correction - we have Wisconsin and Penn State off our schedule; MSU is on our schedule and coming to Evanston.
And while I have no delusions of grandeur, I must say the 2004 game was one of my highlights as an NU fan...particularly seeing the mostly OSU fanbase leave dejected. But welcome to Evanston, and we'll see you for a great game!
Sutton is still in college? It seems like that kid has been there forever.
NU is my favorite team in the B10, not named OSU. I always pull for them when they aren't playing OSU. They generally play us hard and it's difficult not to root for them after what happened with Walker.
As for Chaddog, unfortunately for you, Zwick has left the building. Like Illinois, the sun shines on a dog's ass every now and then. Beanie is coming and he's bringing the pain!
Thanks Chaddog, it must have been a typo (at least that is what I am claiming). I'm sure the 2004 game was a highlight for you, I was so distraught, I couldn't sleep that night.
I have seen two OSU game in Evanston and it is always a treat.
@Greg Oden's Tonsils (great name, by the way) - trust me, I know. I have no delusions of NU running the table this year, and certainly none of us beating OSU -- I'd just appreciate a good game and a non-embarassing game (trying to keep it within 3 scores would be ideal).
Then again, I said the same thing in 2004 before the game....you never know - this year is looking like the classic NU "good" season: senior leadership at key positions (QB, RB, WR), a couple key additions/gimmicks (Hankwitz as DC will IMMEDIATELY help, as will the return of the no-huddle aspect of our offense), and a favorable schedule (check out our first 9 games -- there is a chance, just a chance, that we could be heading into the OSU game 9-0...honestly. In that case, all bets are off....Evanston can get crazy and loud when the Cats are winning/good).
@Corey - I think you're wrong on the Duke game being key. The season, for us, comes down in my opinion to Purdue/Iowa/MSU. I'm thinking Indiana and Minnesota are potential wins, OSU/Illinois/Michigan (yes, even in a down year) probable losses (though I think we COULD upset Illinois or Michigan), and our non-conference slate could be 4-0 (even though we haven't gone 4-0 in non conference since something like 1962).....that means we need to go 2-1 in the Purdue/MSU/Iowa set (the first two of those games being at home) to go 8-4 and find a warm, fun bowl destination.
But make no mistake: 8-4 is the expectation in Evanston this year. Anything less than that, and the fanbase/team will be pretty disappointed.
Oh, and one more thing -- there are now a LOT more than 1 bar in Evanston....sure, they're not near the stadium, but they're walkable (1-2 miles) from there, and reasonably fun and welcoming, even to Buckeyes.
(Disclosure - my dad raised me in Florida as an OSU fan. Every year, we had to order OSU-Michigan on pay-per-view because it was the same time as Florida-FSU, and neither of us could stand the Florida teams. When I went to Northwestern, I largely gave up rooting for OSU, although I still root for them against Michigan every year. My dad picked up NU as his second team, but still follows the Buckeyes passionately - the happiest moment in his life was when they canned John Cooper. How the Eddie George 1995 Heisman year Buckeyes failed to beat Michigan is still a mystery....although one that, happily, let NU go to the Rose Bowl, prior to my time at school there, though.)
I still have nightmares about the '04 game. That '02 game was also a nailbiter. I remember Clarett having about 12 fumbles that game. I think it gets forgotten how close OSU came to losing that one.
@Anybody that might know:
Would it be safe to travel to Evanston w/o a ticket and planning on buying at the gate or should I buy before I go? If NU is having a good year, I would expect a larger attendance than in years past.
75 percent of the stadium will be scarlet. Try to get a ticket before going up, but if you don't, still go.
@Chaddogg- Thanks for the comments, it is always appreciated. I see your point about the Purdue/Iowa/MSU games and I thought about using that as a key stretch, but because the Duke game is on the road, early in the season, new coaching staff and they lost to them last year, I went with that. I don't expect your boys to lose at Duke, but any early season loss like that can crush any confidence. I come from the belief that all conference tilts are important and any one of the games could be used as a key game. The back to back games against Michigan and OSU late in the season is another example. I am very interested to see how your new DC does, I think an improved defense could carry this team to a great season.
As for the bars in Evanston, I'm sure there are plenty, I know students don't study all the time up there. I just remember the bar we were at (I think the Blue Stone?) ran out of beer 3 different times, there wasn't a Wildcat fan in the entire place and Buckeye fight songs were sung all morning.
Good luck on the season and we will see you November 8th!
@Greg Oden's Tonsils-
I went without a ticket last year and bought two on the streets, as soon as I got off the train. I think you can get tickets there, not a bad seat in the house.
I am rooting for the Wildcats this year. I don't think Fitzgerald gets enough credit for the job he has done since the Randy Walker tragedy. Just looking at their season last year they lost to Duke and got crushed in Columbus. They could have easily mailed it in John L. Smith style after that, but they regrouped and played good football the rest of the way without their best offensive player. I think good things are on the horizon for NU with Fitzgerald at the helm. This year could be the first of many good ones for NU as far as wins and losses go.
We went up to the last Northwestern game before Troy wont he heisman, it was me 2 buddies, and all of our pregnant wives. We drank all day long, one dude I met was a sportswriter for the Jags and his girlfriend was a NU grad. When the bucks took the field his eyes got huge and he said "their oline is bigger than the jags." Then I said, "Their better than the Jags too." burn.
Going to see the Bucks play at NU is an awesome weekend trip. A few of my friends and I(actually, about 15 of us) made the trip during the 2006 season. It was freezing over by the bball arena where we were tailgating, but it was a lot of fun. They're pretty lax on the public drinking laws on campus bc they realize that you're not causing any problems and are just having a good time.
My advice is to dress warm and also to get your tickets for the game throuhg ticket master. It will feel like a home game in chicago. When I went a sea of red filled their stadium and we even got the O-H-I-O chant going. it was a blast and I hope to make the trip again this year.
I also went during the 2006 season. What a great time. It was 75% Buckeyes. It was cold but worth every shiver. Someone actually jumped the "fence" (more like a chain about three feet off of the ground) and rode the "wildcat" statue. I am not condoning that behavior although it was hilarious. On the train ride to evanston from chicago the entire train was packed (standing room only) full of buckeyes and we were singing and cheering it was awsome! If you can make the trip do it. Bring your girl. You get the game and she gets the shopping. How much better can it get? Go Bucks!
I like going to Evanston, but I always drive. Where are folks picking up the train? In Columbus?
Sutton will never, ever graduate. He's like Ian Gold at m*ch*g*n. Guy seemed like a ninth-year senior.
We are talking about the train in Chicago, it drops you off about 1/4 mile from the stadium and it is always packed with OSU fans.
I remeber someone riding willie the wildcat too. Hilarious! No one even thought to stop him. What a great weekend. If I still lived within driving distance to Chicago I would go to this game every year it was there. But I think I will choose to go home during the following weekend for an even better weekend.
I actually live spitting distance to Evanston and will be at the game again this year. '06 was a complete blast and Joe, once you get to Chicago, you can take the Red Line (L) or the Metra (regional rail) and get dumped off right near the stadium.
I'll put up a post as that game nears this year if anyone is planning on making it up and wants to drink with the world-famous 11W crew. You may have to fight through our groupies to talk to us, but it'll be cool.
i'm going to see if i can get dad to come jason so you'll have to help me
112-17?
That could have been the score last year.
Well done, 11W! You are the last bastion of NU conquering the hangover effect from the Dark Ages (1973-1994). Avoid LTP tomorrow as I have ESPN PXP man Eric Collins (Cleveland Heights, OH but lives in Evanston) joining us to relive the 2004 game which he called. I'm begging him to get on the schedule as he is 1-0 in NU-OSU games. In all seriousness, the guy who has everyone psyched is Andrew Brewer. He is a QB-turned-WR who has the small but passionate fan base stoked. Was out last year due to broken arm, but insiders who have seen him will tell you he is a true gamebreaker -even by Ohio St. standards. He's big, superfast and is a tweener to cover for LB/DBs. No delusions of an upset this year against you, but can't wait to see how we rebound from last year's absolute humiliation.
We should destroy these kitty cats. O-H-I-O all around Evanston, baby!
Okay.... I've been on the local train - lots of fun - but I thought perhaps folks were Amtracking it to Evanston. Wow.
I miss the old Northwestern uniforms, with the simple block "N" on the helmet - kind of like Nebraska, if memory serves. My first ever trip to Ohio Stadium was with my father. A member of his congregation had given him tickets to the Northwestern game, and we packed a cooler with bologna sandwiches and hot chocolate and watched OSU put 70-some points on the Kitties. Ah, the good old days, when you could bring your own munchies to the stadium.
I'll see if I can't get up to Evanston this year. I'm going to the USC game, but I'd very much like to see the quality of groupies you all gather around yourselves.
How down is the Big Ten? and do you want to see Ohio State in the MNC again? Discussion/roundtable over on CFN:
http://cfn.scout.com/2/768447....
I'm surprised no one (outside of Dodd) of course, was kicking our Bucks in the nuts, every comment dripping with some snide reminder of the last two title games. Are people in the national media still somewhat positive about Ohio State? Why haven't I seen this in, well, years it seems?
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