Northwestern Coach Pat Fitzgerald- Soundbite of the Year

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank, NBC Chicago Street Team This not quite safe at work video, captured by John Tsarouchas of Palestra.net/ESPN UWIRE is a MUST WATCH! Fitz gets candid in describing the offensive line, which has not been very good at run-blocking or pass-blocking this season. (Other than pass and though, they’ve been just fine!) And they were especially bad again in Saturday’s win over Miami of Ohio. NU is 4-2, but in order for them to finish with a winning record, they’ll need to get their running game going, and the OL to play much better down the stretch against tougher competition. Hearing this Ozzie Guillenesque, not for the kiddies gem makes listening to 1,000 “we’re just focusing on what we do” and “we’re just focusing on our next game, not looking ahead” type cliches worth the while.

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Area College Football Teams Need to Step it Up

 Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank, NBC Chicago Street Team  If you follow college football, you know by now that Illinois was pretty much the biggest disappointment coming out of the gate in week one. Of course, that’s another story for another post, they’ll get their shot at redemption tonight when they host Illinois State.

More concerning for the Big Ten conference could be the unexpectedly impressive showing by “Directional Michigan,” who gave the conference numerous problems on Saturday. 15 point underdog Central Michigan upset Michigan State 29-27. (Usually, MSU screws up mid-to late season, and dominates in September. Guess they got started early this season)

Eastern Michigan, a 20 point dog to our hometown Northwestern Wildcats, took NU down to the final seconds before junior place-kicker Stefan Demos nailed a 49 yard field goal with 6 ticks left. And Western Michigan lost to Indiana by just four. Maybe it’s a good thing Northern Michigan is a D-II school in the GLIAC conference. And yes, I did have to look that up. And I’m not sure Southern Michigan University exists, but if they did, they’d likely be a thorn in the side of the Big Ten as well. Not that I’m advocating gambling or anything, but who actually ever picks a school that starts with a direction? Other local favorites in this city, Wisconsin and Ohio State, have looked shaky so far too.

There’s an old football saying claiming, “you improve the most as a team from week one to week two.” If true, it could be a long year for the Big Ten, and maybe a very productive year for the MAC (Mid-American Conference).

“To win a game they way that we did is worrisome across the board. We need to execute better in all aspects. It’s easy when you see the ball run the way it was today, to point the finger at the defensive line. But I’m not prepared to do that yet. I need to watch some video. It is disappointing. We should be better than that,” Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald said after the game. To their credit however, they were missing their top DB (CB Sherrick McMannis) and best DT (Adam Hahn). And their best overall player (DE Corey Wootton) may not even be 100% yet.

 

Another positive to take away is the fact that Northwestern posted its seventh straight victory versus a Mid-American Conference foe, and they avoided their traditional early season slip-up at the hands of a vastly less talented team. Beating EMU by 3 in ’09 is a lot better than losing at home to D-1 laughingstock Duke in ’07 or to D-1AA opponent New Hampshire in ’06. So, the program has shown some growth, at least in the month of September.

And please join in the conversation by commenting in my live college football blog here

See more of Paul M. Banks’ work at the Washington Times, Walter Football.com and The Sports Bank

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Northwestern’s Season off to Fantastic Start

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank, NBC Chicago Street Team

Chicago’s hometown Big Ten team, the Northwestern Wildcats, began the season in a manner that most predicted they would. Granted it was against Towson, an FCS (formerly I-AA) opponent, but a 47-14 win is still a 47-14 win.Quarterback Mike Kafka made a lot of plays, starting 7-8 passing and finishing 15-20 for 192 yards. The strength of the team, the secondary had a good day picking off Towson QB Peter Athens twice and holding him to just 140 passing yards. Senior safeties Brad Phillips and Brendan Smith led the way, as their experience helped them make the proper reads and coverage adjustments into what the opposing offense was doing.

The NU air attack was led by senior Andrew Brewer, who caught a 72 yard TD pass from backup QB Dan Persa, and finished with 6 catches for 145 yards. Since NU lost all their starting receivers from last season, the faithful dressed in purple were glad to see somebody step up. “Everyone talks about our no-name receiving corps, but now you guys know Andrew Brewer, so that’s one,” Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald said.

But it wasn’t just Brewer, as many receivers got in on the act. “It’s always exciting to spread the ball around on offense, I heard 8 different guys caught the ball,” Brewer said.
The spreading the wealth around philosophy also translated to the running back corp, where three of the tailbacks rushed for 30 yards or more, and three of the backs saw at least six carries.

Expect most of the trends from this game to carry over to the rest of the season.

Note: today marks the first installment of The Sports Bank’s new Saturday Live College Football Chat. Check it out here.

Each and every week, we’ll have numerous writers blogging from the press box, at home on the couch, the sidelines, sports bars etc. all around the Big Ten and Midwest. Our comment boards are lighting up with over 60 comments so far, so please join in on the discussion by clicking here.

See more of Paul M. Banks’ work at the Washington Times, Walter Football.com and The Sports Bank

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College Football is Soon Upon Us

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank, NBC Chicago Street Team

Football season commences in about three weeks, and Chicago is the capital of Big Ten Country, so it’s time to sort the league’s macho men from the weaklings. Of course these rankings are highly subject to change. In-depth previews of Chicago’s two teams (Illinois and Northwestern) coming soon!

1. Ohio State

Once again it’s re-loading, not re-building in Columbus. With Boom Herron filling it for Beanie Wells and a whole slew of new talent filling in at key defensive positions, the scarlet and grey will have a new look this fall. Although the Bucks have looked terrible in January bowls lately, they’re still the class of the league, and look for the “sweater vest” to maintain that.

2. Penn State

Like President Barack Obama said, “it’s not enough to change the players, you have to change the game” and the 82 year old Joe Paterno and his staff have innovated the “Spread HD” enough to make the Nittany Lions consistently win again. QB Darryl Clark, LB Sean Lee and DT Jared Odrick are all ballers, and if this team can find some good replacements at OL and CB, the BCS could come calling.

3. Michigan State

It all depends on how well they replace Javon Ringer. They’ll also be breaking in a new starter at Quarterback, but you can tell the new QB, “Dude, you’re getting a Dell,” WR Mark Dell, one of the best in the league. Throw in an outstanding defense led by Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Greg Jones, and they’ll be solid.

4. Northwestern

Sure, they have to replace everybody at the offensive skill positions, but the new starter at QB, Mike Kafka, is an upgrade. With a QB rushing record already on his resume, he’s more of a dual threat (and less of an interception risk) than C.J. Bacher. Not to mention the heart and soul of this team (the defense) returns mostly in tact from last year- when they set a school record for stopping the run. And the easy schedule (Towson, Eastern Michigan, no Ohio State or Michigan) just screams ten win season.

5. Iowa

They have some big, dominating corn-fed boys on the O line who can go to-to-toe with just about any front seven. But losing some of their defensive playmakers (and trying to replace RB Shonn Greene with Jewel Hampton) will take its toll. If their Jewel is IGI Certified, not a Cubic Zirconia 8-4 or better looks reasonable.

6. Illinois

A program with no consistency. The orange and blue often falter under high expectations and only seem to thrive when people don’t take them seriously. This fall, projections are mixed, so 7-5 and a third-tier bowl sounds about right. With the combination of QB Isaiah “Juice” Williams and WR Arrelious “Rejus” Benn (go to 7-to-9.com), the offense will shine brighter than the diamond in Juice’s right ear. However, defense was lacking last season, and they lost their best playmakers, so mediocrity is imminent.

For the Full Conference Power Rankings click here

See more of Paul M. Banks’ work at the Washington Times, Walter Football.com and The Sports Bank

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Whose Drought Ends First- Cubs, Hawks, or Northwestern?

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank, NBC Chicago Street Team

Being a fan of Chicago sports can sometimes be as character building as walking outside for long distances in January.

With Northwestern’s tournament bubble officially bursting last weekend, baseball getting ready to kick off, and the NHL playoffs commencing the week after, it’s a fine time to revisit the long-suffering dry spells that are Chicago’s very own.

Before reading on, please do remember this George Michael lyric from his Wham! days: “There’s no comfort in the truth, pain is all you’ll find.”

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Big Ten Tournament Preview

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank, NBC Chicago Street Team

When the 12th Annual Big Ten men’s basketball tournament tips off Thursday it will feature one of the deepest fields in recent years. If a couple of the bubble teams make a strong showing at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, as many as nine teams could have a case to be in the Big Dance next week.

Michigan State (25-5, 15-3) claimed the No. 1 seed after capturing the Big Ten title for the fifth time under Tom Izzo. Illinois (23-8, 11-7) earned the No. 2 seed, while Purdue (22-9, 11-7) clinched the No. 3 spot. Wisconsin (19-11, 10-8) claimed the No. 4 seed and Ohio State (20-9, 10-8) earned the No. 5 seed.

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Wildcats Approach School Record for Wins

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank, NBC Chicago Street Team

If you saw the highlights of Northwestern’s shocking upset at #20 Purdue on the Big Ten Network last night, you might have seen the line reading “17 wins by Northwestern ties school record.” That’s incorrect. Their next victory, which could come Sunday at Ohio St., would be their 18th. That would tie the school record set by the 1982-83 squad led by Jim Stack.Yes, the Jim Stack. His group beat Notre Dame in the NIT first round before losing to DePaul in the 2nd round. Lots of local representation in the 1983 National Invitational tournament. NU’s 1931 Big Ten championship team has the best record in school history (16-1), and if you vividly recall that- congratulations on living a long and healthy life!

Getting back to today, the Cats have won three in a row, partially thanks to Big Ten player of the week, sophomore point guard Michael “Juice” Thompson. “I feel myself and the rest of my teammates are playing their best basketball right now. People say it’s good to be playing your best basketball going into March and tournament time,” Thompson said.

Despite what some pundits are saying a win in Columbus will NOT equal the program’s first NCAA tournament berth. Not with an 81st ranked RPI, 61st strength of schedule and below .500 conference record. In order to avoid saying a Cublike “just wait till next year,” about March Madness, they’ll need to run the Big Ten Conference Tournament table in Indianapolis. If they had effectively closed the deal in at least two of the four games in which they blew double-digit second half leads…they’d likely have a ticket to the Big Dance.

However, the school which hosted the first NCAA tournament yet never played in one (with apologies to Alanis Morrissette, “Isn’t it ironic, don’t you think?”) will obtain a postseason berth of some sort. Northwestern Wildcats does include the letters N-I-T. After last year’s horrid 8-22, 1-17 in conference debacle, any postseason berth is greatly appreciated in Evanston. “I may be their biggest fan. I love what Northwestern does and I’ve always had great respect for the way Bill’s {Carmody} teams execute to precision,” Iowa Coach Todd Lickliter said after his Hawkeyes lost to the Cats last Saturday.

See more of Paul M. Banks’ work at the Washington Times and The Sports Bank

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Illini vs. Northwestern: One-Sided Rivalry

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank, NBC Chicago Street Team If there’s one game that Northwestern circles on the schedule each year, it’s Illinois. The Illini directly compete with them within the city of Chicago on all levels: for coveted recruits, building a dedicated fan base, and the publicity of coverage from the nation’s third largest media market. While NU fans utterly despise Illinois, Illini Nation abhors Indiana, the only Big 10 program with more tournament appearances and wins than Illinois, the most. Eric Gordon certainly turned that up a notch! It may not be Duke/North Carolina, but it’s unfortunate that this season sees our in-state rivals meet just once: Thu 8PM at Welsh-Ryan Arena, ESPN2.

Illinois-Northwestern is an exciting rivalry in football, but in basketball it’s EXCEEDINGLY one-sided. UI leads the all-time series 125-34, with a 60-21 advantage in Evanston. The Illini also carry a nine-game series winning streak into Thursday’s game. However, nothing is certain for opponents game-planning against the Wildcats’ unique style on both ends of the court (Princeton set on offense, 1-3-1 zone on defense) Despite the recent records overwhelmingly in Illinois’ favor, Illini senior point guard Chester Frazier expressed caution towards the Wildcats, who enter the game with an 11-2 home record and the nation’s 20th ranked scoring defense. “That’s gonna be one of the roughest games of the year in my opinion. Their style of play is very different, very unorthodox. With the 1-3-1 they cause a lot of turnovers and create a lot of havoc, so we gotta take care of the ball and be ready to play every possession,” Frazier said.

Northwestern senior two-guard Craig Moore is NU’s emotional and scoring leader. He’s also second nationally in 3pt field goal percentage. Moore discussed the Illini’s upcoming visit to the North Shore. “It’s a good rivalry, they’ve handled us a bit the past couple times we’ve played them,” NU’s all-time three point scorer said. Even though Illinois has looked uglier than Michael Phelps’ recent PR on the road, I predict they’ll win 61-59. They have an impressive RPI of 15, according to all 3 (Real Time, ESPN Inside, and Jerry Palm) ratings percentage indices. The Illini slaughtered the Wildcats 70-37 in their only meeting last year and Cats coach Bill Carmody is just 1-14 against the Orange and Blue.

See more of Paul M. Banks’ work at the Washington Times and The Sports Bank

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Can Wildcats Roar into the Tourney?

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank

In December, the Northwestern Wildcats got off to an 8-2 start, the best beginning during head coach Bill Carmody’s time in Evanston. The Cats’ pre-conference performance yielded votes in the polls and a national RPI climbing as high as 11 that month.

But that hot start turned as cold as the recent weather when NU dropped their next five, including the first four of Big Ten play. On Sunday, the Wildcats stopped the slide by upsetting #18 Minnesota who came into the game 16-1.

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Northwestern Can Win Their Bowl Game (Really)

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank Despite having a higher record and better national ranking than their opponent, #20 Northwestern (9-3) finds themselves the biggest underdog of the bowl season to #23 Missouri (9-4) in Monday night’s Alamo Bowl. Odds-makers have the Tigers a two touchdown favorite over the Wildcats in this San Antonio battle of los gatos peligrosos. On paper, it’s strength versus strength: Northwestern’s 23rd ranking scoring defense versus Mizzou’s 6th ranked offense. If NU wins this side of the ball, they should have their first bowl victory since 1949.

Throw your Hands in the Air…as if you’re Unconcerned

Missouri has huge playmakers everywhere on offense- senior QB Chase Daniel (358 of 484-4,135-37 TDs-15 INT) who often finds electrifying WR Jeremy Maclin (95-1,221-12 TDs) and TE Chase Coffman (83-920-10 TDs). Oh, and the backup QB is named Chase Patton, just in case you thought this team didn’t have enough people with that obscure first name already. (Does Missouri have Chase Bank as one of their sponsors?) And don’t forget tailback Derrick Washington (162-992-17 TDs).

Daniel’s NFL Draft stock is about as high valued as Washington Mutual due to his lack of size. He’s listed at 6’0”, but in reality he’s as close to being 6 as I am to being 9 feet tall. NU’s primary strength this year has been their defensive line, so when they get near Daniel, they must “throw their hands way up in the air and wave ‘em around like you just don’t care,” to disrupt Chase’s passing-lanes vision or (better yet) deflect his passes and hopefully pick off a couple. This is highly doable considering team MVP and DE Corey Wootton is 6’7”, NFL bound DT John Gill is 6’3,” and the rest of the line is that height or taller.
I asked Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year finalist and NU head man Pat Fitzgerald about employing this strategy at the bowl selection announcement presser. “Chase from a quarterback standpoint, maybe he’s not the tallest guy, but he’s very athletic; makes a lot of plays and does a good job extending the plays,” Fitz responded, also adding prior “Like 118 other schools across the country we made a mistake in not recruiting him.”

Prediction- Northwestern 28, Missouri 24. Is 2008 the year of the underdog? Ask the Celtics, Giants, and Phillies! Or maybe I’m just drinking purple colored Kool-Aid.

FOR THE FULL IN-DEPTH VERSION OF THIS PREVIEW/PROFILE OF THIS GAME CLICK HERE.

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Illini and Wildcats off to surprisingly Good Starts

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank Most college basketball geeks around the country didn’t expect much from Illinois -predicting them to reach the NIT at best- and Northwestern, who has never reached the NCAA tournament in program history. Their conference, the Big Ten, was expected to be very weak as far as the six power conferences go. Yet our state’s two Big Ten teams have a combined record of 11-1 today. As the made-for-ESPN event that is the Big Ten/ACC Challenge begins, the Midwestern power conference has a 55-9 overall record, second to (yes, you guessed it) the ACC’s 61-10. What’s the secret to this early season success? Defense, as the Big Ten is first in scoring against average, holding opponents to 59.3 points per game. Northwestern is second only to Ohio State with a 50.2 scoring against average. Illinois is third, yielding 56.2 ppg.

After a 59-43 drubbing of UC-Riverside, NU coach Bill Carmody spoke about the size added to his lineup this year and how it’s improved his team’s defense. “They (bigger teams getting extra shots) have plagued us for years. I don’t know if the big guys necessarily get all the rebounds, but they’re always at least keeping their man away from it, so maybe it’s just our presence inside,” Carmody said. Senior guard Craig Moore, holder of the school record for three-pointers, talked about the team’s new crashing-the-boards philosophy and how it helps augment the team defense. “Coach always says in practice, keep crashing, keep crashing, he told me to crash and I looked at him like he was crazy, but it’s a different style and we’re just trying to play hard and really get after it on defense,” Moore said.

On the other end of the floor, both teams have found unexpected leaders. Point guard Juice Thompson runs NU’s Princeton offense with a solid 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. And if you play the one at a Big Ten school, “juice” is the perfect word to describe your on-campus reputation. The Illini were expected to rely heavily on their guards for offense this year, but their leading scorer, Mike Davis actually plays the four. Mike Tisdale, his complement in the post, was just named Conference player of the week. Sure, the season is less than a month old and the Big Ten has largely feasted on cupcake teams with almost as many hyphens in their names as victories, (both UI and NU beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi by about 20 points) but both squads look much better than expected so far.

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Defense Leads Northwestern to 5th Ever Nine-win Season

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank By demolishing their bitter rival, the University of Illinois, on Saturday the Wildcats earned a No. 20 ranking — their highest of the season — in this week’s USA Today Coaches’ poll. The Cats concluded the regular season by becoming just the fifth team in school history to win nine games in a season. Should they win their bowl game (destination announced on Dec. 7th), it will be their first postseason victory since 1949; and the ten win season would join the 1995 Rose Bowl team as the only squads in program history ever to do so. With no real individual statistical standouts, on offense at least, it speaks volumes about Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald’s stressing of defense and playing collectively. Two team statistics certainly catch your eye however; NU’s current 127.7 rushing yards allowed per game is the best single-season average in school history and the Cats were first in the Big Ten (10th nationally) in sacks. They were also 24th out of 117 teams nationwide in scoring defense. A big reason for that is defensive end Corey Wootton, whose 9 sacks and 15 tackles for loss helped him earn a first-team All-Big Ten coaches selection.

“Corey has always been a tremendously talented member of our program, and this honor is well deserved,” head coach (and former two-time National defensive player of the year) Pat Fitzgerald said. “He came to camp this year with the right attitude and he has done a great job in his preparation all season long. He may be our only first-team All-Big Ten guy this year, but I think we have a first-team All-Big Ten football team.” At last week’s press conference Fitz also added, “I have not seen Corey take one play off in practice or in games this year, his efforts on top of his technique and fundamentals have been outstanding.” First year NU defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz has also done a tremendous job developing Corey.

Possibly validating Fitzgerald’s All-Big Ten team claim, eight additional players were named honorable mention selections: John Gill, Keegan Kennedy, Sherrick McManis (who also finished among national leaders in pass breakups), Eric Peterman, Brad Phillips, Brendan Smith (who combined with Phillips to give the Cats outstanding play at the safety position this year), Tyrell Sutton and Amado Villarreal. The Wildcats final 2008 contest will be a Bowl game to be determined, with the Outback, Alamo or Insight looking the most likely.

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Illini Juice not Fresh Enough

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank The St. Louis-bred social philosopher Nelly once told us, “Can’t nobody stop the juice, so baby tell me what’s the use” in his 2002 hit “Hot in Here.” This maxim was true for opposing defenses all season as Illinois quarterback Juice Williams broke the school record for single season total offense with 3,892 combined passing and rushing yards. On his way to breaking the record of Tony Eason –the New England Patriots starting QB in Super Bowl XX- Juice broke single game total offense records for both Memorial Stadium and Michigan Stadium, the latter of which is especially impressive given the rich history of Michigan Wolverines football.

Unfortunately, the rest of the Fighting Illini didn’t have juice like Williams did on the field. After 2007’s Rose Bowl Champaign campaign, most people in Illini Nation expected a similar encore in 2008. Instead, Illinois finished just 5-7 after getting walloped by #20 Northwestern 27-10 on Saturday. This “earned” them the dubious distinction of being the first team to go from Rose Bowl one year to no bowl the next since (well, Illinois again in) 1984. However that team was sanctioned by the NCAA and allowed no bowl appearance. The last team to legitimately go from Roses to thorns was over 40 years ago. Soon after Juice watched the fans of his rival team storm Ryan Field in celebration, I asked him if expectations were too high in Champaign and if that led to collapse: “I don’t think the pressure really got to us, I think it’s more a matter of not coming out every Saturday and performing like we know we can. We can’t have morale victories out there. We can’t have games where we say we should have won that game, that’s not enough. We’re at the point where we can win games, we just got to go out there and do it.”

Had Illinois won and later secured a bowl berth, it would have been the first time since 1992 that the program procured consecutive bowl game seasons. Juice talked about the pain and disappointment of coming up just short. “It’s like you expect something on Christmas and then you wake up and it’s not there: It’s the type of feeling you have when you realize there’s really nothing more you can do about it…We worked so hard to come out and be successful and to be one game short of being bowl eligible is a feeling that is going to eat at you.”

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BCS Ranked Northwestern Prepares for #12 Ohio State

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank The 7-2 Northwestern Wildcats are nationally ranked 25th in the USA Today Coaches’ poll and just moved back into the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings at No. 24. The BCS standings first appear in mid-season and NU checked in at #22 with a record of 6-1 at the time. Of course, Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald and his players constantly remind us how they are actually “0-0 again, at the start of each game week.” The day after the initial 2008 BCS rankings were released, senior wide receiver Eric Peterman gave us the quote of the week, playing on the familiarity of this mega-cliché by stating, “We are the first 0-0 team in the history of the BCS. I’m very proud of that.”

It’s a good thing the Cats aren’t getting complacent because coming to town is the 12th ranked team in all the polls: the Ohio State Buckeyes, winners of 13 straight Big Ten road games. This is by far, the biggest game of the season for the Wildcats, who last week solidified a postseason birth for the first time since 2005. They will probably have their starting quarterback C.J. Bacher returning, but will also have to start one of their third choices at tailback with both the first and second-string out with injuries.

A sold out Ryan Field will showcase Buckeye playmakers on both sides of the ball. Leading the way will be middle linebacker and Butkus Award favorite James Laurinaitis. “He’s as good as advertised,” said Fitzgerald, who was named one of 15 finalists for the Munger Coach of the Year award this week. Fitz won the 1995 and 96 National Defensive Player of the Year awards himself as a linebacker. “In their secondary, they fly, they’re fast. Malcom [Jenkins, senior OSU cornerback] is a first day guy, they have first-day guys all over the place,” Fitzgerald said in describing all the potential NFL first round draft picks within the Buckeye defense. Laurinitis currently has top ten overall draft stock and outside linebacker Marcus Freeman is projected as a second round commodity. This complements Chris “Beanie” Wells on offense, the nation’s blue chip prospect at tailback.

The last two meetings with Ohio St. have yielded a “Dead Cat Bounce” with Northwestern taking a beating worse than the Dow Jones average has lately. Last year OSU whacked NU 58-7 after beating them 54-10 the season before. This game, kicking off at 11AM and televised on ESPN2, figures to be much closer on paper.

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NU Victorious in Homecoming Event

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank You know it’s a big game for Northwestern when Ronnie Woo Woo is in the house. However, plenty of people with much more juice than Mr. Woo (or is it Mr. Woo Woo?) were at Ryan Field for Northwestern’s 48-26 Homecoming win over Purdue. Representatives from the Rose Bowl, as well as the Big Ten’s second and third place bowls (those games both possess corporate names) were on hand as well as NU Alum and Olympic Gold-Medalist Matt Grevers, who served as Homecoming Grand Marshal. “Being here is incredible, I’ve bled purple for quite some time and I grew up in the area, so it really meant something today to be here on the field. It was a warm, fuzzy feeling,” he said. Grevers won the silver medal in the 100m backstroke at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and was a part of two Gold Medal winning relay teams. After my interview, he let me hold his Gold Medal.

Also attending was All-American offensive tackle Chris Hinton, who served as honorary Co-Captain. Hinton played 13 years in the NFL and made seven Pro Bowl appearances. All the notables and dignitaries saw the Wildcats pick off Purdue Quarterback Curtis Painter (the Big Ten signal caller with the highest NFL Draft potential) three times and beat the Boilermakers very decisively. We’ve all heard the exceedingly shopworn football cliché “we start 0-0 each week” or “we just try to go 1-0 every week.” However, in Evanston they have an interesting spin on that specific platitude. The players and coaches talk about “flushing it” each week. Win or lose, flush the last game’s mindset and move on to the next one. Their 6th win secures bowl eligibility, so how will they “flush” a “bowl” clinching win? Pun intended!

With a 6-1 start, an increased buzz is inevitable. “There’s something special going on here at Northwestern. You guys can sense it that have been around for awhile and those of you that are here for the first time, don’t be a stranger cuz there’s something special going on at our campus and it’s starting to feel the same as when I was a student-athlete here,” Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald said at the post game press conference, comparing the current atmosphere to that of his playing days while a member of the last Northwestern Rose Bowl team.
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Northwestern Off to Best Start in Nearly 50 years

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank By winning at Iowa a couple weeks ago, the Northwestern Wildcats extended their best start in 46 years. In 1962, Northwestern began the year 6-0 and was ranked No. 1 nationally for two consecutive weeks. The Wildcats’ five-game winning streak is their longest since 1996, the senior season of current Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald. Experts are comparing this team’s defense to the “Purple Pasadena” season of 1995. Halfway into the season however, the ’08 team has accomplished one thing that all three (’95, ’96, ’00) modern era Conference Championship teams did not. All three Big 10 championship squads dropped an early pre-conference game to an inferior opponent: 95-Miami of Ohio, 96-Wake Forest, 00- TCU/ This year’s squad, by contrast, won all the games they were favored to win. And it’s created a bit of a buzz on campus.

“I’ve seen some people on campus decide to jump on the bandwagon. We don’t want to be known as only an academic school; we want to be known for great academics and athletics. We want people to stop wearing Michigan or Ohio St. shirts, and start representing our school and bleeding purple. It’s ok to have bandwagon jumpers, but we also want people who will support us all the way from an 0-11 season to a 12-0 season,” senior tailback Tyrell Sutton said.

That buzz is poised to grow when you consider that Northwestern is one of just 15 unbeaten FBS programs, and that status brought them into this week’s USA Today Coaches (22) and Harris Interactive (23) national polls. Their opponent Saturday, Michigan State, also found themselves in the top-25 (No. 23/19/21, AP/USA Today/Harris). The Spartans, winners of their last five, feature a Heisman trophy candidate in senior tailback Javon Ringer. Nationally, he’s second in rushing yards per game and first in touchdowns this season.

“When I look at the tape it doesn’t take long to see the success their offensive line has had in opening holes for arguably, if not the best back in the Big Ten, then one of the best, and also in the country. He’s a very physical back with great patience, plays well behind his pads and seems like he gets stronger as the game goes along,” Fitzgerald said.

The winner of Saturday’s game will remain unbeaten in Big Ten play and also gain bowl-eligibility. Plenty of good tickets remain and can be purchased by calling 847-491-CATS or visiting NUsports.com

For more Chicago Sports Analysis and discussion.

For Washington Times.com blog “Chicago Blue State.”

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Cubbies of College Football

Paul M. Banks a.k.a. The Sports Bank

The media has certainly beaten a dead horse concerning the Cubs and 1908. But have you heard much about 1949? It’s the last time the Northwestern Wildcats won a postseason game. With college football bowl bids as plentiful as Amy Winehouse legal infractions these days, it’s quite a streak! Like the “Lovable Losers” in Wrigley Field, they’re another Chicago team that went through an embarrassingly LONG losing spell in the 60s, 70s and part of the 80s. However, in the last 25 years, both the ‘Cats (’05, ’03, ’00, ’96, ’95) and Cubbies (’07, ’03, ’98, ’89, ‘84) have been to the postseason a previously uncharacteristic 5 times!

Is this, the sixth trip, the breakthrough year for both? Many college football experts forecasted Northwestern to be 8-4 this season and their schedule certainly seems to be conducive to obtaining this mark. They looked impressive in week one, as their defense -a unit provoking much skepticism- held Syracuse to just 225 total yards. The Cats gained almost 500 yards of their own on the way to a 30-10 victory. Remember, Illinois went to the Rose Bowl at 9-3 last season, so an NU upset somewhere along the line could actually mean a BCS bid. No, Seriously! The Wildcats are coached by Pat Fitzgerald, a native of suburban Orland Park, and All-American Linebacker/National Defensive player of the year during his playing days at Northwestern. His teams won back-to-back Big Ten titles in 1995 and 1996.

Current star tailback Tyrell Sutton, a Doak Walker Award (best national collegiate running back) candidate, is on pace to become the school’s all-time leading rusher. That feat is quite impressive considering the school’s tailback tradition includes recent or current NFL backs Jason Wright, Damien Anderson, Noah Herron and Darnell Autry.

The final similarity they share with the Cubs is seeing their home field star on the silver screen. Universal Pictures shot the football scenes from the soon-to-be-released movie, “The Express” at Ryan Field. The movie profiles former Syracuse Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis, the first African American to win the prestigious award. Numerous films have featured the Friendly Confines.

You can hear my audio exclusives with Fitzgerald and Sutton, by following the hyper-linked text. They both address the program’s bowl game victory drought. For more Chicago sports analysis and talk go here.

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