Comments on: No. 42: Northwestern

By: Five and Five: No. 42, Northwestern - The Quad Blog - NYTimes.com

Five and Five: No. 42, Northwestern - The Quad Blog - NYTimes.com — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:19:51 +0000

[...] country heading into the season opener. Today’s team, No. 42, is Northwestern. You can find a larger Northwestern preview at Pre-Snap [...]

By: Greg

Greg — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:35:28 +0000

The biggest question mark for this time is who will emerge as the team leaders this year? Over the last couple of years, NU has been blessed with greater leadership that enabled the team to overcome devastating injuries, what appeared to be a lack of depth and supposedly insurmountable leads. When NU was 2-2 last year no one outside the locker room (and maybe even a few inside) thought an 8-4 record, 3 straight wins over Iowa, Wiscy, Illinois and an Outback Bowl bid were possible. Given the manageable schedule and returning starters, 8-4 this year is pretty realistic. Whether NU surpasses that will depend to a large degree on leadership from within the team.

By: M Meyer

M Meyer — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 03:38:12 +0000

I expect Northwestern to finish 9-3, thanks to their schedule, their talent, and the quality of Pat Fitzgerald’s coaching, and for the first time I can believe that they will break their bowl game losing streak. The Big Ten is likely to get two teams in the BCS (most likely between Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Iowa), and that shifts every team up a bowl. Northwestern is probably going to the Gator Bowl against a middling SEC squad. Good chance to win. However, if Northwestern moves up to 10-2 (which includes upsetting 1-2 of the stronger Big-Ten teams on its schedule), and makes the Capital One bowl, the bowl losing streak continues against the third or fourth best SEC team.

By: M Meyer

M Meyer — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 03:18:12 +0000

@ Ak: Well, just to be clear, the only mascot of Stanford’s that shows up on the sidelines is the tree. Even though it is the band’s mascot or the unofficial mascot, it’s the one that people see and recognize. So, Stanford cannot escape the controversy of having an ugly mascot until it finally figures out how to embody the color cardinal. May I suggest that they avoid the route taken by Western Kentucky University?http://www.wku.edu/bigred.html

By: NUFIJI59

NUFIJI59 — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 17:40:55 +0000

Very good analysis as I feel ’10 will be a springboard to a BCS bowl game in’11.A win at Happy Valley this year would nearly equal the 1962 18-14 win at the’SHOE which I witnessed and helped give the CATS a #1 ranking a couple weeks later after beating Notre Dame 35-6.

By: gocats2010

gocats2010 — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 14:20:09 +0000

Cats fans get ready for a GREAT year. The schedule lines up well. Never been a better year to head into
Happy Valley at 8-0. Mark these words…Cats will go 11-1 and finally pull out a bowl win. And this will set the stage for a top 20 ranking for 2011, when the Cats will return almost everyone, and a rising star-studded recruiting class!

By: Prairiecat

Prairiecat — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:30:23 +0000

Improved OL run blocking will improve the NU offense, allowing more flexibility in playcalling. In recent years, especially in 2009 when their run blocking was spotty, the Cats have made their offense go with short pass after short pass, stretching the field horizontally. The NU OL is young, big and talented, but it remains to be seen how they’ll play as a unit.

By: Alex Payne

Alex Payne — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 04:01:49 +0000

Admiral Akbar for the win!
The next up would be Ole Miss Rebels.

By: Burnt Orange

Burnt Orange — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 00:15:08 +0000

The Wildcats are a gutsy, entertaining team to watch – I started many a glorious Saturday last fall watching an 11 a.m. (CST) NW game on the Big Ten Network. Now that Mike Leach is on a sabbatical, Coach Fitzgerald is the best interview heading into the locker room at the half. I love the intensity. The Top Five list is, as always, a good one though I remember Mike Stoops being a better player than brother Bob.

By: PurpleHaze

PurpleHaze — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 22:45:23 +0000

If the ‘Cats can win 8 or 9 games this year (especially if they finish it with a bowl win, finally) they should be a favorite to win the Big Ten in 2011. With only 5 projected senior starters (and only one on offense) it’s a very good time to be an NU fan.