I don’t want to turn this into a massive complaint about the Big Ten Network, but as I know many readers had this issue I think it is worth mentioning. Tonight many Wildcat fans around the nation went to their computers to watch the start of what many assume is THE year. What they saw was the Big Ten Network logo and a clock counting upwards. Even as the Wildcats took on RMU in the first half this didn’t change. Obviously, technical difficulties can occur in any situation with technology, but the BTN didn’t do itself any favors winning over fans tonight. The positive is that the BTN was willing to quickly refund money and did get the web steam working in the second half, but it certainly wasn’t in HD quality as promoted.
The question I think many fans asked themselves as they stared at the blank screen was, “Did the BTN test this web thingy from Welsh-Ryan?” I don’t know. That’s a good question, though. Especially when past streams from W-R have had issues. If BTN is going to continue to use this type of service they will need to get more consistent in their service.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Preview: Robert Morris University @ Northwestern
The Match up:
When: Wednesday November 4th
Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena (
Broadcast Information: Big Ten Network On Demand at http://www.bigtennetwork.com/ for $2.99
Fun Fact: Last time Northwestern played
The Game: As opposed to analyzing whether Northwestern has a shot to beat
First, I want to see how NU scores points from behind the three point line without Craig Moore. Michael Thompson is NU’s best returning percentage shooter and Kevin Coble can of course knock down treys, but
Second, and probably most obviously, I want to see the starting lineup. Moore and Kyle Rowley started most of NU’s games last year. With
Third, I want to see Drew Crawford play. Crawford arrives in
Fourth, what defense does NU play? RMU has some solid wing scorers. With the 1-3-1 vulnerable to the wing three this game might provide NU an excuse to work on man-to-man. With Crawford now on the roster, I do think NU is getting closer to having solid man-to-man defenders at every spot.
Fifth, who is in the rotation? As we learned last year not every exhibition features the real rotation, but I’m curious how (or if) guys like Mike Capocci, Ivan Peljusic, and Jeff Ryan will be used. They have Big Ten talent, but it kind of looks as if they might have been passed by when looking at NU’s last two recruiting classes.
Finally, did the ‘Cats make any noticeable strides in the weight room which will lead to better rebounding. Word is that Shurna and Coble have added muscle. It would be nice if NU were at least a little closer to their opponents when it comes rebound margin this season.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Smart Aggressive Versus Dumb Aggressive
A number of NU fans have gotten on Coach Fitzgerald for what they’ve called unaggressive play calling. I personally would like to see Fitz take a few more risks than he currently does. However, after this weekends game against Indiana, I think it is time to discuss the difference between playing smart aggressive and playing dumb aggressive. Between being aggressive in order to help your team win, and being aggressive just because it seems time to try something.
For the record, this discussion is relevant in any sport. I personally coach baseball and talk about this all the time. We tell our players we’re going to give them the green light to steal a base whenever they want because we want to put pressure on our opponent and “make them play different than they practice”, however, we aren’t going to continue to give a player the green light if he tries to steal third with two outs and a 2 ball 0 strike count on our cleanup hitter. If a player does that, he’s not being smart aggressive. He’s being aggressive for aggressiveness sake and not to help the team win.
I think what we saw this weekend from Indiana was a coaching staff that seemed like they wanted to be aggressive for aggressiveness sake. The result was a series of dumb aggressive fourth down calls which kept NU in the game. The most obvious of these was the 4th and goal in which not only did Indiana go for the TD, but they called some sort of trick pop-pass play with wildcat back Mitchell Evans in as quarterback. If Indiana had at least gone for 4th and goal with a normal power running formation the mistake might have been more excusable, but Coach Lynch and his staff tried to pull a rabbit out of their collective hat when just putting the hat on their heads would have been fine. An IU field goal at that point and NU has to score a TD to win on their final drive.
Coach Fitz, despite his conservative reputation, actually provided a great counter to Lynch in this game. Fitz and the NU staff made what I would call a smart aggressive call on the 3rd and 8 delay draw to Jeravin Matthews on NU’s final drive. Now, you might be asking what makes a simply run play aggressive. What makes the play an example of aggressiveness is NU hadn’t run that play all season. Therefore, it was risky to call in such a clutch situation, however, the play had a high reward factor as Fitz knew that if executed correctly it could break for a big gain. If not, NU would be in forth and long and Stefan Demos would have had a tougher task kicking the game winner. You see, the difference is there was a positive reward to Fitz’s aggressiveness compared with Lynch’s. Lynch could have had a NU in a situation where they needed 2 TD’s if he’d just played it safe and kicked the FG. Fitz on the other hand knew that taking a chance with a semi-trick play could help NU get into easy winning FG rang and run off some valuable time on the clock. Fitz’s risky play call was much smarter.
Now, the question becomes where else can Fitz be smart aggressive. I think the fans calling for multiple double passes with Brewer and Persa this week aren’t really thinking smart. Yes, PSU’s defense is good, but you also can’t trick them more than once or twice at the most. What Fitz needs to do this week is take a lesson from his two mentors Gary Barnett and Randy Walker. Barnett was the master of the smart aggressive call, but Walker wasn’t bad either. In contrast, Fitz is been mostly not aggressive during his head coaching career. In fact, Fitz really is known for two aggressive moves one smart (and successful) and one dumb (and not successful). It’s also amazing how being dumb aggressive also results in failure more than success. Fitz’s brilliant aggressive move was starting the second half of the Illinois game in 2006 with an outside kick. That allowed NU to go down the field and score and helped put the game away (I’d love to see that game again by the way if anybody has a copy). Fitz’s failed aggressive move was the infamous 4th and 3 against Duke in which he took points of the board to try and covert.
So what can Fitz do this week (and in the future) which is like Barnett and Walker. Well, Barnett always seemed to have one solid trick play ready each week. He had the double passes for Michigan and Iowa, he had Gator vs Michigan in ’96 and a slew of others over the years. He also waited until the key moment in the game to use these, but they were in the playbook for when the smart aggressive surprise was needed. Fitz might need one in the next few weeks.
Coach Walker was the master of the well timed fake punt or field goal. Walk ran some brilliant fake punts and made a name for himself with “fastball” and “changeup” in fake field goals. I have a feeling their might have been a “slider” as well since Eric Batis did throw a fake FG TD pass against U of I in 2003, it just happened to get called back. Fitz has, thus far, been reluctant to call fakes. Now, I’m not saying he should fake from his own 20, that’s dumb aggressive, but at the right moment from his own 40 a key fake could provide NU with a huge lift. That would be smart aggressive. Coach Walk always knew when to call the fake and I’d like to think Fitz learned some of that from him. Also, there is always that onside kick move. Both Barnett and Walker actually started games with onside kicks. That’s tough if it doesn’t work, but I still think it qualifies as smart aggressive if you’ve watched the tape and have a plan when you kick.
Will Fitz be more aggressive in the next few weeks? I don’t know, but I think some smart aggressive football will be necessary for NU to pull off the needed upsets.
For the record, this discussion is relevant in any sport. I personally coach baseball and talk about this all the time. We tell our players we’re going to give them the green light to steal a base whenever they want because we want to put pressure on our opponent and “make them play different than they practice”, however, we aren’t going to continue to give a player the green light if he tries to steal third with two outs and a 2 ball 0 strike count on our cleanup hitter. If a player does that, he’s not being smart aggressive. He’s being aggressive for aggressiveness sake and not to help the team win.
I think what we saw this weekend from Indiana was a coaching staff that seemed like they wanted to be aggressive for aggressiveness sake. The result was a series of dumb aggressive fourth down calls which kept NU in the game. The most obvious of these was the 4th and goal in which not only did Indiana go for the TD, but they called some sort of trick pop-pass play with wildcat back Mitchell Evans in as quarterback. If Indiana had at least gone for 4th and goal with a normal power running formation the mistake might have been more excusable, but Coach Lynch and his staff tried to pull a rabbit out of their collective hat when just putting the hat on their heads would have been fine. An IU field goal at that point and NU has to score a TD to win on their final drive.
Coach Fitz, despite his conservative reputation, actually provided a great counter to Lynch in this game. Fitz and the NU staff made what I would call a smart aggressive call on the 3rd and 8 delay draw to Jeravin Matthews on NU’s final drive. Now, you might be asking what makes a simply run play aggressive. What makes the play an example of aggressiveness is NU hadn’t run that play all season. Therefore, it was risky to call in such a clutch situation, however, the play had a high reward factor as Fitz knew that if executed correctly it could break for a big gain. If not, NU would be in forth and long and Stefan Demos would have had a tougher task kicking the game winner. You see, the difference is there was a positive reward to Fitz’s aggressiveness compared with Lynch’s. Lynch could have had a NU in a situation where they needed 2 TD’s if he’d just played it safe and kicked the FG. Fitz on the other hand knew that taking a chance with a semi-trick play could help NU get into easy winning FG rang and run off some valuable time on the clock. Fitz’s risky play call was much smarter.
Now, the question becomes where else can Fitz be smart aggressive. I think the fans calling for multiple double passes with Brewer and Persa this week aren’t really thinking smart. Yes, PSU’s defense is good, but you also can’t trick them more than once or twice at the most. What Fitz needs to do this week is take a lesson from his two mentors Gary Barnett and Randy Walker. Barnett was the master of the smart aggressive call, but Walker wasn’t bad either. In contrast, Fitz is been mostly not aggressive during his head coaching career. In fact, Fitz really is known for two aggressive moves one smart (and successful) and one dumb (and not successful). It’s also amazing how being dumb aggressive also results in failure more than success. Fitz’s brilliant aggressive move was starting the second half of the Illinois game in 2006 with an outside kick. That allowed NU to go down the field and score and helped put the game away (I’d love to see that game again by the way if anybody has a copy). Fitz’s failed aggressive move was the infamous 4th and 3 against Duke in which he took points of the board to try and covert.
So what can Fitz do this week (and in the future) which is like Barnett and Walker. Well, Barnett always seemed to have one solid trick play ready each week. He had the double passes for Michigan and Iowa, he had Gator vs Michigan in ’96 and a slew of others over the years. He also waited until the key moment in the game to use these, but they were in the playbook for when the smart aggressive surprise was needed. Fitz might need one in the next few weeks.
Coach Walker was the master of the well timed fake punt or field goal. Walk ran some brilliant fake punts and made a name for himself with “fastball” and “changeup” in fake field goals. I have a feeling their might have been a “slider” as well since Eric Batis did throw a fake FG TD pass against U of I in 2003, it just happened to get called back. Fitz has, thus far, been reluctant to call fakes. Now, I’m not saying he should fake from his own 20, that’s dumb aggressive, but at the right moment from his own 40 a key fake could provide NU with a huge lift. That would be smart aggressive. Coach Walk always knew when to call the fake and I’d like to think Fitz learned some of that from him. Also, there is always that onside kick move. Both Barnett and Walker actually started games with onside kicks. That’s tough if it doesn’t work, but I still think it qualifies as smart aggressive if you’ve watched the tape and have a plan when you kick.
Will Fitz be more aggressive in the next few weeks? I don’t know, but I think some smart aggressive football will be necessary for NU to pull off the needed upsets.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Interesting 16 year old New York Times Article
I happened on this article from the October 2, 1993 New York Times today. I think from an NU fan perspective it’s pretty interesting. It was written by Malcolm Moran and quotes NU faculty member Fred Hemke and NU punter Paul Burton who essentially predict NU’s Rose Bowl run two years before it happened. It is amazing to read Burton assess the different attitude of his classmates who would be the key cogs in two Big Ten Titles. Burton basically explains how his class of players really do buy into Barnett’s “Expect Victory” motto. Even more amazing, Hemke says, “Gary will take a team to the Rose Bowl” at a time when NU (despite a win over Boston College) hadn’t exactly completed the program turnaround. This is the kind of confidence NU needs in order to be successful. It should be easier now with evidence of success to point towards, but I think this really shows the type of leader Barnett was. It shows how effective he was at recruiting a class (including Fitz) that bought into his message of “belief without evidence” and then went out and created evidence for their beliefs.
Some Random Thoughts and Observations
Chicago College Basketball published a Northwestern season preview today. As usual it is well-written and I encourage you to check it out here. What’s really amazing as I look at the various season previews on the ‘Cats is virtually everybody expects NU to make some sort of postseason tournament whether it is the NCAA or NIT. The only other time I can remember NU getting so much positive press going into a year was 2004-05 when Mike Thompson was transferring in from Duke. Obviously that year didn’t end very positively for NU, but the difference is this year’s positive predictions are based on evidence of success last season. Not the outside hope that a guy can change a team because Coach K recruited him and then sat him on the bench so much he transferred.
The Wildcats will play their first exhibition game in a little over a week. For those who won’t be in Evanston (and I won’t that day) the game is available on bigtennetwork.com for $2.99. In fact, a number of NU games will be webcast on bigtennetwork.com for $2.99. Obviously, that isn’t a huge price, but it’s a lot more than the free cost for past webcasts. The Big Ten Network says the cost is due to the fact they have heavily invested in webstreaming technology. I hope this means that the games will look pretty much like a television broadcast, but on the computer. I really don’t want to pay for a traditional webcast.
I’ve been thinking about how close NU really was to the NCAA tournament last season and I think it’s safe to say they were literarily 4 minutes away. Between the epic blown leads to Illinois and Purdue and the short held lead with just about 4 minutes to go at Ohio State it really seems NU could have been in the NCAA tournament with just four more good minutes of basketball. Can NU make up those four minutes this year?
On the football side of things it seems NU might be without Sherrick McManis this weekend. With Brendan Smith already out and Brad Phillips injured and not 100%, NU’s only healthy secondary starter is sophomore slumping Jordan Mabin. This needs to be the week Mabin has a Craig Moore versus Miami type performance. That’s a performance where despite having a horrid sophomore season, he looks like the all-Big Ten player he will be and helps NU win the game. I’ll go out on a limb now and say if Mabin makes a pick NU wins the game.
At least NU will have its latest walk-on all-star Ricky Weina to fill in for McManis. Weina played Indiana’s two top receivers very well last week and I really don’t think PSU’s guys are that much better. The difference is Darryl Clark can probably make tougher throws than Ben Chappell.
It’s been a long time since NU had a big offensive game against a good team. Maybe this will be that week. It could be if Scott Concannon actually emerges as a tailback and Mike Kafka remembers to use his feet.
Finally, Lake the Posts polling NU fans on the best NU football comeback ever. I’d love to see video of “The Comeback” against Illinois. I’ve got the poster, but as I was eight at the time I don’t really recall the game. Still, I think 20 points down in the 4th quarter against an in-state rival is pretty spectacular. If somebody has video of that they need to post it on youtube. Come on NU Athletic Depart, the clip of Lee Gissendanner catching the winning TD from Len Williams is in the NU football history video. That means a tape of the game most at least exist in the football office achieves. I’d give honorable mention to the 2000 Minnesota game due to all the forth downs including the 4th and 20 pass from Kustok to Patrick.
The best basketball comeback is, of course, Michael Jenkins finishing off the Hawkeyes with the buzzer beater after Vedran Vukusic sent the game into overtime all by himself.
The Wildcats will play their first exhibition game in a little over a week. For those who won’t be in Evanston (and I won’t that day) the game is available on bigtennetwork.com for $2.99. In fact, a number of NU games will be webcast on bigtennetwork.com for $2.99. Obviously, that isn’t a huge price, but it’s a lot more than the free cost for past webcasts. The Big Ten Network says the cost is due to the fact they have heavily invested in webstreaming technology. I hope this means that the games will look pretty much like a television broadcast, but on the computer. I really don’t want to pay for a traditional webcast.
I’ve been thinking about how close NU really was to the NCAA tournament last season and I think it’s safe to say they were literarily 4 minutes away. Between the epic blown leads to Illinois and Purdue and the short held lead with just about 4 minutes to go at Ohio State it really seems NU could have been in the NCAA tournament with just four more good minutes of basketball. Can NU make up those four minutes this year?
On the football side of things it seems NU might be without Sherrick McManis this weekend. With Brendan Smith already out and Brad Phillips injured and not 100%, NU’s only healthy secondary starter is sophomore slumping Jordan Mabin. This needs to be the week Mabin has a Craig Moore versus Miami type performance. That’s a performance where despite having a horrid sophomore season, he looks like the all-Big Ten player he will be and helps NU win the game. I’ll go out on a limb now and say if Mabin makes a pick NU wins the game.
At least NU will have its latest walk-on all-star Ricky Weina to fill in for McManis. Weina played Indiana’s two top receivers very well last week and I really don’t think PSU’s guys are that much better. The difference is Darryl Clark can probably make tougher throws than Ben Chappell.
It’s been a long time since NU had a big offensive game against a good team. Maybe this will be that week. It could be if Scott Concannon actually emerges as a tailback and Mike Kafka remembers to use his feet.
Finally, Lake the Posts polling NU fans on the best NU football comeback ever. I’d love to see video of “The Comeback” against Illinois. I’ve got the poster, but as I was eight at the time I don’t really recall the game. Still, I think 20 points down in the 4th quarter against an in-state rival is pretty spectacular. If somebody has video of that they need to post it on youtube. Come on NU Athletic Depart, the clip of Lee Gissendanner catching the winning TD from Len Williams is in the NU football history video. That means a tape of the game most at least exist in the football office achieves. I’d give honorable mention to the 2000 Minnesota game due to all the forth downs including the 4th and 20 pass from Kustok to Patrick.
The best basketball comeback is, of course, Michael Jenkins finishing off the Hawkeyes with the buzzer beater after Vedran Vukusic sent the game into overtime all by himself.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Did Northwestern Miss An Opportunity to Promote the Basketball Programs?
This weekend’s football game between Northwestern and Penn State will probably feature the largest attendance of the season at Ryan Field. It is also the only scheduled matchup in Evanston to feature a starting time in the afternoon. Back in 2005, NU took advantage of an evening start against Michigan to showcase both the men’s and women’s basketball teams in an event NU termed Halloween Hoop-la. While the event wasn’t exactly Michigan State’s Midnight Madness, it did feature NU alum Mike Wilbon as MC and was a nice way for some football-only NU fans to get some exposure to both basketball programs.
Given that NU is expected to feature competitive (and potentially very good) teams in both men’s and women’s hoops, I am surprised, and a little disappointed, NU isn’t attempting a Halloween Hoop-la type event this year. Yes, such an event would be impossible with an 11:00 am kickoff, but ESPN did NU a huge favor in scheduling this game for 3:30. Even better, the game was set for 3:30 before the season even started so a basketball preseason event could have been promoted all year long.
If there was ever a year when NU’s men’s team needed early fan support this is it. The Wildcats play a series of tough early season foes either in Evanston or Chicago. The Wildcats take on nationally ranked Butler in just their second game and the non-conference schedule also features Notre Dame (in Chicago) and Stanford at home. The Wildcats also play North Florida on national TV (I’m not sure why), but nonetheless I’d hate for those who tune into to that game on ESPNU to see a ¾ empty Welsh-Ryan. It’s embarrassing for the school and the program.
Given the need for fan support in those early games, and all the others, I am really surprised NU didn’t setup some event to try and promote the hoops squads this weekend. Yes, NU has done some nice things with giving football season ticket holders basketball tickets for both men’s and women’s games, but this is perhaps the one weekend all season when a large collection of non-season ticket holding NU fans are going to be in Evanston. That is the group NU needs to win over in order to pack both Ryan Field and Welsh-Ryan. Please keep in mind, I’m not saying NU needs to turn this people into season ticket holders. That might be impossible, but it doesn’t hurt to try and motivate them to show up to some big games. The games when NU needs the most support. I bet a good percentage of causal NU fans don’t even know that NU is hosting NCAA Tournament media darling Butler at Welsh-Ryan this year. If they did, they might want to show up for the game. They’re showing up for JoePa after all. Sure, you could just give out basketball schedules as people walk in. That would be something to at least cerate awareness. But for people to really connect to the team, it would be nice for them to see the team practice and then hear from the coaches and players as was done in 2005.
I don’t know why NU stopped any sort of preseason event. I’d like to think there was some reason. There were on campus Hoop-la events for students before 2005. They weren’t heavily attended, but they did get the team’s core fan base to interact with the squad and gave the women’s team some moments in the spotlight. It didn’t help attendance much, but more success is expected now. Maybe NU’s athletic depart thought it was a losing proposition, but I can’t really see how. If the team practices from 12-2 and the event starts at 2:30 with a scrimmage what is lost? The gym still needs to be open and the lights still need to be on, so it’s not like it costs extra for the facility. Yes, NU might need some ushers, but NU needs ushers for the football game anyway, so they’re already paying people for that day. Plus, the team still gets a full practice in. That’s the most important thing to me. All they have to do is stick around for another half hour and have people cheer for them. I don’t think many athletes would have a problem with that.
Regardless, we can all still do are part this weekend. If you see NU fans who are showing up for their one game a season remind them about the big basketball game vs Butler. Also, don’t forget to tell them about North Florida on December 16th because there aren’t even going to be student sections to make the crowd look halfway decent on that night.
Given that NU is expected to feature competitive (and potentially very good) teams in both men’s and women’s hoops, I am surprised, and a little disappointed, NU isn’t attempting a Halloween Hoop-la type event this year. Yes, such an event would be impossible with an 11:00 am kickoff, but ESPN did NU a huge favor in scheduling this game for 3:30. Even better, the game was set for 3:30 before the season even started so a basketball preseason event could have been promoted all year long.
If there was ever a year when NU’s men’s team needed early fan support this is it. The Wildcats play a series of tough early season foes either in Evanston or Chicago. The Wildcats take on nationally ranked Butler in just their second game and the non-conference schedule also features Notre Dame (in Chicago) and Stanford at home. The Wildcats also play North Florida on national TV (I’m not sure why), but nonetheless I’d hate for those who tune into to that game on ESPNU to see a ¾ empty Welsh-Ryan. It’s embarrassing for the school and the program.
Given the need for fan support in those early games, and all the others, I am really surprised NU didn’t setup some event to try and promote the hoops squads this weekend. Yes, NU has done some nice things with giving football season ticket holders basketball tickets for both men’s and women’s games, but this is perhaps the one weekend all season when a large collection of non-season ticket holding NU fans are going to be in Evanston. That is the group NU needs to win over in order to pack both Ryan Field and Welsh-Ryan. Please keep in mind, I’m not saying NU needs to turn this people into season ticket holders. That might be impossible, but it doesn’t hurt to try and motivate them to show up to some big games. The games when NU needs the most support. I bet a good percentage of causal NU fans don’t even know that NU is hosting NCAA Tournament media darling Butler at Welsh-Ryan this year. If they did, they might want to show up for the game. They’re showing up for JoePa after all. Sure, you could just give out basketball schedules as people walk in. That would be something to at least cerate awareness. But for people to really connect to the team, it would be nice for them to see the team practice and then hear from the coaches and players as was done in 2005.
I don’t know why NU stopped any sort of preseason event. I’d like to think there was some reason. There were on campus Hoop-la events for students before 2005. They weren’t heavily attended, but they did get the team’s core fan base to interact with the squad and gave the women’s team some moments in the spotlight. It didn’t help attendance much, but more success is expected now. Maybe NU’s athletic depart thought it was a losing proposition, but I can’t really see how. If the team practices from 12-2 and the event starts at 2:30 with a scrimmage what is lost? The gym still needs to be open and the lights still need to be on, so it’s not like it costs extra for the facility. Yes, NU might need some ushers, but NU needs ushers for the football game anyway, so they’re already paying people for that day. Plus, the team still gets a full practice in. That’s the most important thing to me. All they have to do is stick around for another half hour and have people cheer for them. I don’t think many athletes would have a problem with that.
Regardless, we can all still do are part this weekend. If you see NU fans who are showing up for their one game a season remind them about the big basketball game vs Butler. Also, don’t forget to tell them about North Florida on December 16th because there aren’t even going to be student sections to make the crowd look halfway decent on that night.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Football: Wildcats Notch Another Comeback Win
When Northwestern wins football games they really do seem to win ugly, but I’ll take ugly wins over no wins anytime. Northwestern’s 26 unanswered points to beat Indiana today moved the ‘Cats to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten. Most importantly, the 5th win moved the ‘Cats ahead of 4-4 Indiana and Minnesota in the quest for a bowl breath. While I know many fans might not be in love with fighting it out for a bid to the Motor City Bowl, for this NU team any bowl would be great. A postseason game would be just the second time ever NU made back to back postseason appearances. That type of stat makes any bowl worthwhile. I’d also point out that NU actually still has a chance to make any number of bowls depending on how the rest of the year goes.
What I believe made the difference in this game and in past NU wins, was the willingness of NU’s Mike Kafka to use his legs. Kafka showed his ability to scramble and make plays when nobody was open today. This has been missing for a great deal of this season. NU also got some nice running help from Scott Concannon. There are a number of NU fans who say Concannon is too small or too slow to be effective, but the fact is that many times a fresh tailback can rip off yards late in the season when facing defenses which are somewhat banged up. By virtue of the numerous injuries Concannon has suffered, Concannon is relatively fresh having only carried the ball 16 times before today. Considering the limited success NU’s other backs have had, including Arby Fields today, I think Concannon deserves a shot next week as well.
I also have to give credit to Mick McCall for attempting the downfield passing game. Although Kafka’s inconsistency with the deep ball sometimes makes these plays frustrating and dangerous, The ‘Cats MUST attempt the deep pass in order to at least make the defense respect that possibility. If not NU’s receivers will constantly get jammed at the line and knocked by linebackers when running across the middle. Also, when NU does make a big play, such as the 51-yard TD to Andrew Brewer, it is a huge momentum swing.
NU needed several momentum swings after the 28-3 Indiana start (Is NU that limited in the Kickoff and Punt game?). Somehow and someway NU must not get down when they play Penn State and Iowa the next two weeks. Both those teams will make the ‘Cats pay if they aren’t ready for the opening whistle. In some ways, the football ‘Cats remind me of NU’s hoops squad late last year. We all remember how NU failed to finish big comebacks against Ohio State, Minnesota, and Tulsa because they stated too slow. This can’t happen the next couple weeks. Penn State and Iowa have better teams than NU. If the ‘Cats want to pull the upset they have to be ready to play. Maybe Coach Fitz should just till his players the Big Ten has decided to give Penn State a 21-0 lead before they take the field.
What I believe made the difference in this game and in past NU wins, was the willingness of NU’s Mike Kafka to use his legs. Kafka showed his ability to scramble and make plays when nobody was open today. This has been missing for a great deal of this season. NU also got some nice running help from Scott Concannon. There are a number of NU fans who say Concannon is too small or too slow to be effective, but the fact is that many times a fresh tailback can rip off yards late in the season when facing defenses which are somewhat banged up. By virtue of the numerous injuries Concannon has suffered, Concannon is relatively fresh having only carried the ball 16 times before today. Considering the limited success NU’s other backs have had, including Arby Fields today, I think Concannon deserves a shot next week as well.
I also have to give credit to Mick McCall for attempting the downfield passing game. Although Kafka’s inconsistency with the deep ball sometimes makes these plays frustrating and dangerous, The ‘Cats MUST attempt the deep pass in order to at least make the defense respect that possibility. If not NU’s receivers will constantly get jammed at the line and knocked by linebackers when running across the middle. Also, when NU does make a big play, such as the 51-yard TD to Andrew Brewer, it is a huge momentum swing.
NU needed several momentum swings after the 28-3 Indiana start (Is NU that limited in the Kickoff and Punt game?). Somehow and someway NU must not get down when they play Penn State and Iowa the next two weeks. Both those teams will make the ‘Cats pay if they aren’t ready for the opening whistle. In some ways, the football ‘Cats remind me of NU’s hoops squad late last year. We all remember how NU failed to finish big comebacks against Ohio State, Minnesota, and Tulsa because they stated too slow. This can’t happen the next couple weeks. Penn State and Iowa have better teams than NU. If the ‘Cats want to pull the upset they have to be ready to play. Maybe Coach Fitz should just till his players the Big Ten has decided to give Penn State a 21-0 lead before they take the field.
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