Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald is going to get tough love on his team this week. He’s going to go hard line, hard core and really ride the squad pretty hard in practice this week. Fitzgerald was very upset following his team’s very disappointing loss to #20 Nebraska.
The Northwestern Wildcats got out-gained 310-137 on the ground and 556-388 overall. Those stats do a much better job telling the story of this game than the 24-13 final score did.
Of course, Northwestern also ruined their own chances with plenty of self-inflicted wounds. There was a miss extra point, missed field goal (Fitzgerald said in the post game that the placekicking position is now wide open), penalties, turnovers, you name it.
Lots of cause for alarm and mistakes that conveyed a serious lack of discipline. So this week, Pat Fitzgerald will look to harshly instill some discipline in his Northwestern football team this week. Expect some very rough and tough practices this week in Evanston.
“These guys better figure it out pretty quick,” Fitzgerald said.
“They gotta walk out of the locker room, hug whoever they love, they better wake up and get ready to get their rear ends coached off this week.”
“That’s what’s going to happen, because I’m not going to sit here and I’m not going to take it.”
“They better buckle up, they better start hydrating right now. It’s not acceptable the way we’re playing, and it starts and ends with me, and I’m going to fix it.””
NU quarterback Clayton Thorson on the coaching staff riding the team hard going forward: “We’ve had two tough weeks of practices. Our coaches have really gotten on us about finishing drives and self-inflicted wounds. We need to keep staying together.”
The Northwestern football program was super pumped to begin this season with a four game home stand; two night games. The weather was absolutely perfect for all of them. However, the Cats have begun the year 1-3.
“We can’t do the things that losers do,” Fitzgerald added.
Next week they travel to Iowa.
"We'll get our fannies whipped" —Fitz on Iowa game if team isn't prepared.
— Inside NU (@insidenu) September 25, 2016
“When we go out to Iowa City, we have to perform,” Fitzgerald said. “If we don’t go out with the right attitude and the right preparation, we will get crushed.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.
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