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Saturday sees Northwestern hosting Rutgers in a match-up that isn’t the most exciting possible on paper. However, it is one with a lot of historical connotation. These are the two Big Ten programs, ovet the course of history, which have provided us the worst squads of all time in 1981 northwestern and 2019 Rutgers.
This is a topic we’ve looked at before, and hey, why not doing it again here.
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Welcome to our second 2022 NFL mock draft! For our last 2021 NFL mock go here. Team needs were sometimes, but mostly not taken into account here. The order is taken from Tankathon. Also, here is the link to a list of 70 of the worst NFL Draft cliches, buzzwords and other pointless word salad.
Far as we know, we’re the only mom and pop shop, small business style site on the whole world wide web that does a mock draft for all four major American sports. Here are the links to the latest mocks for the NBA, MLB and NHL.
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Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald hails from Orland Park, Illinois, a southwestern Chicago suburb that is hard core White Sox country. While he has donned a Cubs jersey in public (when he sang the 7th inning stretch at Wrigley Field), Fitzgerald makes no secret of his preference for black and white.
He has said in the past that he truly believes an all Chicago World Series is coming, and when it happens, he’ll be openly rooting for the Southside. His weekly Zoom presser today, ahead of the Homecoming game against Rutgers on Saturday, saw Q&A commence with White Sox playoff discussion.
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Move over 2019, as it appears we might have a new “worst Northwestern football team of the Pat Fitzgerald era” in the making. No team needed a bye week more so than the Wildcats, who have tomorrow off and an extra week to prepare for Rutgers.
In losing 56-7 at Nebraska last Saturday night, the Cats surrendered the most yards (657) ever allowed in the 16 years that have comprised the Fitz era. It was also the most points allowed in 11 years (2010, when Wisconsin hung a 70 burger on NU the week after the Wrigley Field one end zone only game).
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This week brings a sense of symmetry and symbolism as Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly will tie Knute Rockne for most wins in school history should he defeat the opponent in front of him on Saturday. That opponent is the Purdue Boilermakers, the very first team he faced as ND coach back in 2010.
“I see it a little differently,” Kelly said of the approaching milestone. “It means longevity. It means stability. It means winning. But it doesn’t mean anything else relative to comparisons or who’s better. Those things don’t mean much to me. I came here to do a job, and that was to bring Notre Dame back to its winning traditions.”
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It certainly wasn’t exciting by any means, but winning comfortably, in any way shape or form, is exactly what you wanted to do today if you’re the Northwestern Wildcats.
They did just that, cruising past FCS foe Indiana State 24-6, with only a late, garbage time touchdown from the Sycamores preventing a Wildcats shutout. Coming off a decisive defeat at the hands of Michigan State in week one, NU needed a comfortable win like this. However, you can’t really call it a dominant performance.
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It’s quite possible that Northwestern football is just keeping up its semi-annual tradition of starting very slowly. The list of September games NU never had any business losing, during the 2000s and 2010s seems to get a bit longer by the year, but you know that they always course correct, and the story ends well.
The 2016 team started 1-3, including a very unsightly loss to lowly Illinois State, but ended up making and winning a bowl game. In 2018, the first Big Ten West division title season, they went winless in preconference, including an inexplicable and inexcusable defeat at the hands of Akron.
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American Football is a national pastime. More than baseball, it’s America’s obsession, with the Superbowl being a near-religious experience. However, many die-hard fans already know where the true heart and soul of football exists.
College football has long held the attention of the American public, and for a good reason. The teams are more localized, as is the experience of attending their games and cheering.
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Northwestern All-American Safety Brandon Joseph said at the Monday Zoom media availability that his team was going to have to be ready to stop “number 9, the Wake Forest transfer” when they welcome in Michigan State on Friday night.
It’s a vast understatement to say that things didn’t go according to plan for the Wildcats tonight as Walker ran wild and the Spartans romped 38-21. Although there were some bright spots for the host Cats, overall it was pretty ugly as Sparty jumped on them early, and then cruised to a comfortable victory.
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The Northwestern Wildcats host the Michigan State Spartans on Friday night in the season opener for both teams. It’s also the latest installment in a series that’s spawned numerous wild and wacky games, as well as a few milestones and records.
The 2017 meeting took three overtimes to decide, as NU won at home 39-31. The Cats ruined State’s Homecoming in 2016, winning 54-40 in a game that broke numerous Spartan Stadium records, all of which were great for the visitors and bad for the hosts. In 2018, the Wildcats came to East Lansing as double digit underdogs and left as double digit victors.
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The Northwestern Wildcats have won the Big Ten West division in two of the last three seasons (although it’s still a stretch to legitimately call 2020 a “season” for anybody, whether they were good, bad, or anything in between).
While Northwestern was, without question, built a program foundation that is as strong as its ever been. Still, the bookies are not bullish, not at all about their Big Ten title chances. If you’re looking for more information on betting sites, specifically the conference title odds, then you’ll see NU way on down the list.
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In recent years, it’s become (cue Jim Nantz voice) “a tradition unlike any other”- Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald holding out on declaring his starting quarterback until the absolute final moment.
Don’t be surprised if we see the dreaded “OR” on the depth chart heading into the season opener, at home against Michigan State on Sept. 3. Sophomore and South Carolina transfer Ryan Hilinski should win the job eventually, over senior and Clemson transfer Hunter Johnson.
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