The “Cardiac Cats” have broken through in the national polls. Off to a 5-0 start for the second time in three years, Northwestern climbed into the USA Today/Coaches’ Top-25 football ranking today at No. 25. The Wildcats improved to 5-0 on the year and won their eighth straight regular-season contest Saturday with a 29-28 victory at lowly Minnesota.
They call them the Cardiac Cats because often when they win it’s not by much, even against bottom feeders like the Gophers in Minneapolis. (Or Eastern Michigan in ’09, or Duke in ’08) But still they “just win, baby” and the triumph marked the Wildcats’ 10th road win—a Big Ten Conference-best—since the start of the 2008 season. Northwestern also improved to 17-6 in games decided by a touchdown or less in the Pat Fitzgerald era.
By Paul M. Banks
Northwestern is ranked in the top-25 for the first time since Dec. 7, 2008 when it landed at No. 20 at the conclusion of the 2008 regular season. The Wildcats (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) entertain another reeling team, Big Ten rival Purdue (2-2, 0-0 Big Ten) this Saturday, Oct. 9 at Ryan Field. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m.
Look for them to go 6-0 and reach bowl eligibility for the sixth consecutive year. That’s a bigger milestone than you may think for the program, when you consider that this is a kind of a rebuilding year, personnel wise.
Northwestern will be honoring the tenth anniversary of its 2000 Big Ten championship team on Saturday.
Paul M. Banks is President and CEO of The Sports Bank.net , a Midwest focused webzine. He is also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, the Chicago Tribune’s blog network, Walter Football.com, the Washington Times Communities, Yardbarker Network, and Fox Sports.com
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