Saunders Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 SBNation: Wildcard Wildcats? Pat Fitzgerald has come full circle in record time. He has been everything a coach can be: overachiever and disappointment, candidate for bigger jobs and coach whose seat might be getting hotter, young coach with energy and stodgy coach with old values, close-game whiz and close-game loser. When you've been at a job for nine years, your reputation will change, but Fitzgerald's changes have all occurred within the last three years. In 2012, the future looked almost as bright as it ever had; the Wildcats won 10 games and finished 32nd in the F/+ rankings, one spot higher than they placed in the late Randy Walker's final season, 2005. Recruiting was picking up, and NU was combining sturdy play with spectacular special teams. The next two seasons, Northwestern won 10 games combined. The offense disintegrated. Special teams was as bad in 2014 as it was good in 2012. The defense gave the Wildcats a shot at a bowl, but an end-of-season egg against an in-state rival prevented that. The sudden shifts are making it difficult to figure out what might come next. In 2015, the offense must replace its quarterback, two leading receivers, and three two-year starters on the line. But these starters were part of a terribly disappointing unit. Most of the pieces of an exciting run defense return, and the secondary is loaded with experience. http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/5/26/8653467/northwestern-football-2015-preview-schedule-roster/in/8400608 Scout.com Go you Northwestern ... but where? It can’t use the small private school model like TCU or Baylor – it can’t recruit at that level. In terms of the smart schools, the program can’t be another Stanford – again, the recruiting. Duke’s recent success has come from a combination of great scheme/easy schedule, while Vanderbilt’s positives at times over the years – at least before last season – were more of a hiccup than anything sustainable. Making it harder is the overall improvement of the Big Ten, making it a tougher road to navigate on a regular basis. Northwestern will come up with a win here and there, but Wisconsin and Nebraska are still the stars of the West, and with the improvement at Minnesota and the solidity of Iowa, it’ll be hard enough to get through the division, much less deal with Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State from the East. But barriers and excuses have never been part of Pat Fitzgerald’s world in Evanston, and the current issues have nothing really to do with the rest of the Big Ten, and it doesn’t have much to do with the barriers the school has that others don’t. Northwestern just needs to do what it does, only better. http://cfn.scout.com/2/1544559.html Off Tackle Empire: Northwestern About last season The good news...We beat Notre Dame in South Bend for the second time in 20 years even though I froze my ass off in the process. We beat Penn State, and no, I don't care how young their offensive line is. WISCONSIN CAN'T WIN IN EVANSTON! We have awesome black Gothic alternate jerseys that should be worn once a year. I own one. Encouraging news... We went toe to toe with a tough Minnesota team. I think we can beat them next year. I look forward to STRONG DISLIKE week. The bad news ... We lost to Michigan. AGAIN!!! THE M00N GAME!!! http://www.offtackleempire.com/2015/5/18/8557855/b1g-2015-northwestern-cocktail-party-preview Athlon Sports: Northwestern Pat Fitzgerald is the father of Northwestern football but his Wildcats have missed the postseason two seasons in a row after five straight bowl games. His roster returns a large chunk of the depth chart — try 15 starters — but he has to plug holes at key positions like quarterback. His roster is in good shape but he needs to regain some former magic if Northwestern wants to win the Big Ten West Division. http://athlonsports.com/college-football/top-25/northwestern-wildcats-2015-preview-and-prediction#sthash.j2bbxQrc.dpuf Magazine says: 6-6 (4-4) 5th in Big Ten West 2 Quote Link to comment
NUance Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 Key players gone: LB Chi Chi Ariguzo; S Ibraheim Campbell; LB Collin Ellis; WR Tony Jones; LB Jimmy Hall; WR Kyle Prater; QB Trevor Siemian; C Brandon Vitabile Key players back: WR Cameron Dickerson; G Matt Frazier; P Chris Gradone; CB Matthew Harris; S Traveon Henry; S Godwin Igwebuike; DE Dean Lowry; RB Justin Jackson; K Jack Mitchell; CB Nick VanHoose; G Geoff Mogus; OT Eric Olson; LB Drew Smith; SB Dan Vitale; LB Anthony Walker - LINK Here's another preview from BTN from a couple months back. Seems like NW has dropped off a bit. They need to find a new QB, and have concerns about their O-line and D-line. Quote Link to comment
Saunders Posted May 26, 2015 Author Share Posted May 26, 2015 Added Of Tackle Empire preview. Quote Link to comment
Saunders Posted May 26, 2015 Author Share Posted May 26, 2015 Added SBNation Preview. Quote Link to comment
Hammerhead Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Northwestern is a team that always seems to play us tougher than we think they should. Something about that Battle for Who's the Real NU? Last year we beat them handily, so hopefully this year we'll see the same result. Quote Link to comment
Saunders Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 Added Athlon preview. Quote Link to comment
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