In the coming weeks, we will surely be analyzing the 2009 team, but now that the bulk of bowl season has come and gone I figured it was a good time to offer up a first look at what will be surely billed as one of the top 10 easiest schedules in America. If you're looking for wins, you've got to love this schedule. If you like name opponents, then you'll have to be patient as we will start rotating them in starting in 2010. The two bad MAC teams, Syracuse and Towson will be giving way to the "smart school" scheduling tactic in coming years as we pick up Vanderbilt, Rice and eventually Stanford and BC in coming years.
You will note the Cats rotate out Ohio State (thank you very much) and Michigan. How crazy is it to write that losing Michigan from the schedule is actually a bad thing. Something is very wrong with that sentence. We replace OSU and Big Blue with Penn State and Wisconsin, which based on this past season is a draw to slightly worse. Also note this is the last time we'll have seven home games for quite some time. In both 2010 and 2011 we'll be going on the road in non-conference play twice (2010 - @Vanderbilt, @Rice, 2011- @BC, @Army) meaning we will have only six home games. The 2012 schedule is not complete, but we play @Syracuse in the opener and have home dates with BC and Vanderbilt with a to be filled fourth non-conference opponent. That 2012 schedule is shaping up to be very early 90s meaning one of the best we've had. For those making New Year's resolutions about uber planning we don't play Iowa and Michigan State that year.
Let's get back to this year. The Cats "open" with a bye and the season kicks off in 245 days on September 5, 2009. If there is a theme of the 2009 schedule it is "new coaches". All four non-conference foes boast new head coaches as does Purdue and with the annual Kirk Ferentz-to-the-NFL banter in full swing, there is a chance for a sixth. Amazingly, there are only three opponents on the entire schedule who boast more tenure at their current school than Fitz - Penn State (JoePa) Iowa (Ferentz), and Illinois (Zook -by one season) Let's dive in...
September 5, 2009 - vs Miami (OH) - Ryan Field
The Cats connection with Walk's old school continues. Miami just named former ND offensive coordinator Mike Haywood as their new head coach. The program was run into the ground in recent years under Shane Montgomery who went 17-31 in four seasons lowlighted by a 2-10 season in 2008. To put it mildly the RedHawks were abysmal scoring only 18 ppg while getting gashed for 32 ppg. Haywood is the 6th current African-American DI coach and is no stranger to NU as he was an assistant at Minnesota at one point in his career.
September 12, 2009 - vs Towson (FCS) - Ryan Field
Finally, NU subscribed to the LTP theory. If you're going to go FCS (which I loathe) then play a bad team. Towson qualifies. The Tigers play in the CAA which is home to former opponent Northeastern and the likes of Delaware, Rhode Island, Villanova and the like. The Tigers were 3-9 in 2008 posting only one win in conference play (1-7) and it led to a coaching change. Towson scored by landing former UCONN offensive coordinator, Rod Ambrose, who like Fitz is now coaching at his alma mater (Class of '93). Ambrose is only the fourth head coach in the 40-year history of the school.
September 19, 2009 - @Syracuse - Carrier Dome
The 'Cuse raised some eyebrows by replacing a former NFL assistant with no head coaching experience with New Orleans Saints' offensive coordinator and Syracuse alum Doug Marrone. Marrone has been in the NFL for the past seven years and is a stranger to recruiting which Syracuse needs badly. Cats fans are very familiar with Syracuse as we opened this past season with a 30-10 thumping of a 3-9 (1-6) team that was frankly very bad. Road games are never gimmes, but I like our chances against with Hankwitz leading the charge against an offense that would have to perform miracles to be a threat to put up big points on the Cats.
September 26, 2009 - vs Minnesota - Ryan Field
You know Brendan Smith is salivating for this rematch as the mention of "Minnesota" instantly conjures up one of the great defensive finishes to a game I can remember in NU lore. Come to think of it Mike Kafka better not get caught schedule watching as he surely will be anticipating facing a team he carved up for a Big Ten QB rushing record this past season. The Gophers are a program on the rise and Adam Weber will be that much more improved. This is one of those "must win" games for the Cats as it is at home and a tone-setter for the season. It is hard to believe how far the Gophers fell off the CFB radar after we upset them in late October. One thing is sure, this match-up has produced some incredible games in recent years, but I'd happily take a 2 or 3 TD win instead of the last second drama.
October 3, 2009 -@ Purdue - Ross-Ade Stadium
The Cats look to make it two in a row against the Boilers who were my biggest disappointment in 2008. They were consistently inconsistent blowing a huge lead against Oregon, playing Ohio State, Penn State and Iowa as tough as you would expect, but they looked listless against us as we gave them their most lopsided loss of the season (48-26). The Boilers had their succession plan in place before the season as Danny Hope was named head coach in waiting, but no one anticipated a 4-8 swan song for Joe Tiller. The Boilers will have some adjusting to do this off season as they will be going through the same thing the Cats did in 2008 - a new OC and a new DC as Brock Spack took the head post at Illinois State and Hope hired Gary Nord from Florida Atlantic (whom he worked with at Oklahoma and Louisville) to be the new OC. I have no clue what to expect from Purdue in '09.
October 10, 2009 -vs Eastern Michigan - Ryan Field
This game is a hangover schedule from the former NU assistant and now former EMU head coach, Jeff Genyk regime. Genyk went 15-42 at Eastern and is replaced by someone very familiar with the Cats - former Michigan DC, Ron English. English will have his hands full as Eastern went 2-9 in 2008 and the talent cupboard is relatively bare. I've got high hopes for English who was the talk of NFL coaching staffs two years ago.
October 17, 2009 - @ Michigan State - Spartan Stadium
The Cats will surely have this game starred as they try to redeem themselves from the 2008 implosion against Sparty in Evanston. Javon Ringer will likely be gone, but Mark Dantonio has dramatically increased the talent level in East Lansing. This will be a major test for NU.
October 24, 2009 -vs Indiana - Ryan Field
I'm guessing this will be the homecoming game and most of us would like to see some major payback from the 2008 debacle which cost us a New Year's Day bowl. I'm also confident there will be no overlooking the Hoosiers in '09.
October 31, 2009 - vs Penn State - Ryan Field
Despite yesterday's letdown this game will likely be the crowned jewel of the home schedule. There is still something magical about those pristine white helmets and JoePa in Evanston that makes you feel great about this match-up. The Nittany Lions have been off the schedule the past two years and you can bet the atmosphere will be electric. Let's hope they make it a night game.
November 7, 2009 - @Iowa - Kinnick Stadium
You've got to believe the Hawkeyes are the ones who will have this one circled on the calendar as they seek payback from the 2008 loss to the Cats (22-17). As discussed, LTP has embraced the holiday season to see to it that we even the playing field by offering to play at Iowa for the second year in a row. Thank God Shonn Greene is leaving for the NFL. If Ferentz did as well I may actually be disappointed as we've fared well against him (4-4).
November 14, 2009 - @Illinois - Memorial Stadium
This likely caps the most important two week stretch of the season which are, as of this moment, the key swing games for bowl happiness. It will be interesting to see how Zook and company respond as they imploded down the stretch in 2008 and were a major disappointment. There will be some major adjustments for the Illini as coveted offensive coordinator and stud recruiter, Mike Locksley left to take the head coaching job at New Mexico. Vontae Davis is leaving for the NFL and star LB Martez Wilson is recovering from stab wounds at an unfortunate incident at a club a few weeks ago. This is a huge year for the Illini program and you know they'll be up for the we-used-to-call-it-the-sweet-sioux-but-standby-for-a-pc-rivalry-name-soon-but-LTP-will-still-call-it-sweet-sioux game.
November 21, 2009 - vs Wisconsin - Ryan Field
I'm torn about the schedule on this one. I loved having the rivalry game end the season as it seemed to elevate the in-state game with Illinois. However, Wisconsin had become somewhat of a heated rivalry in recent years and then we lost them for the past two seasons in the rotation. We now play them the next two seasons on the final weekend, but then we ditch the Badgers for Michigan in the finale for 2011 and 2012. No one quite knows what to make of Wisconsin at this point as their recent no show in the Champs Bowl added to the Bielema angst in Madtown. You can bet the staff is working their collective tails off right now to ensure they don't take another step back.
Friday, January 2, 2009
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11 comments:
This upcoming NU season is a near replica of the 08 BC season, lets hope the cats fair a little better then the eagles did. In terms of the potential schedule, the new senior QB, and a returning D, there is some room to work here.
I'm a little annoyed that they would schedule home games when most students have yet to come back for school. Why not just schedule the first two games away and pile up the home attendance for when the students can come in force? At the very least, it'd raise some self-esteem by increasing the avg. attendance every game.
Why does NU never schedule Big 12 opponents? Aside from Kansas earlier this decade, the last Big 12 regular season opponent was Oklahoma in the 1997 Kickoff Classic, and the last regularly scheduled game was Missouri (of the Big 8) in the 1980s. Most Big 12 schools have decent alumni bases in Chicago, and playing a BCS school, especially if it is a "name," should bring out the local college football and casual fans. It also might help recruiting -- Texas is a major recruiting state, Missouri is a decent-sized one too, and with Baylor as the only "academic" Big 12 school, there is a pretty level playing field for the academic-type recruits in that region. And from a competitive standpoint (which admittedly is difficult to project years out), only Texas and Oklahoma (based on recent and historical success) would present a large fear of blowout factor.
interesting logic, sounds reasonable.
I think I might have missed it, but did anyone else think the refs were terrible? I was livid at the game the other night. I heard they were ACC refs, which would make sense after watching the Duke game in Evanston last year. Thoughts anyone?
@Lunker - yes, I thought they were bad (although I thought they were worse at the game then I did re-watching the game). Ironically, Ron Franklin mentioned at the top of the broadcast that the ACC crew was amongst the best in the business....well, I think they missed a bunch of holding calls on Mizzou, but then again, I'm biased.
As for scheduling, I just wish we'd get rid of FCS (Div. 1-AA) opponents all together. First of all, you never gain ANYTHING from winning those games; and a loss (or even narrow win) can be tragic. Second, if we're fighting the home attendance battle anyways, might as well attempt to do it with teams that have a large (or larger) following. Third, in the Big Ten tie-breakers, playing a FCS opponent hurts you in some scenarios (three way ties, I think, where each team beat one of the others)...why take the risk? Fourth, there are plenty of good "name" opponents out there that we should be playing. If you want an "easy" team each year (although they're not really easy), pick up Northern Illinois as a permanent schedule piece.
But I'd love to see us play series with any of the following, all of which have some focus on academics, and some of whom are coming on/have been on our schedule: Duke, Stanford, Vandy, Wake Forest, Boston College, Virginia, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Baylor, Mizzou, Pitt, Syracuse, Rice, Air Force, Navy, Army, BYU, TCU, or Tennessee.
As for next year -- I have no idea what to predict. A lot depends on Wootton, a lot depends on spring practice, and a lot depends on freshmen/redshirt freshmen. I could see us going anywhere from 5-7 to even 11-1 (although that would require a TON of luck).
LTP - any plans on doing more post-Alamo Bowl coverage? I'd love to see a detailed breakdown of the game, or even the entire trip/Purple experience, since I personally had such a great time down there.
If you're in to schedule-gazing then be sure to check out HailToPurple.com as they have projected NU schedules through 2015 or so. We start to get the BCs, Stanfords and the like in 3-4 years. I like the philosophy of playing smart, name schools. As I've mentioned before I am in favor of NIU (see Jim Phillips connection) in place of an FCS game and Notre Dame on the schedule. I'd love those two to be permanent with the other two being a rotation.
The challenge of scheduling is there is so much pressure to fill your schedule in advance that locking the BCs and Stanfords of the world in now for games in six years is silly - who the hell knows how good or bad those teams will be.
I plan on doing more Alamo Bowl stuff next week when folks are back at work.
Back to the calls, and I understand where most of us stand on the issue, I believe the most obvious blown calls were on the Maclin punt return. Watch the replay again and not only will you see missed tackles but you will also see some obvious blocks in the back (Woodsum # 44 I believe).
Very good scheduling ideas. I've never seen the logic in 1-AA games. Glad to see Vandy on the schedule for 2010 and '12, and possibly the next two years as well. If you don't know, Nashville is a cheap, short trip and a fun place for a short visit.
patlos - wow, I hadn't noticed that. That was pretty bad. Looked like Woodsum had a pretty good chance at getting him too. Oh well... there was probably a call like that that went in our favor too. Maybe.
There's a very good chance I'll be making the drive down to that armpit know as Syracuse, NY for the game on 9/19. I don't know that Syracuse is known for having much in the way of places to visit, but I do recommend the Dinosaur Bar-B-Q.
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