‘History’

Purple Mafia Profiles: William Bennett

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It’s time to welcome new LTP contributor Brett Kurland as he takes the lead on reuniting with a co-captain of the 1995 Rose Bowl and Big Ten Champion Wildcats – William Bennett

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You likely noticed a new byline. Well, that’s because the LTP roster continues to expand. Brett Kurland, a Northwestern alum from the late 90′s, is like many Wildcat fans.  He’s extremely passionate about his ‘Cats, and like so many of you 4-digit miles away from Evanston.  Brett lives in Arizona which sounds awfully good this time of year. A longtime LTP reader, Brett offerred to join the LTP fray with a specific focus on Purple Mafia Profiles (to start) and pushing the envelope by launching podcasts.  As we work out the kinks on podcasti

ng, we hope to get more creative and integrate multiple voices from around the country on a single podcast. But, we’ll get there. We look forward to your feedback on the podcasts and the site in general. We’re thrilled to have Brett on board. Take it away Brett…

In just two weeks, Northwestern will play in their fourth straight bowl game.  Northwestern fans have come to expect these late December (and early January) games.  But entering the 1995 season, Northwestern hadn’t been bowling in 47 years.  Heck, the Wildcats hadn’t even had a winning season in 25 years.  And coming off of a 3-7-1 season the year before, these droughts didn’t appear to be coming to an end anytime soon, at least to the outside world.  But one of the anchors of that team, senior co-captain William Bennett, saw something different.  He saw a team ready to break through.  Of course, you know the rest – a win over Notre Dame and a dream run to the Rose Bowl.  Lake the Posts recently caught up with William in Scottsdale, AZ.

In this podcast, the starting free safety reflects on that ’95 season, including the truth behind Gary Barnett’s “Don’t carry me off the field” instructions before the Notre Dame victory, what he heard (or didn’t hear) after the ‘Cats thrilling win at Michigan, his father’s prophetic Rose Bowl prediction, and a Jay Leno Rose Bowl memento.  Amongst other things, Bennett also shares stories about his former teammate Pat Fitzgerald and gives his keys to success for the 2012 Northwestern football team (ed note: sorry – we’re working on ironing out the kinks on embedding the podcast audio files…click on the link for the mp3 download to access in the meantime!)

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(Download: .mp3)

Below is a sampling of our conversation with William Bennett.  You can listen to or download the full interview above.

[Note: This interview took place before Northwestern's bowl destination was announced.]

BK: Your first three years at Northwestern – 3-8, 2-9, 3-7-1. That’s 8 wins, 24 losses, 1 tie.  So you show up at pre season camp for your senior year in 1995… What were the expectations? Did the team really believe in August that going to the Rose Bowl was how that season could really end?

WB: I believe that the attitude switched, really, my junior season, the ’94 season.  We had a solid team.  Players were in place, the attitude was shifting that we could win games.  If you look at those losses during that ’94 season, it was close – 7 points here, 3 points there, 10 points there.  Many times we were winning at the end of the game.  And going into the ’95 season, the guys worked hard, many of the guys stayed at Northwestern for the summer versus going back home.  Everyone fell together as a team, we worked together, I call it “like a glove.”  It all just fit.  All the pieces were in place.

BK: Obviously, there’s a lot of great memories from that season. What’s at the top of William Bennett’s list?

William sports the watch every member of the '95 Wildcats received for going to the Rose Bowl.

WB: The first thing that comes out is when we beat Notre Dame at Notre Dame.  My father was actually in attendance at the game.  Growing up, Notre Dame was the premiere program.  And for us to go into South Bend, at the Golden Dome, beat them, and walk away, that right there started the season.  And, then, of course, the other wins, like Michigan.

I also remember the drive down at the Rose Bowl.  If you’ve ever been to Pasadena, it’s a nice winding drive down into the stadium there.  Just to see all of the purple, all of the colors, and to know that just a year before that, I was vacationing at Disneyland.  And my dad said, “Let’s go down to the Rose Bowl.  You guys may be here.”  He just painted the picture, painted the vision.  We took a picture in the exact same spot [a year later], which was great.  That was really neat.

BK: One of the more common side conversations about the 1995 season relates to the loss to Miami of Ohio (the season’s only loss, which followed the season opening victory over Notre Dame) and its impact on the rest of the season.  How do you think the season would’ve played out if you hadn’t lost that game?

WB: We probably would’ve been undefeated.  The reason why I say that is the attitude going into the season was that each time we step onto that field, each player knew what their job was – to #1 go out and dominate, be better than the next player.  And for us to lose that game, it was an eye opener, that we are vulnerable, that we have some areas that we need to shore up.  But at the same time, if we had won that game, we probably would’ve won out, completely had an undefeated season.  For me and what I saw, and what we could do as a team, as a defensive unit, as an offensive unit, I think we would’ve still dominated all the way through.  There might’ve been a surprise in there, but to look at what we did the rest of the season, and how we played out,  I think it would’ve been better to go all the way undefeated.

BK: There were some surreal “wow, this thing is big” moments that season – Darnell on the cover of Sports Illustrated, ESPN College Gameday coming to campus, the team’s appearance on “The Tonight Show,” etc.  Is there a specific moment that made you say “Oh wow”? Did you and other players have any appreciation at the time what an incredible season and story was unfolding?

WB: It was focused game to game to game.  It didn’t hit me until after we came back from the Rose Bowl… People came up to me, came up to other players, and said “You guys just changed our lives.  You gave us some inspiration, made things that we didn’t believe could happen, we were able to achieve.”  And they used the things that we won during those times – the attitude, the work ethic, the focus – and implemented that as a value statement into their businesses, into their lifestyles.

Bennett helped design the Cats 1995 Big Ten Champions ring.

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It inspired other organizations in college football across the nation.  We were brought in to speak at some of these engagements. There were books, there were movies, there were videos, back when they had video tapes / VHS, that were made on the season.  It didn’t hit us until then, the impact.

BK: Let’s fast forward to now… You stood right behind Pat Fitzgerald on the field of play.  What’s it like seeing him on the sideline now?

WB: It’s great to see.  It’s a byproduct of what that team was about.  “Expect Victory.”  Coach Barnett came in and brought it in… “Taking the Purple to Pasadena…”  Our whole attitude was everything we did was to expect victory.  And now to see Pat Fitzgerald as the head coach… He’s doing very well.  I mean this guy bleeds purple.  He’s an Illinois guy, two-time All-American, MVP Award Winner.  But he was also a coach on the field.  I share with people that he was our quarterback up front, because he handled our front 7, I was the quarterback in the back, to make sure everything was all put in place.  And to see what he’s doing with the guys, the attitude that it brings to the table.  I know that  they’re going to get back to the Rose Bowl, that they’re going to win another Big Ten Championship.  It’s just a matter of getting them to the National Championship.  And he has that attitude.  You can see it.  Because of the energy, the fire, the focus that he has.  It’s always great to see.

BK: This season had a very odd flow to it – 2 wins, followed by 5 straight losses, followed by 4 wins, including the upset at Nebraska, then finishing up with a loss, finishing up at 6-6.  What is your assessment of this season?

WB: Being able to pull it together.  If you recall, for ourselves, going back to the ’95 season, prior to that, we had some losing records, but we were close in those games.  And that’s the same thing that’s happening here.  There’s guys that are going to be coming up now… I feel bad for the senior class, they have to move on [from playing football at Northwestern]… but then the guys after that, the juniors, the sophomores, the freshmen as they come in, they understand that they can beat the big guys.  I mean, Nebraska comes in, and Nebraska is the team to beat, and they were able to go out and beat them at their home field – that was great!

But then they also lost a couple games.  I know there’s times where they’re like “OK, how do we pull it together?”  And now they can see that there’s a gap of what they need to do.  If they go back into their offseason and focus on not only studying what they’ve done, but then improving as a player, as a person, they’ll be able to put it together for next season.

William Bennett, now a corporate recruiter, lives with his wife and three children in Scottsdale, AZ.

BK: And finally, catch us up – what is William Bennett doing now?

WB: What I’m doing now… I’m taking care of the family.  I have a beautiful wife.  I’ve got three  kids – I have a 10-year-old, 8-year-old, and a 5-year-old, busy, running around.  Attending Northwestern functions and alumni events.  I also manage a recruiting firm right here in Scottsdale.  I work with Kelly Services.  I also have an online store business, where we are able to do marketing for over 600 different retailers.  So I do a little bit of that on my spare time.

People ask “how do you pull it all together?”  It’s all about planning and putting it together.  When you’re a student athlete, you kind of learn how to juggle multiple projects.  Not only from classes, but also your personal life, and then also sports.  It was funny – one of my coworkers asked “How did you work out?  Did you guys just work out 3 or 4 times during the week when you played?”  I’m like “No.  It was 7 days a week, and 4 or 5 hours a day of just working out.”  And her eyes just got lit, like “Are you serious?” And I was like, “oh yeah, by the way, we had to study.  We had to go to class.  And if you wanted to go out on a date… You had to pull it all together.”

Final Day To Enter LTP ESPN Bowl Mania – Close To Breaking Record Participants!!!!

Speaking of bragging rights, make sure you get your entry in for the 2011 edition of LTP ESPN Bowl Mania. It is very simple. CLICK HERE and follow the simple step-by-step process to pick a winner in all 35 bowl games and place a confidence level (1-35) next to your picks. The highest total wins and will have bragging rights on this board for an entire year. As of this morning we had 118 entrants. Our highwater mark was 137 in 2010. Let’s get 20 more of you procrastinators to lock in today!

Help Move The NU Allotment! SUPPORT FOR JIM – 59 donations and counting!

By now you know the drill. In honor of the passing of Jim Phillip’s father, we’re asking fans to do two simple things. Show your support by CLICKING HERE and donating a ticket to the Texas Bowl in honor of Jim’s father. Second, write a note of support via email and send it to me along with the note on whether or not you donated a ticket and I will guarantee you that I get the message to Jim. My email is laketheposts@gmail.com .

Thanks Jim and please know the entire Northwestern community is with you in support and spirit during this challenging time. For the fans, NU ticket sales are estimated to be at about 6K.  That means some 14K of the season ticket holders (at least) have not purchased tickets. If you can’t make it, donate.  It’s critical we sellout our allotment for future bowl help.

Support Honor Roll – 59 and counting…

A big shout out to Jim M., Tom and Mark S. for putting some tickets on the donation board and getting us to 59. I will likely be seeing Jim in person next week and want that 100 number. Badly. Let’s keep it rolling.

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Stacking Up The Stats – Clip ‘N Save Edition

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It’s that time of year again. The time when you need to be armed to debunk myths and trends about NU’s reputation. Since the world is coming to an end (again!) let’s be sure to start back at the beginning…1995.

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I’d like to send out a special thanks to Max Kaplan, our fearless researcher, who put together some great stats on our Big Ten “when it was 11 teams” conference which I thought might be of interest.  We’ve broken down each school’s record over five, ten and sixteen (using 1995 as the starting point – of course!) year increments. We’ve done so to illustrate conference records, overall records, bowl appearances and essentially everything you need to know to equip yourself with ammo in the inevitable defense of our fair name.

The bottom line is that as a program, we’ve been on a whole, the epitome of average.  Granted, we all know that there have been extreme peaks (three Big Ten titles) and valleys (see: end of Barnett era and early 2000s not named 2000) that are a much rockier road than our overall mediocre average.  Plus, the Cardiac ‘Cats stats are missing, which, if we weren’t as good in close games, would paint a much worse picture.  Several of you sent me this SB Nation stat geek fest post which addresses this point. Candidly, I shyed away from it because I didn’t completely understand all of the metrics. Let’s get on with the stat-heavy post.

LAST FIVE YEARS (Since 2006) – OVERALL

This is conveniently the “Fitz era” snapshot which many of you can recite chapter and verse.  While we know Fitz’s overall record is 34-29, many don’t know his Big Ten record is a sub .500 18-22.  We all are compassionate enough to have an asterisk next to 2006 since the 4-8 season was an absolute shell shock in the picking up the pieces triage in the wake of Randy Walker’s tragic death.  Let’s take a look at the programs and their overall ranking during this time period, along with some interesting notes that will likely go a long way to either reinforcing general program perceptions and/or offer some actual facts to bring to light some misperceptions (it’s a bad day for your Illini colleagues!).

Big Ten Overall Records Since 2006 - aka - The Fitz Era

I’m not sure if Northwestern’s 34-29 record coming in 7th was a surprise or not to you. I thought we’d be fifth or sixth. Michigan jumped out as a bit of a surprise because of how extremely down they’ve been the past few years, but then you realize the same overall record RichRod had last year (7-6) ended in termination, while Fitz (7-6) was able to earn a 10-year contract. Obviously that is completely out of context, but you get the point.  Despite the apocalyptic past few years at Michigan, they still outperformed NU in the Fitz era thanks to Lloyd Carr’s final seasons carrying the way. The above records look like the annual preseason prognostications of late, almost to a tee, if you move Michigan down below Northwestern.  The most alarming stat to me was the horrible Top 25 performances by so many teams, but most notably Michigan State at 3-14 during this span. I was equally surprised by a 6-10 mark by Wisconsin.  Northwestern’s Top 25 record is nothing to brag about (4-10), but there is one piece of fun Wildcataganda – “During the Fitz era, Northwestern has won as many Top 25 games as Purdue & Illinois combined (insert Minnesota OR Indiana in place of Purdue depending upon fan you are talking to). You can swap out Illinois for Michigan State in this equation as well.

Big Ten Conference Only Records Since 2006

Big Ten Conference Only Records Since 2006 - aka The Fitz Era

Have you started to realize how much Ohio State is truly in a league of their own? Geesh. Just look at that. The 18-22 mark by Northwestern in Big Ten play in the Fitz era is nothing to pound the chest about, but the logjam between 4-7 in the above is what was most noticeable to me.  Only three losses separate Michigan State and Iowa from Northwestern.  Illinois and Purdue’s marks, only two behind NU in the W-L column also somewhat stunned me. I had both of them pegged for worse records during this stanza.

Big Ten Overall Records for Past 10 Years (Since 2001):

Big Ten Overall Records Over Past 10 Seasons (Since 2001)

Whenever you play Wildcataganda, it always is more fun to pin it to five year intervals that are decade starters/finishers. “Since 1995…Since 2000…Since 2005…” are much better than “the past 10 seasons” at this point. However, to be fair, I thought it was worth a look.  You and I know that if we had added 2000 then NU would be exactly 68-67 since the start of this century, but that’s for another day. In the above rankings since 2001, I was somewhat surprised by Penn State cracking the top four teams as the early 2000s were none to kind to the JoePas. I also was somewhat surprised by how close Iowa and Wisconsin are for bridesmaids honors in the Big Ten back-up band to Ohio State. I was most surprised by Michigan falling to number five over this long of a stretch which just goes to show you how quickly a couple of seasons can really sandbag a generation’s worth of work. Again, the poor Top 25 play by Penn State, Michigan State and Wisconsin really stood out. It stings to see NU below .500 in this ranking.

Big Ten Conference Only Over Past 10 Seasons:

Big Ten Conference Only Records Over Past 10 Seasons (Since '01)

I’m not sure what I expected here from NU but the 10-game under .500 total conference mark isn’t pretty. One thing of note was the fact our non-conference record during this decade-long span of games was 25-18, which to me, was surprisingly bad. Of course, we were 0-5 in bowl games, so the actual regular season non-conference mark was 25-13 which seemed more accurate in terms of what I expected.  Of course, then I tried to instantly reel off the non-conference losses – Arizona State, TCU, Nevada, Duke…then I stopped. Why endure the pain? The most painful point here is that we are one of only four teams to not claim a share of a Big Ten title during the ten year stretch. Ugh.

Big Ten Overall Since 1995

Big Ten Overall Records Since 1995

The moral of this story is that not even the two Big Ten back-to-back champion seasons can catapult a 16-year span. It’s great to see a longevity stat that has NU on the right side of average, but I again expected us to have more distance between the W/L totals.  No secret here that our atrocious bowl record is sandbagging us as we’ve gone 10 games OVER .500 in regular season play since 1995 (98-88).  I was shocked by Sparty’s nearly similar bowl ineptitude (had no idea).  And this is the telltale stat for the Illini fans. I always scream that they don’t get the cellar treatment we got for so many years and yet they are 46 games UNDER .500 since 1995 – 46!!!!!!!!!

Big Ten Conference Only Since 1995

Big Ten Conference Records Only Since 1995

Yes, NU has put up a plus .500 record in Big Ten play over the past three seasons (13-11), but the above stat box really does have Wildcataganda all over it.  Consider that 15 of the 60 wins came in 1995 and 1996 and the 45-67 since then isn’t nearly as rosy a picture.  However, we did earn them and they count just as much now as they did then, but this is the one category – Big Ten record over a substantial time – that will be the perception driver.  As you can see, getting over 50% in this category and you are essentially an upper tier program. It also has the most oomph when you say it.  Team X is ranked Y in the Big Ten in conference record over the past Z years.  No non-conference “X” factor, you’ve got to be solid for a long time to crack the upper tier here. To me, this is the one that is the true barometer of success for the program. Of course, AFTER we finally end that damn bowl drought. 

So, what sticks out to you on this stat-filled day?

LTP Tickets – Purple Pledge

Kudos to GTom for pushing a new Wildcat parent to lock and load on four season tickets.  We’ve got a long way to go, but we’re THIS close to eclipsing the 10% to goal mark.  We set a goal of 500 NEW season tickets through the friends of LTP and we’re not quite yet at 50. We’ve got a ton of ground to make up and we’re closing in on t-minus 90 days to kickoff, so let’s start cranking it up folks!

Army To Big East?

As we keep an eye on our 2011 opponents, this post by ESPN.com’s Brian Bennett caught my eye.  Army and Navy are rumored to be potential expansion targets for Big East football as the quest to quilt a hodge-podge completely-different-football-from-basketball-league continues.  The push is to get a 12 team conference to retain BCS status and generate  more TV revenue and of course the cherry-on-top of a championship game.  Army is a 2011 Wildcat opponent and will venture to Ryan Field in 2015.

Small Makes Ohio State Transgressions Big Again

For the love of God, can someone please make the Ohio State drama stop.  Above you see a generation of rarified mastery in Big Ten play as the Buckeyes are so far out in front of the rest of the pack they’ve become the default brand of the Big Ten in our on-field reputation battles. Now, we’re all collectively hoping to bury them.  The latest national headline grabber is former WR Ray Small (2006-2010) offering up a tellall to the Buckeyes’ student newspaper.  As you can see in this ESPN.com report Small makes no secret about the car deals and the players’ decisions to take advantage of the love they were given.  This is heading down an ugly path quickly.

Big Ten Doings

  • Gene Wojciechwoski goes to bat for Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany who recently took the stand that the cost of living adjustment gap for student-athletes needs to be adjusted.  It equates to an annual $3000 proposed stipend – $8.22 per day (year-round) to address the growing “actual sticker price” difference of going to college on a “full ride”. 
  • Michigan freshman WR DJ Williamson has decided to transfer adding to the list of players leaving with the regime change.
  • Wisconsin is still very much in the hunt for the services of NC State QB transfer Russell Wilson who is also considering Auburn.

Dillo Day Means Lacrosse Final Four

Northwestern’s infamous Dillo Day is this Saturday, an annual rite of passage at the Evanston campus.  While students let loose on the lakefront with a slew of bands and brew, the women’s lacrosse team will be vying for a sixth national title.  The Final Four action begins tomorrow afternoon in Stony Brook, NY as NU faces North Carolina in the national semifinal.  BW3 in Evanston will be hosting an official “Watch Party” for the weekend’s games starting with the ‘Cats game at 6:30 pm ct tomorrow. Here is the official release from Northwestern and Buffalo Wild Wings:

“This weekend, Buffalo Wild Wings will be your host for the official Northwestern Lacrosse NCAA Championship watch party.  Join fellow Wildcat lacrosse fans at Buffalo Wild Wings in Evanston this Friday to watch the Wildcats take on North Carolina in the National Semifinals.  The semifinal match will be shown on the big screen Friday at 6:30 p.m.  Should the Wildcats win on Friday, you can come back to Buffalo Wild Wings to see them play in the National Championship at 3 p.m. on Sunday.  Come down and support the ‘Cats as they go for their sixth National Championship.”

Buffalo Wild Wings is located at 1741 Maple Avenue in downtown Evanston.

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‘Cats – Illini Gameday (Literally) Edition

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Gameday of the ESPN variety is underway. Gameday of the “what really matters” is upon us. Let the wild rumpus start.

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Let’s hope the immense distractions that have been playing out nationally regarding this game are only distracting us and not Evan Watkins and the ‘Cats.  NU students have been up all night with many reading this in the dark while standing on the set of ESPN Gameday.  I feel as if we’re about to experience the most surreal football experience in our collective lifetimes.  And considering that feeling we had walking through the looooong tunnel at the Rose Bowl to take to our seats that is saying something.  LTP caught wind that we are wearing throwback uniforms of the mid 1990s variety – the purple and black Fitz-era type.  I have yet to officially confirm, but be on the lookout.  Away. We. Go.

ARV/#25 Northwestern (7-3, 3-3) vs Illinois (5-5, 3-4)

GAMEDAY INFO
Date: November 20, 2010
Kickoff: 2:35 pm ct
Location: Wrigley Field (39,800) – Chicago, IL
Series since 1995: Northwestern leads 10-5
Alltime Series: Illinois leads 52-46-5
Trends: ‘Cats have won six of the last seven
Favored Team: Illinois (-8)
TV: ESPN PXP -Mark Jones, Color – Bob Davie, SL-Erin Andrews
Radio: WGN Radio.com PXP – Dave Eanet, Color – Ted Albrecht, SL – Sam Valensizi
Sirius Radio Channel 90, XM Radio Channel 196; WNUR 89.3 FM (student station)
Twitter: @NU_SportsLIVE
Coaching Stats: NU – Pat Fitzgerald (5th year – 34-26, 18-20) vs Ron Zook ( 6th year – 26-43, 15-31)Fitz vs Illini: 3-1
Zook vs ‘Cats: 1-4

The Ground Rules:
Before we jump in to the “normal” coverage, it is important we are all on the same page with the wacky ground rules for this once-in-a-lifetime approach to a college football game:
1) All offensive plays will head toward the West end zone, including all extra points and all overtime possessions.
2) All kickoffs will be kicked toward the East end zone.
3) After every change of possession, the ball will be repositioned for the offense to head toward the West end zone.
4) As a result of a coin toss held by the conference office Friday morning, Illinois will occupy the West team bench in the first half and Northwestern will occupy the West team bench in the second half and for all overtime periods.

2-Minute Drill
I’ve never been so exhausted BEFORE a gameday. Today, the country will find out where the heck ESPNU is on their respective TVs as the ‘Cats and Illini meet for the 104th time in a trophy game, The Land of Lincoln Trophy, but have generated so much national PR this game has become must see TV. Since defeating Iowa in dramatic fashion, the college football world has had a rather roller-coaster diversion from Cam Newton files as the right field wall may have become Auburn’s best friend. With the Big Ten’s decision to step in and force both teams to play offense going in one direction – West – the gameplan(s) have been revised and the only thing that is certain is now surreality.

The ‘Cats enter as 8-point underdogs but it feels as if both teams fan bases feel as if these are teams heading in different directions. My, what a difference two weeks can make. The Illini have been crushed two lockerroom challenging losses – one getting scorched for 67 points in the 3 OT thriller at Michigan and then last week a collapse against previously conference goose egg holder Minnesota (we ‘Cats fans know to not throw stones at that one). The press has questioned the Illini’s cohesiveness and you wonder if there may be in-fighting and fractures with team chemistry that similarly plagued some of Juice Williams’ teams. This media hype on Wrigley and NU has projected a feeling that we SHOULD be favored yet we’re in our familiar underdog role, which is our collective comfort zone. The Illini opened eyes with incredible “D” against the likes of Ohio State and Penn State and took care of business against Indiana and Purdue in ways that we can only dream about. Yet, it feels like a different team ago.

The major headline in all of the actual game is Evan Watkins’ debut as a starter. The 6-6, 245 pound manchild and RS frosh will get to play in one of the most memorable events in NU history in his own hometown. The lack of game experience by Watkins has NU fans clutching to the QB-U success we’ve developed in recent years having success plug-and-playing QBs. Watkins has a stellar arm and can throw big time and his mobility is the most underrated attribute. I am concerned about all of this chaos leading to distraction, but who knows?

When Evan Watkins Is On The Field
Let’s hope first and foremost he remembers which direction to go. God knows I’m confused and I have zero bearing on the game. I’m expecting an unfavorable play mix of too much run early by NU which could be troublesome. I’d love to see him jump out of the gate tossing the rock, but I feel as though we are ultra-conservative on this and will likely try to ease him in to it. The Illini secondary is the weak link here and we MUST test them downfield. It will be really fascinating to see how we handle the first drive, but candidly I’m prepared to be frustrated by the play-calling early. I hope I’m wrong. If we’re handing off on 2nd and 3rd and ten I’ll be mightily upset. Prove me wrong Mick McCall. Keep an eye on who steps up to be the calming influence and Persa-like captain on the field. My money is on Ebert or Dunsmore.

When Nathan Scheelhaase is Facing West:

No secret to Mike Hankwitz’s plan here. Its’ called contain, contain, contain.  Contain Mikel Leshoure, the standout Illini RB who averages 100+ yds per game on the ground and contain Nathan Scheelhaase who is evasive like Dan Persa, but not nearly as accurate.  Force Scheelhaase to beat NU downfield and Hankwitz is doing his job.  The key will be stopping the run on 1st down and putting the accomplished freshman in 2nd and 3rd long situations.

The Wrigley Factor:

Several folks, including Fitz have mentioned the old street football addage “losers walk” after a score.  If there is one big advantage to me it is the fact NU won the coin toss yesterday for the sideline positioning. Northwestern won the toss and will have the advantage of being close to the now famous west end zone meaning easier communication when driving for scores and close proximity for substitutions once we cross the 50. We get it for OT as well if necessary. 

Wacky Stat
The Rodney Dangerfield “no respect” cards will be out today. The ‘Cats have been underdogs in every one of Fitz’s appearances against Illinois, yet we are 3-1 against them during this span. The puzzling part is NU has been an underdog in a season in which they entered 7-3 and 6-4 in games against sub .500 Illini teams. In Ron Zook’s six seasons, he has had only one .500 or better season. Conversely, Fitz has had only one season in which he hasn’t been at least .500. Go figure.

Birthday Boy

I’m expecting at least one spine tingling “Dan Persa” chant tomorrow and with good reason.  It’s Persa’s birthday which will be his most bittersweet as he watches from the sidelines.  A reminder – PLEASE send in your notes of inspiration and ‘Get Wells” to Dan by emailing me at lake the posts @ gmail.com – we have nearly 70 to date and I want to make it to 100. We’ll ensure he gets them on Monday so get them in today!!

Ring The (Wedding) Bell:
Congratulations from LTP to former Wildcat player Doug Szymul who is getting married today to former Wildcat tennis player Stacy Kokx. In addition to their collective last names being a bonanza in points on a Scrabble board, the two lovebirds are bummed their missing the game.  However, in true ‘Cat fashion, be on the lookout for ten guys in tuxedos around the Gameday set.  Szymul is an ESPN employee and has some pull to get around the set.  Doug – be careful my friend. You don’t want to be late…best wishes from LTP!

Lake The Posts Factor: 9.0

OK, I admit beating a 5-5 team is not worthy of ripping down FG posts, but c’mon. When you have students who can rest their beer on the post in right field (don’t even think about it!) there is a tempting logistical factor that weighs in on this usually-reserved-ranking-for-importance metric.  Let’s face it, this is a bowl-like game that because of the attention will now have many more eyeballs and an 8-3 mark sounds pretty nifty don’t you think? Three straight 8+ win seasons? THAT would be progress. 

Pick to Click: Drake Dunsmore

It’s time for double “D” to step-up and assume the leadership role in Persa’s absence. With Ebert having a shot to eclipse 1000 yards receiving you can bet Vic Koennig is focusing on shutting down #11. Hence, Drake’s breakout game of the year is due. 

ESPN Gameday Factor

Please take photos that we can share tonight and tomorrow from the festitvities on LTP.  Also, screen grabs will be very much appreciated. I’m thinking any LTP references might get special props. Hmmm…

Prediction:

Flip a coin. I haven’t a clue of what to expect. I do like the coaching advantage as I’m hoping there is just enough of an edge that it’ll make a difference.  The ‘Cats are in familiar territory – an underdog in November with bowl positioning on the line.  Will Mr. November get us to 11-5 during his tenure? I think so, but barely. I’m pretty confident the craziest stat I know of in the FBS will stay in tact – that is, NU has gone 26 straight games either being tied or ahead in the second half of a game.  I’m expecting a VERY low scoring 1st quarter with teams finding their flow in the second half.

Northwestern 23 Illinois 21

LTP will be at the game and therefore won’t be posting until late Saturday night. Feel free to use this space as the community to share, hi-five, moan, groan and hopefully bring home the win.  A full report coming later tonight when I get home. 

Did (N)U Know?

With a win today, Pat Fitzgerald would tie his mentor, Gary Barnett with 35 all-time wins at NU and be within one of Ara Parseghian. Fitz is 15 shy of tying the all-time wins mark (49) at NU.

And Finally…

LTP will be at the game in full force so use this comments section as the community to hi-5, rant, rave etc…Expect a recap post LATE tonight after I get back from the Wrigley festivities.

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Persa-nalysis, Trump Card & Other ‘Cat Nip

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Who gets the RB start on Saturday? Is Persa REALLY #1 in QB rating? Click on over as the answer(s) might surprise you.

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The 2-deep is out and as most of us hoped Mike Trumpy gets the nod as the starter, kind of.  Jacob Schmidt is listed alongside Trumpy as the “Or”.  I’m taking this as a sign of respect for Schmidt, but let’s not kid ourselves Trumpy’s second half effort was the best we’ve seen of the ground game to date and I expect him to get the chance to get the bulk of the carries.  Trumpy net 53 yards on 12 carries on Saturday.   

Northwestern is currently ranked 10th in the Big Ten in rushing yards per game and 64th in the nation at a pedestrian 149.75 ypg.  Only Indiana at 113 ypg (96th in the nation) is worse.  Penn State is slightly ahead of us with 159 ypg and a ranking of 61. 

Per(sa)-plexed

Thanks to James for pointing out what appears to be a mistake on someone’s part.  The official NCAA CFB stats site lists Dan Persa as tied for second in QB Passer Rating (with OSU’s Brandon Weeden).  The leader? Utah’s Terrance Cain, with a 192.5 rating is the nation’s leader as you can see by clicking here.   Granted, Cain has one less game under his belt than Persa (as does Weeden), so we’ll see how long that lofty number stays up there.  Check out the NCAA official stats here.

Da Da Da…

Northwestern gets its first ESPN appearance of the season as NU gets the “mothership” treatment and of course, an opportunity to clean-up the slop and formally introduce the nation to Dan Persa.  Kickoff is set for 12 pm et as you know. 

Recap The Recap

I failed to list Skip Myslenski’s recap of Saturday. Here it is.

Did (N)U Know?

With Saturday’s win, Pat Fitzgerald now has 31 putting him 4 behind Gary Barnett (35) and 5 behind Ara Parseghian (36).  Amazing.  For what it’s worth, I used to cringe even in 1996 when Barnett’s career record was shown. Despite winning all those games we were always seemingly way below .500 on the lower-third.  I love getting some distance between wins and losses now with Fitz as it says something about the program with this many games under his belt to be 8 games over .500 – and counting.

Did (N)U Know? Part Deux

Kudos to Mike Wolf at NU for his stellar game notes.  Check this out. Looks like “since start of 2008″ is the new “since 1995″ as I’ll be posting Big Ten records since 2008 tomorrow.  In the meantime, check out how our road success matches up nationally since the start of 2008:

Best FBS Road Records Since 2008                                       Most Road Wins by FBS Schools Since 2008
Boise State …………………………….. 13-0 1.00                      Boise State ………………………………………..13-0 1.00
Alabama ………………………………..10-0 1.00                       USC………………………………………………..12-3 .800
Florida …………………………………….9-0 1.00                      TCU……………………………………………….11-2 .846
Texas ……………………………………….9-1 .900                        Cincinnati ………………………………………..11-4 .733
TCU ………………………………………11-2 .846                         Alabama …………………………………………..10-0 1.00
USC ……………………………………….12-3 .800                        Utah …………………………………………….10-3 .769
Ohio State ……………………………….. 7-2 .778                       Fresno State ……………………………………..10-6 .625
Utah ………………………………………10-3 .769                        Central Michigan …………………………………10-7 .588
Northwestern ……………………………9-3 .750                        Florida …………………………………………….9-0 1.00
Missouri ………………………………….6-2 .750                          Texas ……………………………………………..9-1 .900
                                                                                                                    Northwestern …………………………………… 9-3 .750
                                                                                                                    Georgia Tech ……………………………………..9-4 .692
                                                                                                                     Brigham Young ………………………………….9-4 .692

Any time you’re in the same chart with the likes of Alabama, Florida, Texas, Ohio State and Boise State it is usually a good thing!

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>’Cats In The Backyard

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>Northwestern was humbled by yesterday’s practice at Great Lakes Naval Station in North Chicago. The base is quite a sprawling campus and is just north of Lake Bluff and just [...]

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>Northwestern was humbled by yesterday’s practice at Great Lakes Naval Station in North Chicago. The base is quite a sprawling campus and is just north of Lake Bluff and just south of Waukegan. This is likely too much info, but I can walk to the Naval Station from my house (ran by there this morning). I hear the trumpets as a wake-up call in the morning and taps every night at sundown. So, when NU comes a callin it was if I’d won a sweepstakes and the team was literally playing in my backyard. Yet, I was at work and missed the once-in-70-year appearance.

Many of you may not know the history of Great Lakes a team that erroneously is used as a chuckle when scanning all-time results and opponents in a media guide. Names like Parseghian, Halas, and Paddy Driscoll played for the Bluejackets. I’m a sucker for history and thanks to Skip Myslenski of NUSports.com you can enjoy this cliff notes version of said history here. It’s required reading.

The theme of yesterday’s practice was “perspective”. Tina A. had a nice Sun-Times piece here on CJ Bryant’s discovery about his dad’s connections to Great Lakes. Fitz acknowledged a cousin went throught the base. You read in Skip’s piece about the deep impact the day had on LB Bryce McNaul whose brother is set to go overseas this fall while he gets to play football. And it’s a good dose of perspective for football-obsessed LTP.

I received an email from a soldier who was overseas thanking ME for all that I do to provide him access to his favorite diversion – Northwestern football. He clamors for daily updates and he says I’m his conduit. You can imagine the note of thanks I sent him for all he does for us and I told him that we thank HIM. What I do is a joke in comparison to what these folks do to defend our country.

There is no doubt this relationship is in part a marketing tactic. Nearly 40,000 soldiers pass through Great Lakes annually and grabbing even a small percentage as fans will no doubt help. They’ll be honored at the home opener on September 11 against Illinois State. It will be interesting to see how many attend the game and even moreso to see how many stick as fans. As with most things Fitz does, this is not some shallow ploy. He’s become friends with the folks in North Chicago and was invited to their graduation. You can tell it’s important to him and the emotion of the team’s reaction is very authentic. It’s just another example of doing things the right way.

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>Hail to "What If?"

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> Image courtesy of HailToPurple Mark this one under “summer daydream.” The fine friends at http://www.hailtopurple.com/ are always one to take deep dives to a level that I can’t touch. [...]

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> Image courtesy of HailToPurple

Mark this one under “summer daydream.” The fine friends at http://www.hailtopurple.com/ are always one to take deep dives to a level that I can’t touch. Whether it be history, traditions or stadium trivia they are the goods. Then, an LTP reader sent this post along and I couldn’t resist sharing the diversion of fun time it gave me to not only think about, but actually visualize what an on-campus football stadium would look like. GoUPurple took the liberty of actually taking the daydream part out and created an actual graphic overlay of what a football stadium on the site of the current lacrosse stadium site would look like. Can you imagine how amazing that atmosphere would be? It’s like Army’s stadium, but on Lake Michigan. Talk about home field advantage! The student section would be insane, the tailgating would be phenomenal and the television visuals would be a 3-hour infomercial. Oh to dream…I’m fully convinced we need a completely new stadium – I’ve officially done a 180 on this topic. The feasability of this being built on the lake likely would have the environmental police opening up an office in the parking lot. It’s not going to happen. But wow…to dream. Well done HTP!
Please take a fun tour down daydream lane at this post on HailtoPurple.

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>Brand Ambassadorship

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>I promised a story on the LTP excursion to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies last week. The more I think about it, I should be on the [...]

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>I promised a story on the LTP excursion to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies last week. The more I think about it, I should be on the payroll of NU as a brand ambassador. It really is silly how easily I’m able to work Northwestern Athletics in to a conversation regardless of where I am. A true test is the hoops Hall of Fame considering the fact NU may have the least amount of connections to Springfield’s shrine as any collegiate program in America. Yes, Tex Winter’s impact on HOF inductee Scottie Pippen is a connection, but that’s about it.

I was in town to support Coach Bob Hurley Sr. as my day job led me to help produce the documentary film chronicling his amazing story. You might remember The Street Stops Here premiered during March Madness on PBS this past spring. After a reception on Thursday night I found myself sitting at a hotel bar with one of my alltime favorite players – Oscar Robertson. Truly the Michael Jordan before Michael Jordan, the Big “O” was kind enough to indulge me in a great hour-long conversation about hoops. I’m fascinated by the man not because he AVERAGED a triple double in the NBA, but because of his amazing high school career under Ray Crowe that in my opinion, single-handedly led to the desegregation of the entire state of Indiana. After sharing our respective stories it naturally came up that my move to Chicago was in large part due to attending Northwestern. Turns out, one of Oscar’s daughters who was at our table actually attended Northwestern (she ended up transferring to American University). It was a night I’ll always cherish.

Following that, I found myself at a private part of the hotel with about 30-40 NBA dignitaries and Sir Charles Barkley was kind enough to put his credit card down. What a thrill to be literally having a beer with Charles, Dee Brown, Bill Wennington and David Aldridge debating the merits of today’s players understanding of the collective bargaining agreement. Bill shared he was en route to BC to see his son play which obviously led to a CFB discussion and talk of the ‘Cats.

During the next 24 hours I had the chance to have conversations with everyone from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Jerry Colangelo. Some were brief (David Stern) and some were lengthy and robust (Jerry Colangelo). Nearly all were able to find themselves discussing NU and when it was warranted Pat Fitzgerald and the Wildcat program. Being in a hoops-crazy crowd I can tell you there is still some brand recognition Fitz and the ‘Cats need, but I’m sure a few of the unlucky folks I conversed with at least have the seed planted. All in all, a night to remember.

Kafka Connects

Next Sunday I will do a more thorough NFL wrap-up of Wildcats in exhibition play. No doubt Mike Kafka was the headliner of this past weekend as he rallied the Eagles on consecutive scoring drives to earn the win. Granted, much of the drives consisted of runs, but Mike connected on a 57-yard strike and overall was a key in the Eagles 28-27 win over Jacksonville. Mike was 3-7 for 76 yards on the night. He’ll be back in action Friday night at 8pm et when the Eagles face Cincinnati.

D-Line Battle

Tina A. offers some insights in to the Vince Browne-Kevin Watt-Quentin Williams battle for DE in today’s Sun-Times. The article also boasts Fitz’s discontent with the energy level of some of the offense after a rigorous two-a-day on Monday. I’m still very concerned about Drake Dunsmore who will be sitting out of Camp Kenosha as he’s “dinged up”. As we’ve noted here several times of late, Drake being “dinged up” has been a given, but the guy is so darn tough, for him to be out for a prolonged period of time scares me.

The TCU Blueprint

With all of the talk here about stadium renovation, this news of a complete stadium renovation to the tune of $105 million at TCU should strike a chord. When you read this piece you could literally madlib the word TCU and replace it with Northwestern and it would work. The tiny undergrad base (just under 9,000 (NU has 8,000)) and the fact that Dallas-Ft. Worth is home to more other Texas school alums that TCU must really fight to make it Ft. Worth’s hometown team. Hmmm…sound familiar? OK, how about the constant struggle to garner attendance? Only twice have they drawn over 38,000 in recent years and this is a team whose on-field success is BCS bowl level in the past few years. I found it interesting that they raised $105 million in 8 months from 34 donors. I’m convinced we’re heading down this road soon. We’ll keep an eye on the transformation as it could provide a nice blueprint for NU.

Ring The Bell!

Ticket sales are starting to pour in from LTP readers. Alan A. gets major bonus points for not only tallying four season tickets (including converting two friends) but also puts a handful of flags on the map from China-to-Dubai-to-Bridgeport. Ian S. put two season duckets on the board and John W. picked up three 3-packs for Ryan Field. Keep ‘em coming!

Wave the Flag

Today’s LTP Flag Project Highlight is thanks to BJ and Jim who submitted this beauty in front of Ara Parseghian’s statue outside of Notre Dame Stadium. Thanks for everyone’s patience on the LTP map which is currently being overhauled and will be up very soon!

News & Notes

Tomorrow we start our 2010 team-by-team comprehensive preview starting with Vanderbilt. We’ll also be posting a LTP Mailbag – a new feature – this afternoon.

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