Posts Tagged ‘northwestern’

In 2006, Pat Fitzgerald was named head coach at Northwestern at the ripe age of 31. Since that date, Fitz has turned Northwestern into a model program. He has won more than just football games in his six-plus years at the helm (though he's done plenty of that with a 47-39 record) but also the respect of the college football world, for himself and his program. At a school that went nearly 50 years between bowl games, it's now news when Northwestern doesn't appear in the postseason as this winter the Wildcats will play in their fifth straight bowl. 

His success has come from embracing the university's strengths and turning what some aspects that be might perceived as challenges into selling points for his program. Those in the game consider Fitz one of the ideal head coaches, the type of guy you would ask to create a program from scratch. 

Last week we ran an article questionning whether "He's too young" was a valid criticism of potential head coaches. Watch the video above and hear how he responds to that one and you'll quickly be able to see why so many other coaches think Fitz will go down as one of the great coaches of our generation. 

With another full slate of games ahead of us tomorrow, here's what we'll be keeping an extra close eye on throughout the day.

LSU at Texas A&M (12 p.m. ET, ESPN): This is an opportunity for a statement game for Texas A&M. Kevin Sumlin and Kliff Kingsbury's explosive offense (tied for sixth nationally in total offense, 7.09 yards per play) faces John Chavis' second-ranked LSU defense. If Texas A&M pulls out the win, it will be because quarterback Johnny Manziel (24 touchdowns through six games) found a way to solve an LSU defense that has surrendered just 13 scores this season. These programs have met 50 times previously, although Saturday will be the first meeting in College Station since 1995. Texas A&M wants to re-kindle this rivalry, but the only way to to do that is with a win. 

Rutgers at Temple (12 p.m. ET, Big East Network): Raise your hand if you knew this was a battle for the top spot in the Big East standings. Steve Addazio has led Temple to a 2-0 start in the Owls' return to the Big East despite ranking last in the league in total offense and total defense. Addazio's team relies heavily on the run (2.1:1 rush-pass ratio), while Rutgers ranks second nationally in rush defense at 60.8 yards per game and 2.25 yards per carry allowed. Both of these teams' success lies in forcing turnovers (Rutgers leads in the nation in turnover margin, Temple is No. 12), so whoever can carve out an advantage in that area will likely win the game.

Iowa State at Oklahoma State (12 p.m. ET, FX): A year removed from winning the Big 12 championship, Mike Gundy's team is still trying to sort out exactly what it is. The Cowboys lead the country in total offense by a wide margin, nearly 34 yards per game over No. 2 Baylor. But their most impressive win to date is over Louisiana - Lafayette, and they come into Saturday off a 20-14 win over 1-5 Kansas in which the Jayhawks outgained OSU 398-371. Paul Rhoads' team will try to make this game close and low-scoring. Iowa State is 19-1 in Rhoads' tenure when holding teams under 24 points, and 3-21 when giving up 24 points or more. Iowa State is also 10-6 under Rhoads in games decided by a touchdown or less.

South Carolina at Florida (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS): Mark Richt and co. will be rooting hard for the Gators, as a Florida win essentially sets up a winner-take-all matchup for the control of the SEC East at the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party next week. Meanwhile, a South Carolina win means Steve Spurrier's team will just have to get by Tennessee and Arkansas to clinch a trip to Atlanta for the second time in three years. The Gamecocks have won two straight in this series while limiting the Gators to just 26 combined points.

BYU at Notre Dame (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC): This game will likely play out like seemingly every Notre Dame game this season - gritty, close and low scoring. Both of these squads rank among the nation's top seven nationally in scoring defense, allowing just over 22 points per game combined. Bronco Mendenhall has an opportunity to put a peacock-sized feather in his team's cap as a win would put the Cougars in a great position to finish 2012 at 9-3 and a top 25 ranking. On the other sideline, all that's on the line for Notre Dame is keeping intact its first 7-0 start since 2002 with a primetime showdown at Oklahoma on the immediate horizon.

Nebraska at Northwestern (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN2): Bo Pelini's struggling defense faces perhaps the most diverse attack in the Big Ten. Any hopes either team has of playing for the Big Ten title likely dies with a loss on Saturday. Expect Nebraska and its Big Ten-leading scoring offense to try to outscore Northwestern, while the Wildcats will attempt to exploit the Cornhuskers' penchant for turning over the football (No. 104 nationally in turnover margin. Oh, and there's this: 

The last time Nebraska played Northwestern in Evanston, Al Capone was there for the game ... bit.ly/VjnCjI

— Rittenberg/Bennett (@ESPN_BigTen) October 19, 2012

Kansas State at West Virginia (7 p.m. ET, FOX): Bill Snyder's tough-as-nails bunch travels to face West Virginia in the friendly confines of Milan Puskar Stadium. The last time Dana Holgorsen's team played at home it lit up Baylor for 10 touchdowns. A Kansas State victory puts the Wildcats firmly ahead of the pack in the Big 12, while a loss for West Virginia ends the conference and national title aspirations that seemed so promising just one week ago. West Virginia's highly publicized offense is more productive of the two but Kansas State's is actually more efficienct, churning out 0.65 points per play to WVU's 0.58 points per play.

Florida State at Miami (8 p.m. ET, ABC): Consider this a referendum for two young coaching tenures. Both teams need wins to stay in the hunt for the ACC Championship but, most importantly, both teams need a win over each other. Al Golden is looking for his first victory over FSU, while a loss by the Seminoles means nothing short toppling Florida can make this season a success. Jimbo Fisher's team dominates the ACC statistically, leading the conference in total offense, total defense, scoring offense, scoring defense, pass efficiency, pass efficiency defense and rushing defense. They also place second in the ACC in rushing offense behind Georgia Tech, but possess the conference's best yards per carry average (6.28).

Baylor at Texas (8 p.m. ET, ABC): Texas returns home reeling after consecutive losses to West Virginia and Oklahoma. Mack Brown's teams traditionally play their best football following Oklahoma, going 13-1 immediately after the Red River Rivalry. Baylor carries in a two-game losing streak of its own, surrendering a total of 17 touchdowns in losses to West Virginia and TCU. Baylor leads the nation in passing offense with nearly 400 yards per game faces a Texas defense that has allowed Big 12 quarterbacks to go 65-of-101 for 903 yards with eight touchdowns against two interceptions. The numbers aren't much better for Texas' rush defense as opposing Big 12 offenses have carried 133 times for 810 yards (6.1 ypc) for 10 scores. Solace for Texas comes in the fact that Baylor brings in a defense ranked among the bottom four nationally in total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense and pass efficiency defense. Expect an old-fashion Big 12 shootout that lasts deep into the night. 

Washington at Arizona (10 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Networks): After a 3-0 start Rich Rodriguez is still searching for his first Pac-12 win. Washington is also looking for its first victory since the upset of Stanford on Sept. 27. Scott from our staff will be on hand in Tucson. Follow him on Twitter @FootballScoop for his observations of the game. 

The Chicago Tribune did an interesting article last night on some of the changes that Pat Fitzgerald and the staff made to Northwestern's game day schedule for their 3:30pm ET kickoff against Nebraska in Evanston, which can be seen on ABC.

After what Fitzgerald and the staff felt like was a sluggish start against Boston College in week three (which was also a 3:30pm ET kickoff), Coach Fitz sat down with the members of his Leadership Council, and asked them what prevented them back from having a a fast start.

Players told him that the game clashed with their usual nap time.

Normally players show up at the football complex at 6:50am for meetings, followed by a practice from 8:50am to 10:30am, then they head to class and grab a nap in the early afternoon.

So Coach Fitz and the staff decided to rearrange the schedule a little bit to see if they can correct the slow start. For Saturday's match up, Northwestern will get in breakfast a little earlier than normal, and allow the players to take a brief nap at around 9:30am.

When asked about it, Fitz noted that he could hardly believe he agreed to allow a nap six hours before kickoff.

"Unbelievable. This is what I get paid to do. Seriously. Create nap time. It's pathetic."

How this one shakes out remains to be seen, but credit Coach Fitz and the staff on addressing why they started slow with the Leadership Council, and then taking their advice (however unconventional it may seem) on getting the issue resolved. 

After rattling off five straight wins to open the season (including a road win at Syracuse followed by home wins against Boston College, South Dakota and Indiana) Northwestern came up just short (39-28) during their game last Saturday against Penn State.

The Northwestern staff was one of only 16 teams in the country to keep their entire coaching staff intact. Minnesota (this weekends opponent) was also one of those schools. Defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz and offensive coordinator Mick McCall are both in their fifth year with the Wildcats.

During his press conference earlier this week, Coach Fitz was asked about a banner that McCall and the offensive staff used to conceal their signal callers that were relaying the plays to the field. It's not something particularly out of the ordinary for staffs to do, but Fitz noted the start of Big Ten play as one of the main reasons for the banner.

"We’re smarter than we look," Fitz explained. "We know what’s going on. We’re getting into Big Ten play now. We know that they know that we know. You’ve got to have answers. We have answers."

‘‘When you’re playing in the nonconference, it’s not as big of a concern. But when you’re playing in league play, like I said, we know that they know that we know."

Prior to their loss Saturday, the Wildcat offense had ranked 42nd nationally in scoring offense, putting up nearly 33 points per game on average and had eclipsed the 37 point mark in three of their first five games (all wins). The Wildcats managed to put up 28 points on a Penn State defense that had not allowed a 20 point game since their week 1 loss to Ohio.

Heading into this weeks game with 4-1 Minnesota, Northwestern ranks 14th nationally in rushing offense (234 ypg) and 15th nationally in defending the run (103 ypg). The Wildcats have also been getting it done on special teams, an area that Coach Fitzgerald oversees and every coach has a part in, ranking 3rd nationally in punt returns with over 27 yards per touch.