6-6 is a yawner, sorry all !!!

[Catbeast]

6-6 is .500

Average

Other teams have the bumps and bruises too.

I hope I am wrong, but Fitz has been here 10 (or is it 11) years now. Not one Big Ten championship.

Barnett and Walker already had achieved this.

Main stumbling block holdings us back is coaching and development.

The fact is other staffs - like Ohio State or Michigan - have better football coaching staffs. Fitz won't hold these gents accountable - like the O line coach - so don't expect anything different.

 

[NJCat]

6-6 is .500

Average

Other teams have the bumps and bruises too.

I hope I am wrong, but Fitz has been here 10 (or is it 11) years now. Not one Big Ten championship.

Barnett and Walker already had achieved this.

Main stumbling block holdings us back is coaching and development.

The fact is other staffs - like Ohio State or Michigan - have better football coaching staffs. Fitz won't hold these gents accountable - like the O line coach - so don't expect anything different.

Thanks for stopping by stupor, er woodersoncat, er.....

 

[mickbula]

I disagree. I think we will be another ten win team next year. We got off to a terrible start this year- that is true. But to go 5-4 in the best conference in the country and almost beat one of the teams in the playoff is not too shabby. All I ask for as a fan is to consistently have something to cheer for and as many wins as possible of course. But for Fitz and his coaches to have the run that he has had the past 11 years with the admissions standards that NU maintains is pretty special. I was a student at NU during the Dark ages of NU football 87-91. Any time we make it to a bowl game is a win in my opinion.

 

[WoodersonCat]

2-10. 6-6. What's the difference? Both suck. Be happy with this if you want.

I see yet another season of zero substantial progress as a program. I'd call it treading water but it's not even that good ...

 

[WoodersonCat]

Thanks for stopping by stupor, er woodersoncat, er.....

Nice try. Fantasize about me some more please.

 

[WoodersonCat]

I disagree. I think we will be another ten win team next year. We got off to a terrible start this year- that is true. But to go 5-4 in the best conference in the country and almost beat one of the teams in the playoff is not too shabby. All I ask for as a fan is to consistently have something to cheer for and as many wins as possible of course. But for Fitz and his coaches to have the run that he has had the past 11 years with the admissions standards that NU maintains is pretty special. I was a student at NU during the Dark ages of NU football 87-91. Any time we make it to a bowl game is a win in my opinion.

Bet me. That "10 win season" was as much a fluke as when ND went to the MNC game. Both were 3 wins at least too high, even with great defenses.

 

[DrillCat]

Bet me. That "10 win season" was as much a fluke as when ND went to the MNC game. Both were 3 wins at least too high, even with great defenses.

You are vicious even after a solid beat down on our rival. I'm simply happy to live for another bowl trip.

 

[ColumbusCatFan1]

That "10 win season" was as much a fluke as when ND went to the MNC game.

2 flukes in 4 years was pretty great. Looking forward to 3 flukes in 6 years following 2017!

 

[Catbeast]

My main point was more about winning a Big Ten championship.

How many of you out there honestly think that Fitzgerald will win a BT football title in the next 5 years?

 

[Sheffielder]

2-10. 6-6. What's the difference? Both suck. Be happy with this if you want.

I see yet another season of zero substantial progress as a program. I'd call it treading water but it's not even that good ...

6-6 yields an opportunity to move to 7-6.

2-10 does not.

Don't be the fan who's only happy when s/he's miserable. I mean...do whatever you want, but at some point you have to ask yourself why you even bother, and this is coming from me - a generally negative fan. We won today...doubled up on our rival...even covered the spread - decisively handled our business which is never a sure thing in rivalry week (ask UNC, Louisville, Georgia, Ole Miss, and so on).

I'm still a strong and vocal advocate for coaching changes, and I will be regardless of the outcome of the bowl game (yet I suspect there will be no changes regardless of the outcome of the bowl game)...but gotta be able to enjoy a win when it comes our way...or why bother?

 

[DrillCat]

My main point was more about winning a Big Ten championship.

How many of you out there honestly think that Fitzgerald will win a BT football title in the next 5 years?

2017.

 

[AtlantaCat]

6-6 is .500

Average

Other teams have the bumps and bruises too.

I hope I am wrong, but Fitz has been here 10 (or is it 11) years now. Not one Big Ten championship.

Barnett and Walker already had achieved this.

Main stumbling block holdings us back is coaching and development.

The fact is other staffs - like Ohio State or Michigan - have better football coaching staffs. Fitz won't hold these gents accountable - like the O line coach - so don't expect anything different.

 

[AtlantaCat]

We are a very mediocre team. We did not underachieve. Mediocre is what we are. It was good to beat Illinois, but we finish exactly where we deserved to finish...at .500.

 

[DrillCat]

We are a very mediocre team. We did not underachieve. Mediocre is what we are. It was good to beat Illinois, but we finish exactly where we deserved to finish...at .500.

I think what we deserved is rather 8-4, not 6-6. Or even 7-5.

 

[ColumbusCatFan1]

My main point was more about winning a Big Ten championship.

How many of you out there honestly think that Fitzgerald will win a BT football title in the next 5 years?

I think it's unlikely (not impossible), at least as the program currently stands. The same can be said for most of the conference.

Northwestern has never (and probably never will) had the same depth as the Ohio States and Michigans. Now that it will take 10 conference games to win a BIG championship, NU would need everything to come together (injuries, luck) to pull off such an accomplishment. Hopefully, the facilities will close the gap a little. The talent pool Fitz and Co. draw from from is smaller than most FBS institutions, so any advantage in that area would be quite helpful.

Winning the division and or making the NY6 in the next 5 years? I think that is attainable.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

My main point was more about winning a Big Ten championship.

How many of you out there honestly think that Fitzgerald will win a BT football title in the next 5 years?

Me

 

[EvanstonCat]

Me

I do, but the question begins to be raised, if he doesn't win one soon do we move on? We gave Carmody a ton of time too, and he didn't get us to the next level. At what point do we say he's been given enough time. Northwestern should be about championships. We haven't even made it to Indy yet.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

I do, but the question begins to be raised, if he doesn't win one soon do we move on? We gave Carmody a ton of time too, and he didn't get us to the next level. At what point do we say he's been given enough time. Northwestern should be about championships. We haven't even made it to Indy yet.

He would be given the chance to clean house with new coordinators before being shown the door. Not sure whether he would do it, but I seriously doubt Fitz would be given walking papers short of serious off-field issues or about five straight sub-.500 years.

I realize many don't want to hear it around here, but that's how highly he's viewed by Phillips and Shapiro.

 

[Gladeskat]

My main point was more about winning a Big Ten championship.

How many of you out there honestly think that Fitzgerald will win a BT football title in the next 5 years?

Do you think NU will win a BT football title in the next 5 years with another coach? I don't.

 

[WoodersonCat]

6-6 yields an opportunity to move to 7-6.

2-10 does not.

Don't be the fan who's only happy when s/he's miserable. I mean...do whatever you want, but at some point you have to ask yourself why you even bother, and this is coming from me - a generally negative fan. We won today...doubled up on our rival...even covered the spread - decisively handled our business which is never a sure thing in rivalry week (ask UNC, Louisville, Georgia, Ole Miss, and so on).

I'm still a strong and vocal advocate for coaching changes, and I will be regardless of the outcome of the bowl game (yet I suspect there will be no changes regardless of the outcome of the bowl game)...but gotta be able to enjoy a win when it comes our way...or why bother?

I'll tell you why I bother: because 6-6 is mediocre crap, just like the original poster said. That's why. I expect better.

We beat a bunch of crappy teams. Big whoop. We didn't beat anybody worth a damn. Color me unimpressed after 11 years

 

[WoodersonCat]

Me

LOL!

 

[WoodersonCat]

He would be given the chance to clean house with new coordinators before being shown the door. Not sure whether he would do it, but I seriously doubt Fitz would be given walking papers short of serious off-field issues or about five straight sub-.500 years.

I realize many don't want to hear it around here, but that's how highly he's viewed by Phillips and Shapiro.

In other words, that's how little Phillips and Shapiro care about winning.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

LOL!

Is it fun to cheer against success of your (theoretical) favorite team?

 

[gocatsgo2003]

In other words, that's how little Phillips and Shapiro care about winning.

You're the pits.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Do you think NU will win a BT football title in the next 5 years with another coach? I don't.

Depends. If we had Jim Harbaugh, then I'd say we'd win 3 in the next 5 years.

If we had PJ Fleck, I think we could.

 

[WoodersonCat]

You're the pits.

Address the topic not the person.

Phillips only cares about Phillips. Shapiro cares about things other than winning.

To what extent do you disagree?

 

[WoodersonCat]

Is it fun to cheer against success of your (theoretical) favorite team?

I cheer for NU and expect NU to excel. I do not accept mediocrity. You clearly do. Beating Purdue and Illinois to back into a toilet bowl game does not constitute success in my view.

 

[EvanstonCat]

I cheer for NU to excel. I do not accept mediocrity. You clearly do. Beating Purdue and Illinois to back into a toilet bowl game does not constitute success in my view.

Stupor has a point. Hard for me to get super pumped about beating a hapless Illini team and saying the season was a success when we lost to ISU and dOSU. I'm glad we pounded the Illini, but then I'm glad the sun rose in the East. Not something that was unexpected (though when Illinois was 21-14 and driving before the fumble, I was starting to feel nervous...)

In the context of going 0-2 to start the season, including after the 9-6 loss to ISU, I'm pleased as punch that we're bowling. In the context of what I think NU standards should be, 6-6 is mediocrity and not good enough. If we keep going 6-6 for the next 5 years, I don't think I'd be happy with that and I do think we should fire Fitz, just like we fired Carmody. I don't think that is going to happen. Neither going 6-6 for the next 5 seasons nor firing Fitz.

 

[Windy City Cat Fan]

I'll tell you why I bother: because 6-6 is mediocre crap, just like the original poster said. That's why. I expect better.

We beat a bunch of crappy teams. Big whoop. We didn't beat anybody worth a damn. Color me unimpressed after 11 years

Iowa is good and we went toe to toe with OSU and UW. Those two bad non conference losses really change the final perception of this season - win those two with a good win at Iowa and no blow out losses at 8-4 is a much different story, but obviously they need to win those non conference games.

 

[pawildcat]

2-10. 6-6. What's the difference? Both suck. Be happy with this if you want.

I see yet another season of zero substantial progress as a program. I'd call it treading water but it's not even that good ...

What's the difference? Four wins and a bowl game.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

I cheer for NU and expect NU to excel. I do not accept mediocrity. You clearly do. Beating Purdue and Illinois to back into a toilet bowl game does not constitute success in my view.

You big tough internet fan. Me weak little internet fan.

 

[HawkCat]

You big tough internet fan. Me weak little internet fan.

Wooderson/Stupor/Shivas is someone I'm sure I would have disliked had I know him/her at NU, and I have no interest in knowing him/her now. Fitz could win a Big Ten title if he would address a few discrete deficiencies in his coaching staff. I'm not sure he will, though. That remains to be seen. Fitz is a person with more than sufficient talent for his job. I still think he might be the perfect guy for the job. Again, that remains to be seen.

 

[mikewebb68]

2-10. 6-6. What's the difference? Both suck. Be happy with this if you want.

I see yet another season of zero substantial progress as a program. I'd call it treading water but it's not even that good ...

I allow this since I realize that you had a tough day with our beatdown of the Illini

 

[Alaskawildkat]

Iowa is good and we went toe to toe with OSU and UW. Those two bad non conference losses really change the final perception of this season - win those two with a good win at Iowa and no blow out losses at 8-4 is a much different story, but obviously they need to win those non conference games.

While comparing last year to this may be apples and oranges but as you suggest, there were no blow out losses this year. Add to that we ended up having the leading running back and leading receiver in the B1G and a case can be made that this year is an improvement over the last with the program continuing its upward trajectory.

 

[WoodersonCat]

Iowa is good and we went toe to toe with OSU and UW. Those two bad non conference losses really change the final perception of this season - win those two with a good win at Iowa and no blow out losses at 8-4 is a much different story, but obviously they need to win those non conference games.

Moral victories? It's and but's and candy and nuts? That's the standard now?

After 11 years, I thought we were past being one of those hapless programs that has to resort to those sorts of rationalizations.

 

[WoodersonCat]

Wooderson/Stupor/Shivas is someone I'm sure I would have disliked had I know him/her at NU, and I have no interest in knowing him/her now. Fitz could win a Big Ten title if he would address a few discrete deficiencies in his coaching staff. I'm not sure he will, though. That remains to be seen. Fitz is a person with more than sufficient talent for his job. I still think he might be the perfect guy for the job. Again, that remains to be seen.

If you're sure that you would or would not have liked someone having never met them and based solely on a website - if you really meant what you just wrote - well let's just say that I'm not really losing very much here.

Of course, if you really didn't mean what you wrote, that would make you a liar and again, not much of a loss for me.

So which is it? Are you such dimwit that that you make your friendship determinations before you even meet people, or were you just lying because you were upset at me for telling the truth? And did you honestly think I'd care about what some guy from the Internet that I've never met thinks of me because of stuff I write on a message board? LOL

 

[WoodersonCat]

What's the difference? Four wins and a bowl game.

To what end? Both records suck. And no matter where we go, it's an Every Kid Gets a Trophy Toilet Bowl that shouldn't even exist but for a naked money grab by some committee of bowl scum.

We're supposed to be mollified by that? No. I don't think so.

Silly me for believing we were supposed to be contending for and winning titles at this point, rather than milking the foundation inherited from Barnett and Walker for better than a decade without being able to improve upon on it.

 

[WoodersonCat]

Is it fun to cheer against success of your (theoretical) favorite team?

What you fail to realize - despite the fact that you seem to think you know everything - is that unlike some people around here, I have another place to cheer and support the Cats on Central Street and, unlike them, I actually spend time there.

They, in contract, spend all of their time on a message board. If I were in their shoes (and I thank my lucky stars I am not), I'd be hyper-positive here too if it was all I had or did. Fortunately for me, I get to do my NU rah-rah in person. I don't need to do it here to try to prove to people I don't know how much of an NU fan I am.

 

[Gladeskat]

If you're sure that you would or would not have liked someone having never met them and based solely on a website - if you really meant what you just wrote - well let's just say that I'm not really losing very much here.

Of course, if you really didn't mean what you wrote, that would make you a liar and again, not much of a loss for me.

So which is it? Are you such dimwit that that you make your friendship determinations before you even meet people, or were you just lying because you were made at me for telling the truth?

He shook you up, huh?

 

[Deeringfish]

Address the topic not the person.

Phillips only cares about Phillips. Shapiro cares about things other than winning.

To what extent do you disagree?

You make it all about yourself when you can't even celebrate the small amount of success the team does have. You knew a week ago that going 6&6 was the best possible out come and having achieved the best possible out come you can't even take 24 hours to enjoy it.

You know the challenges NU has being a private school with high academic standards play in a P5 conference. Take it or leave it.