Randomly saw that the younger son of Scottie replied to a @NUMensBball Instagram post about Boo Buie.

Are we potentially in on him (he seems to be a late bloomer) or is there just some connection with Boo?

The Wildcats gave it up late, going scoreless for the final 2:50 after tying the game at 63. The table below omits the last 25 seconds...


When Jordan Clayton entered the game for Boo Buie with 9:15 to play in the first half, NU had a 17-15 lead.
When Clayton returned to the bench at 4:57, Wisconsin had a 26-19 lead. 11-2 run over 4:18.
The team continues to struggle when Clayton is playing. We got outscored 16-6 in his 7 minutes.
Collins played Clayton (presumably) because Langborg and others had foul troubles.

Luke Hunger only played 7 minutes. The reason for that is unclear. When he played with the other 4 starters, that group went 7-4 over 4 minutes. Thats pretty good. He even hit a 3-pointer.
But Hunger had 2 turnovers, including a missed pass from Buie that had Boo jumping up and down and waving his arms. Hunger never played after that (the last 18 minutes).
With Clayton, Hunger and the Wildcats got outscored 4-0. Preston played 10 minutes and we got outscored 25-20.

The go-to lineup of Nicholson/Martinelli/Barnhizer/Berry/Buie got a little more playing time today. When Langborg has foul trouble, thats what happens.
They put up a narrow 18-17 win over the Badgers in 10.5 minutes. That lineup remains NU's best in most cases.

Not too remarkable this time around... an unfortunate reminder that we have a depth problem when we rotate 5 guys thru 4 positions.
Would have liked to see Hunger playing the 4 instead of Clayton playing guard, but that still hasn't happened.
With Wahl and Crowl out there, it was a good time to try it.

Oh well, next up is Maryland, where Boo Buie will square off with Jahmir Young...

Congrats on win #1.

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Joe Scarborough and Finebaum downplaying B1G and Michigan this morning. After multiple decades of paying players under the table, academic fraud, and ignorant Southern pride the transfer portal and NIL have leveled the field. Now "everyone" can legally cheat and and the B1G has caught on fast. Congrats to Michigan.

Over half the University of Kansas football stadium has been knocked down already after the end of the season. The plan is to build a Phase 1 with reduced occupancy during the 2024 season and complete Phase 1 for the 2025 season. As best I can tell they do not have the funds yet to complete the entire stadium project which when completed will include an adjoining mixed-use district. Pretty ambitious project when funds aren't fully spoken for. Attached is the project website along with a site showing current construction progress. Lawrence's temperature tonight is on or about zero - or close enough.

A whole lot easier to get projects constructed in Lawrence. Stadium is adjacent to a modest residential area of primarily home rentals and apartments. Same architect as NU's stadium.

Now in the last minute the Dolphins have been held to one touchdown. Anyone suspect the Chiefs are winning this due to being a better cold weather team?
Apparently 4th coldest game on record with minus 4 F and a wind-chill minus 20 something.

Maybe adding those Southern California teams to the Big Ten isn't going to be threatening as the season gets colder playing in the Midwest.

I’ve always been of the belief that one of the best persons on a football staff to hire an Offensive Coordinator is a defensive minded Head Coach/DC. Who better to judge the type of offense and the type of offensive mindset than the person game-planning each week? Which offense gave them fits? Which OC kept them up at night? All that being said I’ll be curious to see if the OC at SDSU gets a call. The Jackrabbit offense has been strong over the years and has given UND all they can handle and then some. This year appears to be no different. Will Braun take a long look at Zach Lujan? Coach Smith can also provide some insight based on his time practicing against this offense.

While I have some choice commentary on the officiating (see other thread), we also looked tired. Shots were short, legs were heavy and led to some dumb fouls as well.

It was a long week with Sunday-Wednesday-Saturday games along with 2 being on the road. Hopefully we can get rested up and take down Maryland at home.

Wow, what a stud. There goes the myth about OSU QBs not being successful in the NFL.

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Last year kind of felt like we got in an accident then just pulled into the station and changed drivers.the passengers were pretty much the same and the people working the station for the most part. Now it feels like we pulled into the station unloaded a lot of passengers went to the used car lot sold the old bus got a new bus with new attendants and now we are waiting to see what the new bus looks like...hope it is still purple. Different feel and hell I dont even know where the new bus station will be ?! heck destination used to be " win the West,Illinois" now it is????? " win the B10 or bust" seems like a longer journey, hope we get peanuts and a drink. And as I get off the bus I see a bunch of guys sitting on the pavement with backs against the station wall with their hats out and a sign that says NIL..the last thing I noticed was two gentleman in suites. high on a ladder white washing the name of the station off....seems like they got the TZ off and working on the F and I......inside the station regulars pause and then get back to work and down the road in the dimming light of a street lamp someone in an NU letter jacket walks into the twilight stopping to take a look back now and then. New bus will be leaving the station real soon...looks kinda purple and seems the driver knows how to put the pedal to the metal. Think I am gonna miss the old bus , dings and dents and all....Go CATS

Winning at Wisconsin with the usual iffy refs was going to be a Herculean challenge. We didn't shoot well and faded down the stretch. Disappointing but not fatal to our chances to make the tourney.

Also not like we were one shot or play away not not that many what ifs which makes it more palatable.

3-2 and holding serve at home, we should be just fine.

But gotta win the next two.

D1 has become a joke.

Ryan Grubb seems to be the most logical choice. Other names being mention include Jedd Fisch and Barry Odom. I would think the Huskies will move quickly to fill the void.

Brutal. Miller was poor before he got hurt, the true Freshman is clueless. 26 yards passing in the first half.

To think OSU once won a Natty with their third string QB and today their third string QB wouldn't play for NU. I like NU's chances against OSU in '24. if they don't bring in a transfer QB.

The transfer portal opens on Dec. 4, but, as even a glance at X/Twitter will tell you, players are already pouring through it by the dozens.

We will take a look at Northwestern’s four biggest position needs, as we see them, one at time: quarterback, offensive line, wide receiver and defensive tackle. We don’t know yet which Wildcat will be returning next year, but these positions are in the most need of veteran help, regardless of who comes back.


Quarterback

With QB1 Ben Bryant out of eligibility after six years in college, Northwestern needs to find his successor, or at least a veteran who can battle perpetual No. 2 Brendan Sullivan for the top job. The Wildcats can’t just stand pat at the most important position on the roster.

Sullivan again had an up-and-down season as the starter in four games this season. He turned in a tremendous game, with more than 300 yards of total offense, in an upset win over Maryland. But he also struggled to establish much of anything in losses to Nebraska and Iowa (who didn’t struggle against the Hawkeyes?).

Sullivan has lost two quarterback battles already: to Ryan Hilinski in 2022 and to Bryant in 2023. He is an outstanding backup and valuable player to have on the roster, a solid QB and brings dual-threat playmaking to the table. But he hasn’t shown enough for Northwestern to anoint him as the next starter.

As for the rest of the room, there isn’t another viable starter at this point. Jack Lausch attempted just three passes all season and seems to be almost exclusively a Wildcat option for the time being. We don’t know anything about freshman Aidan Gray yet. So NU will have to bring in someone from the outside to take the No. 1 job, or at least push Sullivan for it.

The good news is that there are plenty of quarterback options in the transfer portal. A flood of QBs, from beaten-out backups to proven stars, have already announced their intentions to leave their current school – and the portal hasn’t even officially opened yet.

While many big names are likely to be gobbled up early (DJ Uiagalelei Riley Leonard, Grayson McCall, KJ Jefferson to name a few), there’s no reason for Northwestern to panic. There will be plenty of good ones available later, even if the Wildcats have to wait until the second transfer window next April.

Northwestern is at a clear disadvantage right now if newly signed head coach David Braun makes changes to the offensive staff, as expected. It’s difficult to go after a quarterback when you don’t know who the offensive coordinator will be. So there might not be much action in this first window, which stretches from Dec. 4 to Jan. 2.

But that’s okay. The two most successful Northwestern quarterback transfers were both late additions who came much later in the cycle. Peyton Ramsey didn’t commit to the Wildcats until March in 2020, and Bryant didn’t become a Cat until May of last year.

This year, the second spring transfer portal window is from April 16-30.

Sure, this game was for the taking and it was a disappointing result, but the Cats are 3-2, and here are their opponents:

Purdue, at Illinois, Michigan State, at Penn State, at Wisconsin.

The three best teams in the Big Ten, a tough road game against Penn State, and a Michigan State team that has been ranked in the top 10 this year. It would not have been crazy for NU to be 0-5 right now. Instead, they're 3-2. They may not quite be a title contender, but it should get a little "easier," especially next month. To be 3-2 against such a top-heavy schedule is amazing. Don't panic.

Matt is waiting in line for parking in Madison, so I'm posting the game thread for him while he makes his way to the Kohl Center. He should be courtside in time for tipoff. I was going to make the trip too, but I looked out the window this morning and decided against it.

Anyway, this is going to be a tough one for the Cats. The Badgers are red hot, having won five straight and 11 of 12. (Of course, MSU had won five straight, too, before the Cats took them down.) The Badgers are ranked 12th in NET rankings, the Cats 69th (!).

Guards -“Silver Lining”

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Retro pop from 2013. I hope we never lose it. (If it doesn’t hit right away, it’ll hit at 0:25.)

Last night YouTube TV indicated game not available. Today I can’t find any mention of it on YouTube TV or in the BTN (BIG+ now) app. Did BTN maybe decline to send a crew given the weather?