OSU, PSU, Iowa and Wisconsin go down. Can Michigan save the conference some face? They actually look better than Alabama, but keep beating themselves.

Yikes. Here are @mshelton33's takeaways from a brutal night in Champaign.

I worked some sources and identified the following 2024 commits who will be enrolling early at Northwestern next week:

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Which is better?

Athan & Dino - 2021 QB and ATH out of Antioch commit to Minnesota. Athan was the higher rated of the two. NU never seems to be involved with either.

Posting for informational purposes only.

Since most teams have played 7 to 9 games at this point, it seems reasonable to look at how they've been doing and where NU stands...
I'm listing the teams ratings using KenPom, Bart Torvik, Evan Miya and my own proxy for Sagarin, who stopped publishing his NCAAM ratings when USA Today stopped paying him.
The Torvik200 (on the far right) uses only games where the opponent is ranked in Torvik's top 200, ignoring the cupcakes.


I am using data downloaded for free from Bart Torvik's website. That guy is providing a real service to anyone interested in statistical analysis of college basketball.

I'd say the conference is not looking too good so far. Against Torvik's top 200 teams, the conference record is 30-35.
If you remove the 9 conference games, the Big Ten is 21-26 against the Top 200. That is not good.

Things can change, of course. Izzo has a lot of highly-regarded freshmen to work with. Indiana is playing better and should be a tournament team.
Purdue still holds the top spot.
Wisconsin, Illinois and Ohio State look to be pretty good. NU and the Hoosiers probably fit with those teams.
The rest will have to improve to make the NCAA field.

Iowa scored zero points in last 2 games and had 61 points score against them. What a way to end the season. Very overrated.

This is the first Big Ten team to go from 0 or 1 wins to 8+ wins including a bowl win. Our preseason over/under was 2-3 wins and many in the media expected us to be either winless or to win a single game; we were picked last in the division and conference almost everywhere.

Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois beat us by a combined 101 points last year; we beat all 3 this year. Nothing shows what a dramatic turnaround this was like those 3 game results on a year-over-year basis.

We were 4-20 over the past 2 seasons. Doubled that win total this year and finished 2nd in the division. Also worth noting that this bowl win is our 5th straight bowl win and 6th bowl win in our past 7 appearances since 2012.


Compare that to our conference mates:
Nebraska is on its 7th straight losing season without a bowl appearance.

Indiana's last bowl win was 1991; 3 straight losing seasons and on a 6 bowl game losing streak. They have just one 8 win season since 1993.

Illinois' last bowl win was 2011. Illinois has one 8 win season since 2007.

Purdue has had two 8-9 win seasons since 2007.

Rutgers' last bowl win and 8 win season was 2014.

Maryland has had one 8 win season since 2010.

It's hard to win football games. A half of the programs even in our conference have struggled in recent history. It's extremely difficult to exceed expectations in the way this group has accomplished. Only the 1995 season was a bigger shock than what this team accomplished, and the way the team improved across the season was remarkable. Huge credit to the players and Braun and the staff for what they pulled off with this turnaround.

Northwestern hits the road for their first game of 2024 to try and earn Chris Collins his first win in Champaign. @lou v has the preview and I’ll be at the game tonight in person.

Northwestern hits the road for their first game of 2024 to try and earn Chris Collins his first win in Champaign. @lou v has the preview and I’ll be at the game tonight in person.

All times CENTRAL. All games available nationally unless otherwise indicated. Rankings come from the CFP poll. Best wishes for a happy and healthy bowl season for all.

First, the NU game:

Las Vegas Bowl
Northwestern vs. Utah @ Las Vegas, NV
Saturday, December 23
6:30 PM, ABC
PxP: Sean McDonough
Color: Greg McElroy

And the rest:

Tuesday, December 26

Quick Lane Bowl
Minnesota vs. Bowling Green @ Detroit, MI
1:00 PM, ESPN
PxP: Connor Onion
Color: Dustin Fox

Thursday, December 28

Pinstripe Bowl
Rutgers vs. Miami (FL) @ Bronx, NY
1:15 PM, ESPN
PxP: Drew Carter
Color: Rod Gilmore

Friday, December 29

Cotton Bowl
#7 Ohio State vs. #9 Missouri @ Arlington, TX
7:00 PM, ESPN
PxP: Dave Pasch
Color: Dusty Dvoracek

Saturday, December 30

Peach Bowl
#10 Penn State vs. #11 Mississippi @ Atlanta, GA
11:00 AM, ESPN
PxP: Mark Jones
Color: Louis Riddick

Music City Bowl
Maryland vs. Auburn @ Nashville, TN
1:00 PM, ABC
PxP: Taylor Zarzour
Color: Matt Stinchcomb

Monday, January 1

ReliaQuest Bowl
Wisconsin vs. #13 LSU @ Tampa, FL
11:00 AM, ESPN2
PxP: Brian Custer
Color: Rod Gilmore

Citrus Bowl
#17 Iowa vs. #21 Tennessee @ Orlando, FL
12:00 PM, ABC
PxP: Dave Flemming
Color: Brock Osweiler

Rose Bowl
#1 Michigan vs. #4 Alabama @ Pasadena, CA (ESPN College GameDay)
4:00 PM, ESPN
PxP: Chris Fowler
Color: Kirk Herbstreit

Monday, January 8

CFP National Championship
#1 Michigan vs. #2 Washington @ Houston, TX (ESPN College GameDay)
6:30 PM, ESPN
PxP: Chris Fowler
Color: Kirk Herbstreit

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Nebraska, and Purdue did not qualify for bowl games.

New Years Day's Sunset from Oahu's Magic Island:

I traded DMs with four-star 2022 QB Steve Angeli, the Oradell (NJ) Bergen Catholic QB whom NU offered back on June 26. Here are some notes before I post a story:

- He goes way back with NU OC Mike Bajakian. Coach Jake started recruiting him last fall, when he was still coaching at BC.

- The Bergen Catholic connection is strong between Angeli and Bajakian, who also played QB at Bergen. "Me and Coach Bajakian had built a great relationship when he was at Boston College and it makes it easier to build a relationship with him when he knows where I come from and how we have similar high school football backgrounds."

- Angeli is also well aware of the Queiro and Dickerson brothers, who all played at NU, calling them "legends for us." He said, "It meant a ton because they played different positions but it definitely plays some what of a factor that guys from my school and area with the same goals and work ethic have had success at Northwestern."

- How does Coach Jake see Angeli fitting into his offense at NU: "He said that I’m a great fit for what he wants at the QB position. I can make throws in the pocket as well as make off platform throws and create plays with my legs. He also said that how I am as a person is really great for what he wants to coach."

- What is Angeli looking for in a college program: "A place that feels like home for me and my family. Great relationships with the coaches, an offensive scheme that will help me succeed, great academics, and a place that can help me reach my goals like winning a National Championship."

- Angeli did no list NU as one of the schools recruiting him the hardest, however. "LSU, WVU, MSU, Rutgers, PSU have been recruiting me pretty hard right now."

Big game Friday vs. archrival Iowa. Currently We are ranked 3rd and Iowa is #1.

Callen Campbell has prepared his whole life in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. to be a college football player. Thanks to his hard work in a gym in the garage, the right phone call at the right time, and a village of coaches, he got on Northwestern's radar. Check out our profile on the early enrollee from the UP.

All times CENTRAL. All games available nationally unless otherwise indicated. I will add announcers as they are assigned. Happy New Year!

First, the NU games:

Northwestern @ Illinois
Tuesday, January 2
8:00 PM, BTN
PxP: Connor Onion
Color: Robbie Hummel

Michigan State @ Northwestern
Sunday, January 7
6:30 PM, BTN
PxP: Brandon Gaudin
Color: Robbie Hummel

And the rest:

Tuesday, January 2

Iowa @ Wisconsin
6:00 PM, BTN
PxP: Jeff Levering
Color: LaPhonso Ellis

Purdue @ Maryland
6:00 PM, Peacock (streaming only)
PxP: Paul Burmeister
Color: Tre Demps

Wednesday, January 3

Rutgers @ Ohio State
6:00 PM, BTN
PxP: Cory Provus
Color: Stephen Bardo

Indiana @ Nebraska
8:00 PM, BTN
PxP: Kevin Kugler
Color: Shon Morris

Thursday, January 4

Penn State @ Michigan State
6:00 PM, Peacock (streaming only)
PxP: Noah Eagle
Color: Robbie Hummel

Minnesota @ Michigan
8:00 PM, Peacock (streaming only)
PxP: Jac Collinsworth
Color: Stephen Bardo

Friday, January 5

Illinois @ Purdue
7:30 PM, FS1
PxP: Brandon Gaudin
Color: Robbie Hummel

Saturday, January 6

Rutgers @ Iowa
11:00 AM, BTN
PxP: Connor Onion
Color: Shon Morris

Nebraska @ Wisconsin
1:15 PM, BTN
PxP: Jeff Levering
Color: Bruce Weber

Ohio State @ Indiana
7:00 PM, FOX
PxP: Gus Johnson
Color: Jim Jackson

Sunday, January 7

Michigan vs. Penn State @ Philadelphia, PA
11:00 AM, BTN
PxP: Wayne Randazzo
Color: Stephen Bardo

Maryland @ Minnesota
4:30 PM, BTN
PxP: Cory Provus
Color: Shon Morris

Big tv sports day yesterday. I enjoyed watching our win against Jackson St and our strong 2nd half. Overlapping the NU game was my San Diego State Aztecs beating #13 Gonzaga at their house (something that almost never happens- I think the Zags have only lost one home game in recent years.) The Aztecs should be ranked after that win. They looked really strong in beating the Zags by 10 on the road.

Plus- a big bonus at the end of the day was the Ohio State loss of their bowl game against Missouri with an offense that resembled Iowa’s.

OSU and FSU performances may just be enough to end the current bowl system. The fans deserve better competition> Players opting out either for the portal or NFL undermines teams' ability to play competitively, The bowl system may eventually just involve 12 teams. in the playoffs

The team that NU shellacked in Madison vs the #13 team in the country? Absolutely brutal

Is he still on roster?

The results are in from the boards and from Twitter, and the winner is David Braun! Check out @lou v's story on the first-year head coach picking up one more honor from 2023.

LSU-Wisconsin has been pretty darn fun.

I wonder if Iowa’s quarterbacks would have developed better if they had a real quarterbacks coach, and not an ex-OL coach’s son. I’m shocked they don’t have a true dedicated QB coach on staff.

I’d never noticed an announcer use the term “push pass” to describe the inside handoff thing on a jet sweep when the QB flips to the motion man, presumably so that a fumble is instead an incomplete pass, but it’s a good term. Bo Nix is an excellent push passer.


RGIII is a well-dressed man.

NU finished 2023 averaging 2.3 sacks per game. That is the most a NU defense has averaged since 2017 (2.5)
Some other seasons for comparison:
2022 - 1.4 (122nd in FBS)
2021 - 1.5 (116th)
2020 - 1.6 (98th)
2019 - 1.9 (75th)
2018 - 1.7 (99th)
2017 - 2.5 (28th)

A few bowl games left but NU is the only team in the B1G with 3 players that had 5 sacks or more.
Hubbard - 6
Saka - 5.5
Muller - 5.

Anyone, maybe Styre, have any idea what time that game will be? We're just over a week away, and it still says TBD.