Here's the first of @mshelton33's stories from Minneapolis.

The game was over after we got the first down. Then we still ran 2-3 plays instead of taking a knee. Why risk a turnover? That was stupid

When it was 23-13 and we got the ball back with around 6 mins to play we were also snapping the ball with 15-20 left on the play clock. Dumb clock management

A win is a win, but for being such a great academic institution the decision making is too often puzzling

Or at least my highlight so far. Walked into the players and press hospitality room right on time to overhear an exasperated Trey Galloway turn to his teammate and say "Bro, they keep showing this!" BTN keeps cutting to Buie's game winning floater and Galloway couldn't take it anymore.

Here's the first of @mshelton33's stories from Minneapolis.

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Last year’s worked for me. The stripes made more sense on the side make more sense than on the shorts.

Here's @mshelton33's profile of Boo Buie. FYI, Matt is in Minneapolis today for Big Ten Men's Basketball Media Day. Coach Collins takes the podium at 10:20 am CT.

2024 QB Marek Hill was the only player still being recruited by Northwestern that visited for the Howard game. I talked to him about his visit, the possibility of a PWO or full offer, and his impression of the program.

Coming in for the Penn State game. What are the must see/do/eat/drink things on or near campus? Are there any iconic sculptures or memorials?

I’m not interested in downtown Chicago. We’re staying north of Evanston and will tour the campus and area on Saturday afternoon.

The bye week is here and @mikefitz77 has three things we learned, two questions we're asking and one bold prediction after the Howard game.

Declining the penalty on the punt proved to be a very smart coaching decision. From the stands it looked incomprehensible that the Minnesota player who downed the ball in the end zone could not know where he was when he caught the ball, but watching it on replay shows that it can be difficult to see where the goal line is on the field a couple of yards inside the line.

The NU coaches didn’t get caught up in the Minnesota coaches’ chicanery as proven by declining the penalty. They knew that punting closer to the endzone would make it more difficult to down the punt. It seems counterintuitive, but it was correct.

From the stands, I got nervous seeing the ball moved back closer to the goal line, but it worked out great. The Cats needed every second on that drive. Those extra 15 - 19 extra yards were crucial.

What a game. It was a beautiful night to watch football outside, and the victory was an incredible reward for those who watched until the end. Congratulations to the players, player’s families, coaches, staff, and administrators. It’s a great pleasure to be a Northwestern football fan. Go Cats.

Undefeated Miami (the one in Florida) leads Georgia Tech by three.

GT is out of timeouts.

Miami has the balll. It is third down

As you know the playclock in CFB is forty seconds.

With LESS THAN FORTY SECONDS LEFT in the game they do NOT take a knee BUT SNAP THE BALL and FUMBLE it.

Georgia Tech gets the ball and throws two long passes not just to get in to field goal range but all the way to the end zone. They win the game.

A late afternoon kick in Lincoln in two weeks. Currently no BTN game scheduled opposite.

I'm sure others will disagree, but i am saddened by the recent escalation in board censorship and hope that you, CappyNU and others will use restraint in the future to keep the Wildcat Report a community for diverse (and even abnoxious) banter, speculation, innuendo, criticism and reporting. We've lost the Rant Board as a destination for childish complaining, but in highsight such a place seems a necessary outlet for many of our posters. And on occasion, interesting topics would get raised and discussed.

We all come here to discuss our beloved wildcats. And the current environment has become utterly toxic - but that's to be expected because we are all deeply frustrated NU fans. But i've noticed both the free board and the paid board have seemingly lost a number of valuable contributors and i suspect this will only continue if selective censorship is applied. There is no voice or opinion that is right or more valuable than another's. If somebody's comments are distasteful to others, than anyone in the audience has the right and ability to not read such responses (by utilizing the ignore function, or by simply being more selective in threads they choose to read).

Message boards by nature are dysfunctional, confrontational and disrespectful - such is the nature of online personalities and egos. People participate in the community for a number of reasons. And i found the diverse interests and personalities to be of value. Sometime in the last 24 hours, a post by Eurocat regarding Damar Hamlin and a possible diagnosis being Commotio Cordis was deleted - maybe in response to certain poster objections about being insensitive. Quite frankly, there was nothing insensitive about posting information that answers the question - what in the world could have happened to the young man. It wasn't represented to be factual, but simply interesting, relevant and informative. I won't question why the thread was deleted on the public board, but remains on the ROCK. People have the right to be curious, to share information, and to process events like last night however they wish. If as a community we institute regulations that unfairly silence voices that may be unpopular to some, then we will have grossly failed to represent the values of wildcat bretheren or serve the interests of this community.

For all others, discourse on a BBS is what it is. If you don't like it, don't continually subject yourself to such content. Don't let yourself always get butthurt or triggered by the content, egos and personalities. And don't project your values and attitudes as being superior - respect is a 2 way street. For better or worse, extreme content and propaganda permeates everything we see, hear and believe. Choose to engage or not, but don't silence anyone's voice or contribution.

With respect to NU Football, we here aren't the problem, nor are we the solution. We are an audience to a common interest in NU football et al. Accept the diversity of opinion and enjoy the fact that we actually have an accessible community of people that share this interest.

my $0.02 for 2023.
Happy New Year my fellow Wildcat Report Community

The bye week is here and @mikefitz77 has three things we learned, two questions we're asking and one bold prediction after the Howard game.

There is a big difference between the public face of the university from Morty Schapiro to Michael Schill, and I’m sorry, but I don’t care for Schill’s at all.

Morty did not try to use us, meaning Northwestern University, to promote his personal agenda. I’m not sure if he even had a personal agenda. Morty was about the university, its students, its faculty, its academic achievements, and very much about its athletic programs.

But that’s entirely different with Schill. I believe that he sees us, again the university, as a tool that he can use to promote his personal agenda. In essence he uses the leverage and power of his position to do exactly that.

Sure there are faculty members who have agendas as well and that’s fine. However, the university itself did not. Those things were left to the individual faculty members. But that’s all changed now.

The university itself via the president is now in the business of dealing with a number of controversial issues. Some here might like that involvement, but others like me may feel it is well beyond what the university should be doing.

And in this new dimension, if I can call it that, there seems to me to be a pretty clear decrease in the position and importance of athletics. I’m beginning to believe that if Schill could simply eliminate major sports like football and basketball and turn us into something more like the University of Chicago he would do so.

WildcatReport has learned there will be a small group in town this weekend for Homecoming, just a couple of guys:

OG Idrys Cotton (NU Commit)

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QB Marek Hill

2024 QB from Oak Park (Ill.) Fenwick

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Also got confirmation of Aiden Newbill's official measurements from the visit: 6-foot-7, 280 pounds.

Yesterday was the first game I saw live. I had read how Hunter Renner has struggled and, in particular, his average punt yardage was so-so. Yesterday I thought he was booming his punts. He did hit one duck hook but I thought overall he looked pretty good. I sat next to an old NU player who attends every game and he says Renner has been punting fine. Anyway, there's that.

Any posters tailgating? Please let me know. Thanks!

Today on Gameday they asked the question: what are the only two schools to have all-time winning records against both Oklahoma and Texas? The answer is NU and BYU. Good plug for the Cats.

I would like to see NU clean up during the bye is the discipline offensively. Through the first six games so many penalties have put them behind the chains. Or have killed the possession. Is it just me or is this uncharacteristic of The Cats? They usually if nothing else have been well disciplined.