Over under 37.5. Iowa fans keep calling for sully. Would really like to see a sully lausch showdown.

I hate those white Northwestern script helmets. HATE them! I dislike white NU helmets period because they remind me of our hapless teams of the 1980’s.

@mikefitz77 has three things we learned, two questions we're asking and one bold prediction ahead of Northwestern's matchup with the Hawkeyes.

I was really excited about Lujan coming in. Extremely disappointed in his scheme and play calling. I know they don’t have the players, but Lujan not helping.

Defense is good enough to win. Offensive personnel just isn’t good enough.

Indiana blows out Nebby 56-7. Pretty impressive. Potentially a top 10 team. Just show we had a decent outing against them. They still have to play UM and Ohio State but they have the #1 BigTen offense so they should be competing against the top dogs.

I had a call with 2025 kicker Baylen Woodman from Janesville, Wisc. this afternoon. There will be a more detailed story later in the week but here are some of my notes.

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Washington game all over again.

I'm not saying we will, but the only game I consider to be a guaranteed loss at this point is against Ohio State.

Wisconsin, @ Iowa, @ Purdue, @ Michigan, Illinois @ Wrigley...there are three wins in this batch. The funny thing is, I neither consider Michigan to be a certain loss nor Purdue to be a certain win (because they surely see us as their best shot to avoid losing out). I think all five of these games are a coin toss that will boil down to focus and luck (injuries, etc.) A little piece of me almost hopes we lose on Saturday which all but ensures the rest of our opponents will take us lightly. I think beating the Badgers actually makes our march to six wins more difficult (but if we beat them, I definitely won't be mad!)

No Matt, Ty or Brooks.....Ciaravino has some hops.

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Northwestern (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten) hosts Wisconsin (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) this week at Martin Stadium. The game is set to kick off on time at 11 am, and will air on BTN. This is the last game of 2024 at Northwestern's temporary lakeside stadium.

Not surprisingly, Luke Akers was the B1G Special Teams Player of the Week. The last Wildcat to win as ST POY? Luke Akers in the first week of 2022, based on the Ireland game.

Inconsistency is so frustrating.

The Maryland game showed us Lausch could sling the ball down field and we could score points. Didn't see a long ball once today (at least not to my recollection). Ball was practically glued to the field when we were on offense. Infuriating calls and botches. And if I watch another gym class pass out to the flats that gets dropped, I'm going to scream.

We're breaking in a first-time head coach who didn't know he truly had to lay the ground work for this season at NU until late last season. Also needed to install a new coaching staff when his network was primarily rooted in FCS football. So then we had a dilapidated recruiting class, a whole bunch of our fifth year seniors understandably fly the coop, and a whole bunch of mismatched pieces (coaches and players), including whatever we could salvage in the Portal. The results this season were predictable. As I often say here, if someone described our circumstances in the context of another team, none of us would bet on success.

But the season's not over. Our head coach is the same guy who we watched work "miracles" last season. Five games left with at least three beatable teams.

I still think we can get to six wins...it just depends which NU shows up - the one that beat Maryland or the one that played today. I think it was Barnett who said something to the effect of the role of a coach being someone who can take you where you can get to on your own. I believe we've seen flashes of this so far, but I'd also say it's squarely on the coaches to prep this team to be more consistent. I wont be so stupid to say we should have won today but we should have put on one hell of a better showing.

But whether we get to six or not this season, I will judge Braun on next season; not so much on this one.

Today’s game was disappointing in so many ways that it’s hard to count. One thing that I think needs saying is (after seeing that the Maryland team the Cats spanked last week beat USC today) is that the teams NU has lost to are all pretty good: Indiana is a strong 7-0, Duke is 6-1, Wisky is a very hot 5-2, and UW is a tough 4-3. I’m not happy with the struggles the offense has had, but they have had those struggles against non-cupcakes.

Here’s hoping Henning gets back next week, that the interior OLine finds something to build on, and that next week against Iowa is a more enjoyable game.

…is the fact that the Illini are wearing the coolest uniforms of all time while pounding Michigan.

NU needs to roll out some vintage unis and leather-look helmets. But not until they have a chance to win another game.

Need a veteran HC to come in and help Braun with situational decision making. Some really bad coaching decisions this season.

or, a week ago this time, wasn't Lausch the go to QB for the next three years in the minds of board posters. Finally, we have a QB, whew! Fickle isn't just Wisconsin's coach, it is many NU fans. Get a f'ing grip, focus on the OLine, and as far as I'm concerned that is still Fitz's oversight to repair. This is NU, it's not overnight magic.

Braun did a great job last year, under tremendous pressure. I thank him for that leadership. We had a dip-shit AD, that nobody worth their salt would work for, and lucked out in Braun. We are where we are due to leadership.

Here are my takeaways from Northwestern's 23-3 loss to Wisconsin.

Here are my takeaways from Northwestern's 23-3 loss to Wisconsin.

I think this is huge news that the BigTen and SEC will be scheduling more games posing conference members against each other. The article mentions 3 BigTen/SEC games early in the season that drew big tv audiences in the top 10 games viewed that supposedly pushed the agenda for more intra-conference games. Looks like a way of getting even more money for both conferences. It will be huge for all the conference schools to build this rivalry thru intra-conference play.

Thompson questionable. Sure hope Cam is close to 100%.

@lou v's column from Northwestern's 23-3 loss to Wisconsin.

@lou v's column from Northwestern's 23-3 loss to Wisconsin.

Northwestern (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten) hosts No. 23 Indiana (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) this afternoon at Martin Stadium. Kick is set for 2:40 pm CT and the game will air on BTN.