A friend is having a wedding anniversary next spring. 30 years! Impressive!

He has always lived down South but recently moved to Birmingham. He told me "if you can join us, why not stay an extra day or two and let's go watch the USFL at the UAB football stadium".

I had forgotten quite frankly that the USFL played all its games last year in Birmingham. It was essentially a "TV League" but frankly, maybe that wasn't a bad way to start in the year one of its existence.

I looked up the new UAB stadium just now. It really is pretty much brand new. Built for four to five times less than what we want to pay. And it seats just under 50,000 people.

I truly don't understand why we as a program want to build a stadium that seats less than what our average attendance is now (and 10,000 less than our average attendance was in the Gary Barnett post Rose Bowl years when we averaged close to 45.000 or so). For the love of goodness, stop the madness and don't build something the size of a MAC stadium! It will be too small on the day it opens!

No normal fan will ever be able to afford tickets and because football pretty much pays for everything regarding sports at Northwestern, can you imagine what the price for munchies and drinks will be? For parking?

Save 600,000,0000 and spend it on NIL for goodness sakes, that is the way college football is heading!

UAB - Built for four-five times less than what we want to spend.


Note, I DO understand the desire to "fit the footprint" of where we are currently at - otherwise Evanston won't allow the new facility. But I am sure architects can figure something out by building down a bit into the ground (is the water table too high that near the lake?) or by doing other things.

Here's my take on the exhibition game won by the Cats 69-49. On defense, allowed a lot of penetration in the first half but really cleaned that up in half number two. Verhoven has some nice defensive instincts, but Chase is our best all around defender.On offense, we are going to live or die by the three. Boo has trouble finishing at the rim drives but is money from the free throw line when he gets there. Audige looked like he did two years ago (completely healthy now?) He can create his own shot when the play breaks down, shot his free throws more confidently as well as his 3s. Boo didn't try to force shots and both he and Chase tried to set up teammates. They will have to score in bunches for us to win in the Big Ten. Ty Berry had an awful shooting night, missing numerous open shots. I've noticed that he has a tendency towards pressing when the first couple shots don't go down. Barnhizer is going to be a nice lift off the bench. Good, confident shooter and a threat from 3. Beran is the Beran we've seen but is a veteran presence and should contribute 8 to 10 points per game and help on the boards.. Verhoven has some offensive moves and is a good defender. He will start in the middle. Nicholson is still raw. Moves better, but he still looks like he is "feeling his way" out there. I doubt Hunger or Martinelli will help much this season, but they give us some big bodies. Maybe they'll mature as the season goes on. We will need Roper going forward, that's for sure,and we can't afford injuries to either Boo or Chase.

You know, I can’t really be bothered to do it this year. Just nothing left.

go cats (with a paper bag over my head)

Cats lead Quincy 36-29 at halftime. Not a pretty game.
1) Audige is by a mile the best player on the court. Most points, most rebounds, most confidence. So far the only Wildcat who can get his own shot
2) rough half for Boo and Berry, but we know who they are.
3) Barnheiser showing a great stroke but not much else.
4) Nicholson using his size well, but still has questionable hands
5) Hunger has good size but is slow
6) Verheoven is quick and has decent moves in the post.
7) Beran is Beran
8) Martinelli with his curly hair and headband is giving off serious Jackie Moon vibes.

This crazy race to power has got to be taken on by the powers that be. Since we now pay them and also give them free agency why not subject them to an NFL style draft? The NCAA is headquartered in Indianapolis and they should have a series of regional combines and then a National Combine here in Indy. Followed by an NFL style draft. To whom much is given, much is expected. This year's draft in the B1G would have NU with the #1 pick and OSU with the 14th pick. Make a more competitive league. Why aren't we deserving of some 5 stars and 4 stars on a regular basis. Takes away the cheating and the under the table money. Rounds 1-5, if not drafted you go into the undrafted free agent market and can negotiate your place of choice. NFL tries to equal out the talent to field competitive teams and give fans hope, why not the NCAA? Kids can go into free agency after one year so why not give the NUs, vandys, Rices, and IUs of the world a chance??? It's all about TV money, deals, and conferences now. Change it. I'm serious.

anyone out there going to the exhibition tonight and give us a report? Women won their first over W-W Parkside

…I will be pleasantly surprised.

OSU’s lowest B1G scoring output is 44. They scored 77 against Toledo.

This sucks so much.

Dang! Gonna be biblical!

So I dropped my season tickets this year. Had them for more than 25 years, but after last season, I’d had enough.

Tonight, I received an email from NU saying the deadline for reserving 2023 season tickets is today (10/31).

Really? They think they are going to have enough demand for 2023 tickets that they can try and get people to commit right now?

Who is running this ticket/marketing program?

So, if NU does not make a change of either head coach, or coordinators, what does it say about the program? I ask the question under the premise that most other coaches/coordinators in this position would either be gone by now or on a serious hot seat.

Do recruits and other coaching candidates think Fitz has the job for life, win, lose or draw? Does it imply that NU is the type of program that can only be run by someone like Fitz (former player) and others cannot be successful here?

Every time I get asked to give more money to the program, I am told that if we want to compete with the “big boys” we need to spend money and run a program like the “big boys”. It doesn’t feel like we are making coaching decisions like the “big boys”.

Hurt, will not play tonight.

I was thinking of cutting back on my NU donation this year, but if GRRM didn’t… 🧐

George R.R. Martin ’70, ’71 MS, ’21 H, author of the acclaimed “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels and co-executive producer of the Emmy award-winning “Game of Thrones” series, is sharing his love of storytelling through two gifts totaling $5 million to Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications.

A $3 million gift will establish the George R.R. Martin Summer Intensive Writing Workshop, which will provide instruction for journalism professionals seeking to launch careers in creative writing. Launching in 2024, the workshop will enroll six to eight writers and authors each summer and afford budding fiction writers, screenwriters and playwrights the time, space and guidance to develop their projects.

A $2 million gift will establish an endowed professorship, the George R.R. Martin Chair in Storytelling. The professor who is named to this position will lead the George R.R. Martin Summer Intensive Writing Workshop, as well as teach courses across a breadth of genres, from narrative nonfiction to creative writing, to both undergraduate and graduate students.

Early Renew Your ’23 Football Tickets and WIN!”

I just received this as part of an e-mail about renewing now for the ‘23 season.

Someone in the ticket office has an odd sense of humor or timing.

I'm planning on bringing a group for the LOL trophy game this month and have been to several games at Ryan and always had a great time. I see that I can grab a parking spot on Stubhub for the east or west lots, and had thought about bringing a motorhome if the weather is cold. Can anyone tell me if I can actually park it in one of those lots or what my options are?

Thanks!

Yes, our season is a disaster.
Yes, the definition of insanity is repeating the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome.
Yes, we will be outnumbered 3:1 in our own stadium.
Yes, Ohio State will likely put up over 49 points on us.
Yes, watching us lose to Iowa in person was demoralizing.

Despite these truths, I will be attending the game on Saturday. Go Cats. Hail to Purple. Hail to White. Hail to thee, Northwestern.

The firings of Paul Chryst (Wisconsin) and Karl Dorrell (Colorado) were discussed on Mark Roger's Voice of College Football podcast on Youtube:
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Late in the Roger's segment, it was brought up if other schools were at Wisconsin's standard for handling Chryst, the the following coaches should also be in trouble:
Mel Tucker, Michigan State
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M
PAT FITZGERALD, NORTHWESTERN
David Shaw, Stanford

Next, I see this hot seat website that has Pat Fitzgerald rated #4 on the national hot seat list a couple of spots below Stanford's David Shaw.

Then, on the last half of a Field of 12 Media youtube podcast about the firing of Chryst, it actually fell into a discussion about the problems at Wisconsin that are shared with some other Big Ten West teams including the Wildcats and Iowa.
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These are some of their main contentions:
(1) They (Wisconsin, Iowa, Northwestern) need to change, but they are not going to change. Wisconsin is going to keep running the same type of offense with Jim Leonhard, so they question the utility in firing Chryst. Northwestern is not going to change from Fitzgerald because he has brought the program more wins than they're use to, but will they win a Big Ten game this year? (Didn't hear more about Ferentz, but you get the gist)
(2) These teams need to shift their offenses to be able to pass (not just pass, but pass VERTICALLY). This can be in a more pro-style offense if not going with a passing spread offense.
(3) They're saying each of these programs are built on red-shirting and holding players for 4 or 5 years, then hoping they reach their peak at a time when other programs are down. These programs need to adjust to the NIL and transfer portal era and attracting players that are needed immediately. However, they contend the transfer players these programs need to attract are going to be hard to come by because they need "Speed and Space" guys like at skill positions like wide receiver and defensive back and that are not going to be interested in dealing with current program philosophies.
(4) These teams need to prepare for change that has already come with team like Illinois getting better, then adjusting to USC, UCLA and possibly other west coast schools coming in to the Big Ten.

I am not saying Fitzgerald should be on the hot seat myself, but Field of 12 Media discussion actually verbalized some feelings I've had about the Wildcats about transforming the program.

I suspect we are all going to need some distractions over the rest of this season, so figured I’d turn the page a bit and look at our 2023 personnel. Let’s not devolve this into yet another “JON needs to be fired” thread, don’t think there’s much consensus around here otherwise. This is simply trying to take a look at our available personnel by position group as it stands today once we get to the 2023 season.

Obviously the biggest unknown right now is the transfer portal, both in terms of additions as well as departures. I’m not going to pretend to have any kind of knowledge on players who might leave NU, just doing this as a “by the book” exercise with some collected observations at the end.

Candidly, I also tend to exclude walk-on’s in this context. While it is always a fun story to have a guy emerge as a contributor a la Carr, Niro, etc., it’s not really something you want to count on when it comes to roster planning and construction.

With that, we’re off!

Quarterback
Projected Two-Deep: Sullivan/Hilinski
Depth: Richardson, Lausch
Redshirting Depth: Gray

* Still early, but would wager we find ourselves in yet another competition come spring
* Sullivan showed JUSSTTTT enough mobility against Maryland that I think the offense could move more efficiently with him at the helm full-time
* Lausch is likely the wildcard, mostly whether he has the arm to push for full-time consideration or the athleticism to push for time as a package player

Running Back
Projected Two-Deep: Hull/Porter
Depth: Tyus, Himon
Redshirting Depth: N/A

* Hull has been much better than I thought this year, though I still hope Porter can push him even more with another year to heal up after his knee
* Have heard good things about Himon’s speed/quickness, might be a candidate in the pass game last year
* Tyus is a big ol’ dude that I still think would be better-served playing linebacker, but I’m not sure the depth chart is such that he could make that move absent a transfer addition

Wide Receiver
Projected Two-Deep: [N/A]
Depth: Gill, Dennis, Gray, Johnson III, Kirtz, Hooper-Price, Fleurima
Redshirting Depth: Ahumaraeze, Covey IV

* I don’t think any of these guys has done enough in 2022 to be certain of their spot atop the depth chart
* Best hope for this group is that the QB position gets solidified early to work on routes and timing throughout spring and fall
* There are some high-ceiling guys in this group (mostly Dennis, Hooper-Price, and Fleurima), but I also fear too many low-floor guys (mostly Gill and Gray on the current roster, then both incoming 2023 WRs)

Tight End
Projected Two-Deep: Gordon/Lang
Depth: Petrucci, Welcing, Albright, Olges
Redshirting Depth: Magee, Holt

* Gordon has flashed some very good things this year, though his lack of recent impact is worrisome whether due to injury or schematic issues
* Lang looks like a “perfectly fine” second TE that can do some things
* Have heard Welcing looks good when he is healthy enough to play, but keeps getting injured… don’t know for sure, but wouldn’t be surprised at a medical DQ
* Best case scenario might be for a couple of the younger guys to emerge as pass-catchers to take some pressure off the WR group
* Enough to work with here that Bajakian can get creative schematically
* Olges has been playing TE a lot the past few games, but not sure he should be included here just yet
EDIT: With Olges confirming at yesterday’s presser that he’s a full-time tight end, moving him here from DL… that is a LOT of guys in the tight end room, hopefully can start using them more creatively. Also get the feeling that we might see a medical DQ for Welcing announced at some point.

Offensive Line
Projected Two Deep:
LT: Tiernan/Franks
LG: Priebe/Carsello
C: Herzog/D’Antonio
RG: Wrather/McGuire
RT: Thompson/Franks
Redshirting depth: Senda, Birsa, Doost, Knox

* Obviously this group looks a WHOLE lot better if Skoronski returns for another year because of course it looks better when a likely first-round guy is on the field, but I don’t think we can plausibly count on that at this point
* If Skoronski is back then Tiernan flips back to RT, which would allow Thompson to compete for an interior spot, etc… would have a cascading positive impact, but not gonna happen
* Tiernan has at least looked passable in his first time at RT, has the frame and feet to flip to LT
* Anderson really liked Herzog coming out of HS, I wouldn‘t be at all surprised to see him as a 4-year starter after putting on a little more weight
* No matter who ends up starting, this is going to be a very inexperienced group… plenty of guys who have been in the program for a bit, but Priebe is really the only guy to see extended time at this point… time for Anderson to earn his keep with a group that is largely “his guys”

Defensive Line
Projected Two-Deep:
DE: McLaughlin/TBD
DT: Gold/Butler
DT: Story/Firestone
DE: Pate/Hubbard
Other depth: Cameron, Flakes, Saka
Redshirting depth: Kilbane, Robinson, Roberts, Gant

* I’m actually pretty excited to see Story with another year to grow and develop… he’s suddenly a very big, mobile kid who could be quite good
* Some toolsy guys in this room (Saka, Robinson, etc.), just wonder how quickly they can be gameday contributors, could really use a guy to step up at DE that can impact a game
* Gold has the size to play inside, has to stay healthy
* Just don’t know or haven’t seen enough to project Cameron or Flakes in the two-deep
* Would be great if one of the incoming guys were good enough to play in the rotation, particularly Gant or Roberts inside… Porter’s decommit hurts this angle big-time
* Tough to see a true impact DL out of this group, quite frankly
EDIT: * Removing Olges here… only reiterates my desire to see some added veteran bulk/depth on the interior via the portal.

Linebacker
Projected two-deep:
Will: Mueller/Uihlein
Mike: Gallagher/Davis
Sam: Metz/Soares
Other depth: Jones (still has a year left, I believe), Coleman (though wouldn’t surprise me to see him move to DE full-time), Reynolds, Brus
Redshirting depth: Cryer, Glover

* I sincerely hope Davis and Uihlein develop to the point they can push Mueller and Gallagher for playing time
* Interestingly I think those guys have “opposite” development to do — Davis could probably benefit from getting slimmer/quicker while Uihlein could probably benefit from getting bigger/stronger… either way, I hope they put it together to push the incumbent returning starters
* Metz hasn’t played nearly as much lately, but seems “mostly fine” when he plays
* Heard very good things about both Soares and Reynolds, maybe one of them could also emerge for PT come spring

Defensive Back
Projected Two-Deep:
CB: Mitchell/TBD
SAF: Azema/Joseph
SAF: Lewis (pretty sure he has one more year)/Turner
STAR: Heard/Wallace
CB: Hollis/Johnson
Other depth: Williams, Smith, Turner, Fitzgerald
Redshirting depth: Lewis, Shivers, Fussell, Walters

* Fourth corner would probably be Heard with one of the backup safeties coming into the STAR position
* At the very least this will be a very veteran group returning, which is generally a good sign for NU football
* Mitchell, Azema, and Lewis seem likely to assume a leadership role
* Hopefully Azema is healthy come fall 2023, as I think he’s our best player back there
* Mitchell has a lot of work to do to get anywhere near the platitudes he got from the program earlier this year, IMO

Specialists
K: Olsen
P: Akers
LS: Halkyard

* Akers has been pretty solid this year, great addition
* Olsen been dinged up, hopefully stays healthy and gets his swing back over the offseason
* Ideally one of the other K/P has the leg to handle KO’s, but I have no clue

OVERALL TAKEAWAYS
* QB: still not sure we have “that guy” in the room, but can at least muster some optimism that Sullivan or Hilinski can be serviceable
* RB: far and away the strongest position group on the team in my opinion. Still think Porter ends up better than Hull when fully healthy and re-integrated.
* WR: wish I had nicer things to say, but I hope we do whatever we possibly can to land at least a couple actual impact WRs out of the portal because I don’t see those guys on the roster as it stands today
* TE: decent young depth, especially if Gordon continues to emerge and one or more of the young guys takes a step forward. Might have to get creative using this group to cover shortcomings in the WR group. EDIT: Olges at TE full-time makes me wonder about a medical DQ for Welcing.
* OL: pretty veteran group, but haven’t seen a ton to go off just yet. Wouldn’t at all mind a veteran transfer or two to bolster the top-end of the depth chart.
* DL: lacks impact players unless one of the young guys surprises. Could use a veteran or two to bolster the depth chart, both inside and on the edge. EDIT: Olges moving to TE full-time makes me want to see veteran depth added in the portal even more.
* LB: unfortunately looks like mostly much of the same, fingers crossed that some of the guys currently on the bench can push the guys we are seeing regularly this year because they just haven’t been good enough
* DB: will be a very veteran group and should be the leaders of the team. Will see if that translates into better and more consistent performances.
* Specialists: Akers is solid, Halkyard mostly anonymous (which is a good thing), some consistency at K would be great (and is especially important in “Fitzball”)