He took the ball, left the quarterback.

Great to see him back. Probably my favorite player on this edition.

Check out my takeaways from Northwestern's massive win on the road in College Park.

I've talked to a couple sources now and I am confident I have a bead on NU's first-team offensive line for Saturday.

Before I just list them out, does anyone want to hazard a guess on who will start, from left to right? I'll even give you one: Caleb Tiernan will start at left tackle.

(By the way, @CoralSpringsCat, @gocatsgo2003 and @mshelton33 don't get to guess.)

10 day contract. Good for him.

Login to view embedded media

Unbelievable game taking all kicking duties.
3-3 FGs which came in critical situations trying to keep it more than 1 TD margin.
4-4 PATs
Almost 50 yard/punt average!
Almost all kickoffs in the end zone

Of course, NU also loses as a ‘dog.

Still, this is a little interesting.

Login to view embedded media

Happy Victory Saturday everybody.

Go (Tiger) Cats Go (Tiger) Cats Go (Tiger) Cats Go

Check out my takeaways from Northwestern's massive win on the road in College Park.

Although I did blindly predict it in this week's haiku. Some will say Maryland is not that good, but was NU much better? I mean this was basically a blow out--on their home field. Predicated on this, the Cats could go bowling. Wisconsin, Purdue and one other--Iowa, Illinois or Michigan? I believe Michigan is beatable this year.

That 4th quarter reminded me of the first Utah bowl.

Lausch looked less like baby Kafka and more like baby Thor. Remember when Thor figured out he could throw it pretty much anywhere near Austin Carr, and he'd catch it? Lausch flings it with same confidence to AJ and Bryce in the same fashion.

OLine really struggling. Not cohesive.

Porter looks still nicked up. Caleb had a couple of nice runs, one called back.

We have our Coco back to normal

I don't know why we don't do this any more. Is there some more sophisticated way of chatting during the game that I'm not young enough for?

No effect on us at NU but this could be Katrina level destruction.

Lausch’s stat line was surprising to me, only 18 passes. Seemed to me we were pass heavy. But we actually didn’t run that many plays because Maryland had the ball like the entire 3rd quarter. He sure made those 10 completions count. He made the throws a B1G QB needs to make. Henning should’ve probably caught another perfectly placed 30 yarder. And he’s making these big strides with a patchwork OL and not much of a running game.

I actually did pen a haiku this past week, but wasn't sure it would fit on this week's haiku thread. In retrospect I guess there is a relevant connection to our cascading win against Maryland.
















Cascading downward,

So the rush of water flows,

Lifting up my soul.

FOR THIS FRIDAY, AN ALASKA AURORA DISPLAY FROM EARLIER TODAY

Captured in the early hours of this October Friday, curtains of Northern Lights dance high in the sky above the roof of my home.
Watch as the multi colored lights of the Aurora shift from left to right and right to left.
Link to my YouTube Video Capturing the Curtains of Dancing Northern Lights:

Login to view embedded media
While this below display is less vibrant, my YouTube video does capture a unique explosive episode of the Aurora's electrical magnetic display unlike any I have ever seen in person or as filmed by others. The flashing is even accompanied by sounds of the machine gun like explosions.

It is almost as though witnessing a celestial phenomenon akin to what one would see from a telescope in outer space watching the universe's creation:
Link to the Exploding Aurora:


Login to view embedded media
And here are some still photos of the Northern Lights as captured by my camera this very early Friday morning:

I thought it warranted its own thread.

Why does he insist on handing off 6 yards behind the Line when you are 2 ft. short of the first.
I don't think it a has been successful all year. Doesn't he look at his own statistics?

I have 4 tickets in the east stands towards the south end zone i cannot use, and would love to get them to NU fans. I have a parking pass in the Library Place lot as well, which allows tailgating if interested. Feel free to direct message me.

I am well aware I am very likely in the minority of people that didn’t know this, but I didn’t realize the family Mac Uihlein came from. Holy crap.

Was watching a short doc about Super PACs when it showed his grandparents are some of the largest political donators in the country. Had no idea. Did more reading about him and his family after that.

This is nothing more than me admitting I had no clue about his familial background. This is NOT any sort of judgment on him or his family’s political ties/influence, so let’s not go there.

Last week the Cats were competitive for three quarters, including offensive volleying with #15 Indiana. The Hoosiers pulled away at the end, but the Cats showed significant improvement against B1G level competition from their game in Seattle two weeks before.

This week the Cats travel to their first non-lakeside game this season in College Park. Maryland is 3-2, also with a loss to Indiana in their last game by a similar score and also winless in B1G play. With the offense starting to synch and the return of Carmine Bastone, is it nuts to think the Cats could get to an even 3-3 at the halfway mark? I think not.

Wilbon's Medill BSJ 27
Wilbon's Lacy-Smith Award 21 (not the Lacey Smith who taught English history at NU).

Some nuggets about the transition to Ryan Field

Touchdown Trevor is a Titan.

Login to view embedded media

This was sent to U Dayton Flyer basketball season ticket holders. This what their AD thinks is going to happen regarding direct institutional payments to athletes:


Dear Season Ticket Holder,

I write to you with another update regarding the legal and regulatory matters around student-athlete compensation and benefits, and the impact on our basketball programs moving forward.

Earlier this week, a federal judge granted preliminary approval of a settlement agreement that will radically change the economic model of college sports as early as July 2025. You may have seen media reports about this; it is typically referred to as the “House v. NCAA” case. Although some legal steps remain, the preliminary approval at this stage in the case leads many to project that final approval will happen in April 2025.

As I have shared with you before, the major parts of the settlement are as follows:

• Total back damages paid for former student-athletes of approximately $2.78 billion, to be paid over 10 years.

• Going forward, NCAA and conference rules will permit direct payments by colleges and universities to student-athletes, up to amounts in the settlement agreement. Specifically, the settlement allows institutions to make payments to student-athletes up to a capped amount (currently about $22-$23 million per school) and that cap will be re-evaluated every few years. The cap is based on a formula of the average Power 5 school’s revenue, so major college football revenue accounts for a majority of that cap.

• Scholarship limits will be eliminated in all sports, and roster limits will be established.

The nuance and complexity of the settlement prevents me from describing it fully. However, we are primarily focused on the portion of the settlement that will allow schools to offer direct payments to student-athletes beyond what is currently permitted by NCAA rules.

Under current NCAA rules, UD is prohibited from paying students directly or indirectly. We may not use any institutional funds (from season tickets, donations, etc.) to compensate players for use of their name, image, and likeness. As a result, the NIL compensation students receive today is entirely reliant on third parties like you, Dayton 6th , corporations, organizations, and individual contributors. Please continue to support these efforts. However, if approved, this settlement will remove that restriction and allow direct payments from UD. Dayton 6th will also remain an important part of our program.


So what does this mean for Dayton Flyers basketball?

The total amount of additional payments and benefits schools will be permitted to provide directly to student-athletes is known as “the Pool,” which will be capped at the same level for every institution. In the first year, the 2025-26 season, the Pool cap is projected to be approximately $22-$23M, meaning that each school may offer direct payments to athletes (in aggregate) up to $22-$23M per year, allocated by sport as each school finds appropriate. After the first year, the Pool cap will escalate at predetermined amounts by approximately $1M per year.

Each school may decide whether and how much of these new benefits to provide to student-athletes, up to the Pool amount. The “Power Conference” schools (Big Ten, SEC, ACC, Big 12, etc.) have generally announced their commitment to share revenue up to the Pool cap. Other schools are considering how to enter this market, or whether to enter it at all. Our focus with these payments will be for our competitive basketball teams.

We want to maintain and advance our basketball programs. Our basketball performance is largely dependent on the talents and efforts of highly skilled student-athletes. Therefore, our continued ability to compete effectively depends on our ability to recruit high caliber players and to retain our existing roster. Players and their families want to be on the court, and they want to receive competitive packages and benefits. Players (both high school and transfer) being recruited by Dayton negotiate before they commit to the Flyers. Players and their families compare and contrast market values from schools they are considering.

The “Power Conferences” will use their size, lucrative media contracts and college football revenue to support their basketball teams. We will have to leverage our strengths as well and enter this space with confidence and boldness.

Over the coming months, it is imperative for UD to develop revenue solutions to adapt to the new realities of college sports with appropriate aggressiveness, or we will fall behind in a hypercompetitive environment. Increases in season ticket prices and the Arena Seating Program will play an important role in our ability to compete in any player market that may develop, as will fundraising, corporate partnerships, licensing, merchandising, radio, television, digital and commerce rights, and conference distributions related to media rights. The success of our basketball programs is influenced by many factors, but this issue is rapidly rising into the most important of our critical success factors, along with coaching, facilities, fan support, academic excellence, and overall quality of campus life.

We will not achieve our results with revenue and price increases alone; we will have to adjust costs as well across the Division of Athletics. The student-athlete experience and well-being of our students in sports other than basketball
are also very important to us. However, maintaining or exceeding the current investment level in sports other than basketball will be challenging.



More specific information will develop over the next few months, but I wanted to set the stage for what is ahead. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate the most challenging and disruptive time in college sports history. We will find opportunity within the chaos and endeavor to be better than ever before.



Thank you and Go Flyers!



Neil Sullivan

Vice President and Director of Athletics