Forget about the competition in the B1G stiffening with Oregon, Washington and USC, but we now have the nightmare scenario of perennial doormats, Illinois, Indiana, and Rutgers looking like real programs!

Jackson couldn’t get here soon enough.

We went back to our Ten Questions Series from the preseason and evaluated how Northwestern has answered each one through their first four games.

Indiana is going to attack our secondary. Could be a long day. Maryland looks beatable.

Now that we’re out on Able - who’s next? Any updates on Singleton, Koehler, Sanders (I know he’s visiting in September).

@lou v has three ideas over the bye week to fix Northwestern's offensive woes.

The bye is well needed. We have zero margin for error now. Must beat IU next at home, Maryland on the road, Wisconsin at home and then Purdue on the road later in the season to bowl. None of the others feel winnable if we’re being honest. And this is assuming Cam plays and is Cam again. We don’t force turnovers like we did last year because of limited CB depth and our quarterbacks appear to be extremely limited.

Did you get the email?




I wonder if anyone would disagree with the contents of this fairly dense statement.

It’s a lot of words, but a lot of words also recognize that there are layers and nuance to things.

I know offensive lineman NIL deals are not cheap. I can never see us winning a bidding war for a skill position player, but what if we tried to focus our money on bringing in the best offensive line we can afford. I think a great offensive line can make an average QB and RB look good, while with a bad offensive line you can have Mahomes back there and it will not matter. We need to do something outside the box or our talent evaluation has to be exponentially better than everyone else if we are going to survive in this new era.

Wildcats Marching Down the Field:

So when an individual or family donates money to a university, that is a charitable donation and there is a tax benefit. How does NIL work? Is any of the money given to the an NIL collective tax deductible? Are people giving money to an NIL through their business or is it out personal? If not tax deductible, I am having a hard time seeing the value of a bunch of people for example at OSU in ten years saying remember when we spent $20 million and did not win the national championship.

Rutgers’ basketball expectations sky high thanks to superstar freshman duo
By Zach Braziller
Published Sep. 25, 2024, 1:14 a.m. ET

The arrival of Dylan Harper and Airious “Ace” Bailey has changed so much for Rutgers. There is the potential of a preseason top-25 ranking, and already there is significant hype rarely attached to the New Jersey state school.

NBA scouts will flock to Jersey Mike’s Arena to see the two five-star prospects and projected one-and-done lottery picks. Along with that comes pressure, the weight of expectations before a game is even played.

SNIP FOR LENGTH

Still, this is new territory for him, coaching two players like Bailey and Harper. They were ranked second and third in the country among high school seniors last year by 247Sports.com and are viewed as future NBA players. In a practice open to the media, the two showcased their world-class ability, sinking long jumpers, getting to the basket at will and finding open teammates.

If not for Duke’s freshman phenom Cooper Flagg, the sweet-shooting, 6-foot-10 Bailey from Chattanooga, Tenn., would be in consideration as the potential top pick in next year’s NBA draft.

“They’re not sleepers, that’s for sure,” Pikiell said jokingly. “What you saw is they’re elite passers, they’re great kids from great families. Thankful that they’re here. … They’re really talented players, but they work. They’re good workers and they’re good teammates.”

@lou v has three ideas over the bye week to fix Northwestern's offensive woes.

Running back Ronny Johnson somehow one-upped his performance in the last roundup, rushing for five touchdowns last week. I cover his big game, defensive end Jonah Hayes leading his team in tackles, wins from the 2025 and 2026 quarterbacks, and more.

Yikes.

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Was there one? Curious to hear what Braun has to say…

Just got the email for that. Money grab there as well. This year $300 last year $180. But with no East lot and local communities trying to ban street parking, did not seem much in the was of alternatives so paid the price. Man this has been an expensive year

Tied with Duke. Why can’t we have nice things??

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After a frustrating start to the B1G regular season at yet another lakeside stadium, the Cats welcome Bye to Evanston.

Cats fans are hoping that Bye will be an injury-free opportunity for the team to work on its offense which was kept out of the end zone in Seattle. Cam Porter who was out for the Washington game will have another week to recuperate.

Prediction:

NU 2
Bye 0

It's all about safety.

This is insane.

It was a very abrupt decision to change starters given the more conservative history that we've had with QB changes.

But the story of the EIU game would have been so different if we had just gotten to see only 12 or 13 attempts by Lausch in the second half with 3 or 4 completions (i.e. if Braun had kept Wright as starter and then just inserted Lausch in for some drives in the 2nd half).

It's worth giving credit to Braun on the starting decision because Lausch looked like a completely different quarterback once he got into the rhythm of the game and went on to complete most of his attempts (something like 17 for 19) the rest of the way with 11 in a row at one point.

Obviously, the level of competition ramps up with Big Ten play starting and @Washington will be a tough game. So it's a good thing Lausch at least got a full game to warm up and get any jitters/nerves out of his system.

All times CENTRAL. Rankings come from the AP poll. All games available nationally unless otherwise indicated. I will add announcers as they are assigned.

Northwestern is off this week.

And the rest:

Friday, September 27

Washington @ Rutgers
7:00 PM, FOX
PxP: Tim Brando
Color: Devin Gardner

Saturday, September 28

Minnesota @ #12 Michigan
11:00 AM, FOX
PxP: Gus Johnson
Color: Joel Klatt

Maryland @ Indiana
11:00 AM, BTN
PxP: Jeff Levering
Color: Jake Butt

Nebraska @ Purdue
11:00 AM, Peacock (streaming only)
PxP: Jac Collinsworth
Color: Michael Robinson

Wisconsin @ #13 USC
2:30 PM, CBS
PxP: Brad Nessler
Color: Gary Danielson

#19 Illinois @ #9 Penn State
6:30 PM, NBC
PxP: Noah Eagle
Color: Todd Blackledge

#3 Ohio State @ Michigan State
6:30 PM, Peacock (streaming only)
PxP: Andrew Siciliano
Color: Colt McCoy

#8 Oregon @ UCLA
10:00 PM, FOX
PxP: Connor Onion
Color: Mark Helfrich

Iowa is also off this week.

MORE PFF ANALYSIS: Monday Washington PFF Analysis (Snap counts)

Grades have been finalized for Northwestern's grueling 24-5 loss at Washington.

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Playing football doesn't cause people to get Parkinson's.
It only increases the probability.

Favre took a lot of big hits and played a long time.
Is that the silver lining?

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/24/sport/brett-favre-parkinsons-disease-spt-intl/index.html

I didn't catch the post-game conference, but I'm wondering if Braun commented on our passing/no running strategy on that set of downs, and even if he didn't, what do we think the rationale was?

I would imagine Lujan was thinking he knew the defense was well prepared for the run and we had a depleted line, no Porter, and no chance to punch it in. I'm not saying this was "right" but we obviously saw the results of what actually happened, and I'm just wondering if there was an explanation that I missed.