He had 46 yards on one UTEP run, and 18 on his remaining 9 carries. I appreciate them trying to get him in space but he can't do it himself. It's not Lausch. We can't seem to run the ball at all.

Cats were very good. Most Penn State fans (myself included) saw this game as a speed bump en route to a hopeful appearance in the CFP. Cats weren’t having that. Glad you gave us some humble pie to eat for the next 2 weeks before hitting the road for Columbus.

Wish I could say I was at the game. Love your campus and everything about Northwestern. Going to Penn State was the best decision of my life but if I had a college-aged daughter, I wouldn’t complain if she chose Northwestern or Stanford. There are many great universities in the U.S., but those two have a little extra something special (along with Happy Valley, of course).

Here’s to a smooth transition for NU. I hope your students, alumni and donors remain engaged and I hope you are able to move forward with your plans for a new stadium. The Big Ten is way cooler when the Cats are competing for the top spot. Good luck the rest of the way.

Bryant’s injury looked just awful. Before he could set his feet, he was being hit. The hit was hard and legal, and 300 pounds of dude hit him high and then landed on him.

It looked bad. Probably a shoulder, or maybe even a concussion, or perhaps a cracked rib?

I listened with great anticipation when they sent it down to the sideline with an update.

“Word from the Northwestern bench is that Ben Bryant has suffered an…upper-body injury.”

Well duh, I was watching too.

I hope Ben is feeling better today, and I hope we see Sully and Lausch against 2-2 Howard on Saturday.

Very good first half.

Some time management observations:

From my seat in section 130, I was calling/hoping for a time out before Penn State’s first running touchdown with 1:30 left in the first half. It was the first momentum for Penn State’s offense. It’s the same logic as icing a kicker. Ice the entire offense instead.

I would have liked a quick snap after Bryant’s dash for the overturned first down. I’m not sure if the refs would have let the ball go in play, but it seemed like there were three seconds where nothing was happening.

Also, I hope they clear up whatever caused the delay of game penalty. Good call by Coach Braun to rush to the ref to take the time out to avoid a second delay penalty.

Go Cats go.

Had to be said.

I agree..

I just wondered what the reaction from my fellow board denizens was to see the puff piece on Schill in the Northwestern Alumni magazine this month. I was chuckling as I looked through it imagining how some of you on here were reacting.

*I am not an analyst, so don't expect depth.

I decided at 330 to buy a ticket on stubhub and drove down immediately from Wisconsin. Mrs. and daughter phat weren't interested.

- MN is not good. This was a great, satisfying, cathartic win, but I am not yet giddy. Nevertheless,
- The team has heart and grit. Even not including the dog crap from this summer, there was a ton of adversity. Gift TD after TO, excruciating penalties after long gains. Critical missed tackles
- The turning point in the game was when Bryant stepped into the phone booth and put on his superhero costume. QB play is so critical in CFB, even in the run-dominated B1G and he simply willed the team down the field. He was pedestrian for a long time (3.5 games, in fact) then he blew up. Even after his long pass to Kirtz, many (including me) were grumbling about why the coaches were sticking with him. He showed the leadership that we expect from a sixth year player.
- LMAO at the poor doofus that stood in the end zone for the last punt, allowing a touchback.
- The lines played better. Maybe because of the level of competition, but MN is probably about at RU level. Bryant didn't have a ton of time and Cam P had to create a lot himself (plus holding penalties). We gave up a lot of yards rushing and couldn't touch zach galifianakis. But it was a ton of improvement on both sides. Remember, we had like 140 yards offense v Rutgers until late garbage time drive
- my kingdom for a punter. I guess he didn't kill us.
- I've been a Bryce Kirtz fan since he signed with us. It was so cool seeing him have this huge game.
- regardless of your position on fitz, I will never forgive him for losing to flim flam fleck on my daughter's wedding day, thereby ensuring that he got a p5 job. otherwise, he's just another 11-2 MAC coach and goes to San Diego State or something. Now I have to look at the most punchable face in college football every season. It would be delicious irony if this loss causes his team to begin a death spiral that leads to his dismissal.
- I f***ing love our stadium. Soggy hot dogs, small crowds, awful sound system and music, inexplicable plumbing problem in the restroom, water (?) all over the floor. My heart skips a beat when I see the towers. I love it. I wonder if its dilapidated nature is a bit of a home field advantage. Hell, our guys only have to go over there like for 5 hours, 7 days a year. Visiting fans complain, perhaps it discourages them from coming. Maybe it's good for visiting fans and players to have a miserable experience.
- it's only one game, but...we can speculate, right? If they somehow win 5 games with all that is going on, Braun is in Dennis Green territory.

Northwestern (2-2, 1-1 Big Ten) hosts No. 6 Penn State (4-0, 2-0 Big Ten) at Ryan Field today at 11 a.m. Kickoff is on schedule for 11 based on the stadium clock, the game will be broadcast on BTN.

The Wildcats come into this game after an overtime win at Ryan Field over Minnesota, the Nittany Lions after a 31-0 dismantling of Iowa in Happy Valley. NU is yet to lose at Ryan Field so far this season with wins over UTEP and Minnesota, that will be put to a major test today. Penn State has won the last two games of the series, though they lead only 3-2 in the last five matchups.

1. First time in the end zone seats. The sun was fierce.
2. Ped State fans were a little disparaging, but not dOSU level. And they didn't dominate
3. Decent eventual student turnout, and they made noise. And they stayed until it was out of hand.
4. Terrible view for me of the 3 close plays but I support Braun trying for it. Who cares if we beat the spread. Especially since our, um, guy that comes into the game on 4th down is unreliable
5. Our second string...guy who comes in on 4th down must be bad.
6. Penn State is really good. This was a much better played game than the Puke game, although Allar clearly isn't Leonard.
7. Bryant did what he could. Made a few bad throws.
8. We made fewer mistakes than last week. Until Sullivan bonehead pass, it was a clean game. Unfortunately, Ped State also made few mistakes after the opening kick.
9. We should (fingers crossed) match up with the rest of the schedule ok. Not predicting 7-8 wins, but it is conceivable that we win Howard plus 2 more. That would be cool. I expected this team to be outmatched in 10-11 games. Probably won't happen, barring injury.
10. Don't heap too much on the offense. There was zero margin for error.
11. I love our old rusted hulk of a stadium. Renovate it and use the rest of the money for NIL. They kids only spend about 35 hours a year there anyway. Wo needs a show piece to attract visiting fans?

This won't be new news to some, but I was saddened to learn today that Bob Pottinger, one of the brothers who own Al's Deli (their father's namesake) on Noyes, passed away a couple of weeks ago, leaving the future of the shop in question, as he was the main cook/chef while his brother John ran the business side of things.

I was not an undergrad at NU as I know many here were, but I was turned on to Al's about 10 years ago, when my boss at the time brought some frosted butter cookies from the Deli to me, which are and remain some of the best cookies I've ever eaten in my life. I only really make it to Evanston for home games, but it is a known request amongst my Evanston friends and those finding a reason to be up there to get me cookies from Al's when they can. I've generally tried to stop in before or after a game to pick some up, and just hadn't made it yet this season until today. Sadly, I found a handwritten note on the door from John announcing Bob's death and at least the temporary shuttering of the shop.

I've only known Bob and John as the innocuous old guys who work at the store, but it's clear they've been fixtures in the community and have cared for and employed many NU students over the years.

For anyone who knew Bob or might be a concerned customer/party, it seems their Facebook page has been a place for people to leave notes for his brother and family to see.

Gabe Sularski, a Top 50 guard in the Class of 2026, took an unofficial visit to Northwestern last weekend. @lou v has the story on his visit and what he thought of NU.

Here are our takeaways from Northwestern’s 41-13 loss against No. 6 Penn State. Very deceptive score and several silver linings for Howard next week.

Here are our takeaways from Northwestern’s 41-13 loss against No. 6 Penn State. Very deceptive score and several silver linings for Howard next week.

It was a long time ago, but I don't recall ever leaving a game early just because we were behind.

If you are fan then you stay to the end of the game. If for no other reason than to support the players on the team. They can't leave so neither should you.

And what in the world do these people do when they leave. What could be more important than supporting your players and school.

Anyhow it serves the people right who left early. They missed an exciting finish, so maybe they will think twice now about leaving early again.

At home it would be very easy for me to turn off the TV and go do something else. But I watch our games to the end regardless of the score.

And major kudos to Braun and the players who basically ignored the fans giving up on them and pressed on to a great victory.

As the coach has said numerous times these guys play for each other and that is a great spirit to have.
So maybe the players think screw the fans. If they don't want to be here we don't care and don't really need them anyhow. We can win without them.

Go waste your time somewhere else. We have a football game to play.

GO CATS!

The Cardiac Cats returned last week with a spectacular 4th quarter come-back, from being down 31-10. The passing game was explosive and the defense clamped down in the second half, with the exception of one breakout by Darius Taylor.

The Cats suddenly look like a team on a mission. This week's mission will be the toughest of the season. Penn State is a well-balanced team with legitimate national championship aspirations.

Getting a win against any B1G opponent is a challenge. This week, unfortunately, it will probably be too much...though I would love to be wrong.

Blue Cats 33
Purple Cats 21

Beautiful fall day. And I’m here with CATFANSFIVE and it’s pretty empty in the west lot. Our fan base doesn’t even support the team during fair weather.

Is it just me, or does it seem like Bryant is the only NU quarterback for a long time who actually goes through progressions, uses his eyes to misdirect safeties, and pump fakes?

Seem like since Thorson (maybe even before Thorson) our QB's have tended to stare down one receiver and telegraph where they are going. Maybe Ramsey was better than most but it seems that our home-grown QB's never learn this aspect of the game.

Warm fuzzy feeling every time I see Bryant go to his second option, pump fake, or misdirect the defence.

For NU QB's, is this as rare as I think it is?

All seems to be lost
Beaver County Lions on prowl
both Wildcat sides growl

Yeah, I’m sure all this winning and all this free publicity is just killing their academic reputation.

/s

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Pretty funny actually