From an Athletic article how Harbaugh reacted to the disastrous 2-4 ‘20 season:

It started with Harbaugh hiring a more energetic staff in 2021, including six new assistants.

Foul trouble with the bigs is gonna be a year long issue. The moving screens can be the guards fault and they need to watch it with their bigs being foul prone. Verhooven struggled with touch around the rim and seemed to get a hand on the boards but couldn’t bring it in. He did fix some of that in the 2nd half.

Hopefully Big Matt can stay out foul trouble and get his min up as he has the higher ceiling. He’s running the floor better this season and is in much better positions defensively. He actually finishes and gets in positions for these nice feeds (Something Verhooven hasn’t shown as much of). Matt did miss a couple box outs.
Team still goes as Buie and Audige go. They initiate and make the offense go. Audige is still good for a couple bad shots per game. A few poor passes in each game by Audige. Buie is still prone to a “heat check”. I’m fine with a “heat check” but you need to be hitting for it to be a “heat check”.

Beran has started aggressive inside in both games. Good sign as the 3 won’t always hit. He had another good game today. Let’s see if this continues against better competition. I still stand by my last season comments he’s a good defender showed it today. Beran and Nicholson could be some tough trees to score on potentially.

Berry had a good game. Hit some contested layups and quick hands defensively. He hit the boards hard. NU will need that with the small ball line ups. Really nice game by him.

Roper is making some smart drives and still plays solid defense.
13 has some nice length. Had a really nice straight up block. Has couple nice offense plays. Lacks quickness a bit but could be a nice role player.

Lots of whistles have gone the cats way both games.

Good defensive possession followed by losing a man off ball. This will need to be fixed. This squad has some potential imo defensively. Hustled hard on loose balls. Some dumb fouls. Unsure how they will do against a dominant post presence though.

They should have put this game away earlier.

The Spartans and Zags are playing on the USS Abraham Lincoln in San Diego. Good game so far. Past basketball games played on aircraft carriers have been “rather problematic”.

I can remember a game (San Diego State vs NC?) played on an aircraft carrier docked in Coronado. Between the carrier rocking back and forth and the wind sweeping across the court on the deck it was hard for either team to make a basket. I don’t think any threes were made in that game. It appeared in this game they managed to tame some of those issues. Zags win by one.

Well, the knives are definitely out from one of our more prominent college football media alums. Rittenberg comes out calling for sweeping changes to the staff, recruiting, pretty much everything. Full article below if you’re an ESPN+ subscriber. No I’m not going to copy/paste the whole thing here.

Did not have an NU offer.

Login to view embedded media

The Cats clinched the Big Ten West crown by defeating Iowa. What the heaven has happened to this program? Besides bringing back Hank what do you think we need to do to get there again? Realistically? I think if we get a solid DC and OC we can turn it around pretty quickly. Thoughts?

We just finished our nightly dog walk and it is now frickin' cold here. Just below freezing, and the beginning of a cold spell, about the same temp as game time on Saturday. It won't be a passing game, my fingers are frozen even with mittens. Can Hull and company outdue the Gophers running onslaught? Can the defense stop them? Please JON, come prepared for their run game, and the usual surprises the Gophers typically employ.

Won $190,650 today for 10th place finish on PGA Tour

At least five! We are as good as any team in the Big Ten West with Sullivan at the helm!

All times CENTRAL, and all games played on Saturday, November 12. Rankings come from the CFP poll. All games nationally televised unless otherwise indicated.

First, the NU game:

Northwestern @ Minnesota
2:30 PM, BTN
PxP: Jeff Levering
Color: Matt Millen

And the rest:

Indiana @ #2 Ohio State
11:00 AM, FOX
PxP: Gus Johnson
Color: Joel Klatt

Purdue @ #21 Illinois
11:00 AM, ESPN2
PxP: Jay Alter
Color: Dustin Fox

Rutgers @ Michigan State
11:00 AM, BTN
PxP: Brandon Gaudin
Color: Jake Butt

Nebraska @ #3 Michigan
2:30 PM, ABC
PxP: Mark Jones
Color: Robert Griffin III

Maryland @ #14 Penn State
2:30 PM, FOX
PxP: Tim Brando
Color: Spencer Tillman

Wisconsin @ Iowa
2:30 PM, FS1
PxP: Dan Hellie
Color: Petros Papadakis

This guy tasks me what is it? I've disliked him forever!

O-H-I-O...

Once the circuitous chant of O - H began in Q4, my long-time 'Cat fan bud and I seated in section 129 stood and shouted:
F - U.
The "Cat faithful seated around us gave a hearty laugh at that improvisation. On the next go-around, a couple of the folks seated next to us picked-up the F - U response. More laughs and a few even applauded. On the 3rd cycle, we got about another 2 dozen intrepid 'Cat fans to join-in on the F - U reply. More laughs and a greater applause. This F - U reply lasted about another 4- 5 cycles then began to fade-out as expected after that.

I wonder if I should go on other message boards of Da Bucknuts' upcoming B1G opponents and make the suggestion of this alternative spelling to the O - H - I - O chant. I'm thinking that it might be the start of an ever-increasing trend in OSU opponents throughout the B1G, especially those hailing from Annie's Treehouse.

Good Idea or should I just let it fade? Your suggestions/responses are welcome...

A good friend of mine is a huge Buckeye fan and he writes a weekly email "blast" about the Buckeye's to his friends as a hobby.

He always finds some good nugget of information while researching. As an example - I had no idea about the grass at Ryan!

And the weather could, indeed, be a (big?) factor tomorrow.

Go Cats!


The games in November are the ones you remember, it is said, but the old scribbler thought October went out with a blast last weekend.

JT Tuimoloau's performance was a once in a lifetime thing, in your correspondent's opinion, and it reminded me of Trey Sermon's 331 yard rushing game the last time our favs took on Northwestern. That was December, 2020, in the B1G title game, and our Buckeyes were favored by about 16 or so. The Fitzcats led at the half, 10-6, but they kept feeding Sermon the ball and he kept running and running and running.

He had 29 carries for an OSU single game mark of 331 yards and two TDs as the Buckeyes won, 22-10.

The wise guys make OSU a 38-point favorite in tomorrow's tilt in Evanston, with an over/under of 55 1/2 points. The money line is familiar, OSU -10000, which implies a 99+% chance of a Buckeye victory. The felines have had a tough season. They beat Nebraska over in Dublin, Ireland, to start the season, but have now lost seven straight. A victory this weekend against all odds would be the biggest in Northwestern history.

ABC will televise the game with the kickoff shortly after noon, eastern. The OSU Alumni Club of the CSRA will host a watch party at The Carolina Ale House in Augusta, and all Buckeye fans are invited to join the festivities. You need not be a member.

The last time the scarlet and gray visited Ryan Field they walked away with a 52-3 win in 2019. Pat Fitzgerald, in his 17th year at the helm, has never beaten Ohio State, but he has some help on the way in the form of the weather.

As we go to press around midday Friday, the forecast is for gale warnings on Lake Michigan most of tomorrow. They are forecasting overnight rains that will soak the natural grass turf in Evanston, but the rain should abate about game time. The winds, though, will be something else. They may force the Buckeyes to run a lot more, and there are those who think we have problems running the rock. Beware. Miyan Williams should be back. The injury he sustained last week was to his hand, which apparently got caught in the yardage chains when he was tackled along the sideline.

Tre Henderson is ready, too. This could become a great opportunity for the O line to get into harness for a real snot knocker. JSN11 will not be there, but we've done fine without him. If the wind is howling, there won't be many long bombs attempted, and that's to Northwestern's advantage. Their DBs just can't stay with our WRs consistently, but CJ Stroud can opt for shorter routes.

Northwestern apparently has enough money to build beautiful new athletic facilities, but nothing for lawn mowers. The grass on the field is the longest in the nation and is kept that way for a reason. To slow down opponents.

Former Buckeye Josh Perry, now an analyst with BTN, says its the longest grass he ever played on, high school, college or pro.

The grass is so long that if was a golf course, we'd call it "heavy rough."

The Bucks will have to deal with the elements, but so will the Cats. If past is a forecaster, though, the crowd will be a decided edge for Ohio State. Your correspondent looked on line Thursday and there were plenty of ducats available for as low as $23. That means we'll see a large turnout of Buckeye fans.

The last time Northwestern beat our boys was in 2004 in Evanston. It was a night game and it went to OT and your reporter was there to see it all. The crowd was largely scarlet and gray and overwhelmed the facilities. All the concession stands were out of stuff to sell by halftime, and there were long, long lines at for the "facilities."

A note of interest: Buckeye OC Kevin Wilson was the OC at Northwestern from 99-01. He was with the late Randy Walker when he went from our Miami to Northwestern. Together, they put together a team that was B1G co- champs in 2000.

Buckeyes are on the verge of setting a couple of records, according to the folks at BTN. OSU has scored 20+ points in 69 straight games, tying a record set by Oklahoma. Oddly, the last time our boys were held under 20 points was the 30-16 loss to the Sooners in Ohio Stadium in 2017, and guess who was there for that one, too? Yep. This old scribe. The OK streak was stopped last season at WVU.

The Bucks also have scored 44+ points in seven straight games, tying a B1G record set by the stinkers 123 years ago. I wonder if Ryan Day cares? Who keeps upo with all these numbers?

This will be the 80th meeting between the two. Ohio State holds a strong advantage, 64-14-1. The largest margin of victory was in 81 when Earle's Buckeyes beat the Cats, 70-6.

Statwise this game pits Ohio State's B1G leader in scoring O against Northwestern, which has the worst scoring O in the loop. In scoring D, Ohio State ranks 5th in the conference, while Northwestern is ranked 12th.

The Cats gave Penn State a heck of a game five weeks ago during a monsoon that spun off Hurricane Ian, The final was 17-7, PSU, but it was a "comedy or tragedy" of turnovers. Penn State fumbled four times and had one pass picked, whilst Northwestern fumbled twice and also got intercepted.

The turnover margin between Saturday's foes is glaring: OSU +9, Northwestern -9.

Our pick: Ohio State 56, Northwestern 14.

In other B1G games this weekend:

Maryland visits Wisconsin (-4 1/2); Minnesota (-15 1/2) is at Nebraska; Iowa goes to Purdue (-3 1/2); Penn State (-13 1/2) is at Indiana; Sparty visits Illinois (-17 1/2) and the skunkbears (-25 1/2) go to Rutgers.

This weekend is void of MACtion, as they have moved to weeknights for television exposure, so we have those scores. Ball State upset Kent State, 27-20; Our OU is bidding for a division title with a 45-24 win over Buffalo; Central outhouse beat Northern Illinois, 35-22 and BG edged Western outhouse, 13-9.

National games of interest:

Top ranked Tennessee visits third ranked Georgia (-8 1/2); Bama (-13 1/2) plays Saturday night at LSU; Clemson (-3 1/2) is at Notre Dame; Oregon (-31.5) is at Colorado; Texas Tek visits TCU (-8 1/2); UCLA (-10 1/2) goes to AZ State; Cal is at SoCal (-21 1/2) and Navy is at Cincy (-18.5).

I just got off the Monday press conference Zoom call. Not a lot of exciting things to report from Fitz, who was more business-like and straightforward today (no jokes or one liners). Here are a few highlights:

- Awards for Ohio State game: Hull OPOW, Adebawore DPOW, Sullivan Off Big Playmaker, Heard Def Big Playmaker

- Minnesota is very physical up front on both sides of the ball. Their DBs are active and physical. They are particularly talented at RB and OL. They do a great job on third down efficiency, best in the nation. They have the No. 2 defense, too, so their TOP is big.

- The forecast is for cold weather in Minnesota, so this could be another "weather" game. "You have to embrace it, enjoy it," he said. Didn't think it affected his team vs. PSU or OSU in NU's two weather games this year.

- He talked about balancing trying to win games with "sprinkling in" new guys to get them experience. His goal is to get the roster older. "We're rolling with the guys we're rolling with." He's proud that they've continued to work hard. "We're going to sprinkle in guys where it fits, but we're going to do everything we can to win." Herzog, Petrucci and Fitzgerald all played in the kicking game for the first time this season on Saturday.

- In terms of changes (read: coaching staff), he said that he wouldn't do anything rash or anything quick. Read: there won't be any changes until after the season. "I've been doing this a long time," he said, and added that it's not their first disappointing season.

- I asked about Sully. He said that he's learning a lot every rep. He likes the way he stayed the course after not winning the job in camp. He's growing in his role every week. I asked whether he's shown enough to be "the guy" moving forward, he said that he has a good chance to but that he would have to earn it like everyone else. (I also asked Andrew Clair about Sully. He said that he's a special QB and that his ability to make plays with his feet really "opens the door and expands the playbook" because it makes defenses account for him.)

- Fitz talked about his team's inconsistency and penchant for one-man breakdowns again. They made critical errors on Stroud's two big runs in the second half. The lack of consistency is what's most disappointing about the season to him.

- He said that he takes the same approach with his team about social media as he does with his sons: educate them about the positives in building brand for NIL, for example, but also about the potential negatives. "There is little fact and lots of opinions." He said that it's a welcome distraction for players -- like Sega was in his day -- but it can become a distraction.

- He reiterated that he is trying to get players to trust themselves. They've practiced hard all year but it hasn't translated to Saturdays. He said that confidence vs. experience is a chicken-and-egg thing in terms of what comes first. Players just need to settle down and do job and often try to do too much. They need to trust their preparation, not get too high or too low and stay even keeled.

I wasn't able to make it to the game tonight, so I was going to have to watch it on BTN+. But it looks like I may not be able to see it at all. I had to reset my password (it's been a long time) for BTN+, and I've been waiting for them to send a code to my email for more than a half-hour now. If they don't send it soon, I may be out of luck. I still have to enter all my payment info too.

It's not the end of the world. It's Chicago State. (If they lose to Chicago State, that would be the end of the world.) I'm depending on you guys to bring this one home.

It's been another nightmare season in Evanston. The defense is still the same dumpster fire like last year, while the offense continues to be one of the worst in the FBS. In fairness, the season-ending injuries to key players seem to be more than usual and probably is a factor in the poor play of the Cats. In the absence of any depth chart or injury reports (which other fan bases get to have), let's try to figure out who is out for the season.

On offense:

• Starting LG Priebe
• Starting RG Rowley (medically retired)
• Previously injured, maybe not recovered: RT Franks
• Previously injured, maybe not recovered: RG/RT Thompson
• TE Mangieri - don't think he's played a down yet
• TE Gordon - chronically injured shoulder, sadly might have to retire (my guess)
• Welcing? Albright? Newly converted DT to TE Olges got injured and was down for the count (noted that D'Antonio was dressed as TE)

On defense:

• Starting S Azema
• Starting NT Holmes
• DT Barndt?
• DT Johnson?

Who else? I know other members of our secondary missed multiple games due to injury, guys like Hampton, Jaheem Joseph, etc.

Hey Gang,

If any of you haven't listened, we had Doug Lesmerises on the pod this week (check it out!)

At one point, we got into a discussion about Fitz. Doug's opinion (no doubt shared by a ton of the outside world) is that Northwestern can only get results like those in recent history WITH Fitz and is thus tethered to him. This common opinion is no doubt traced back to those 19 seasons--1973-1991, Pont through Peay--that the outside world seems to want to use to define the 100 years of NU Football pre-Barnett to prop up this "NU should be horrible" fallacy.

We're not sure how many people on the boards are in the age bracket to speak on this, but our question is:

What changed circa 1970? Strotz came in as president right as Alex Agase was producing his best teams, and the previous 2 presidents had presided over Pappy Waldorf, Robert Voigts, and Ara Parseghian, who were all perfectly fine. Did the shift come with Strotz? Earlier in the Agase era? What happened?

Again, we're going WAY back here...but hopefully someone here can speak on this?

Thanks!
WLP