Anyone going to the Maryland game? My daughter goes there so I am thinking of going to the game and watching a rejuvenated NU team win - I can dream that the bye will be what the doctor ordered.

Here's a surprise. Northwestern's defense ranks 46th in the nation in stop rate (definition below), according to TheAthletic. That's better than a lot of pretty good teams, including UCLA, Utah, Oklahoma State and, most relevant right now, Maryland. It's also better than Duke and Miami, two teams that beat NU. Unfortunately, four of the teams NU faces in the coming weeks -- Illinois (3), Iowa (4), Ohio State (5) and Minnesota (9) -- rank in the Top 10.

Definition from the story: What is stop rate? It’s a basic measurement of success: the percentage of a defense’s drives that end in punts, turnovers or a turnover on downs. This simple metric can offer a more accurate reflection of a defense’s effectiveness in today’s faster-tempo game than yards per game or points per game.

For comparison's sake, NU ranks 75th in scoring defense and 95th in total defense.

I seriously cannot find it. Please reply with the link to unsubscribe.

I sorta raised this in another conversation, but it bears mentioning that none of the "Academic P5" schools - I am specifically referring to Duke, Stanford, Vandy, and us...are killing it right now. And before you say "but Duke..." the have no quality wins, and just lost to Ga Tech, who just fired their head coach and AD.

Apart from the Harbaugh era I think we could objectively say that Northwestern has been the most successful of this group over the past 10-15 years. Although none of us are happy with Fitz right now, I'd argue our relative success compared to others has been largely due to stability and talent - both from the players and yes, the coaches.

Just asking because it's the Monday of a bye week and I'm kinda sick of talking about firing coaches...how much do we think the arrival of NIL and the Transfer Portal is or will impact schools that prioritize academics? Is there a correlation here? Looking directly that Northwestern's situation, I would argue we've lost more than we've gained from the Portal up to this point, and as a "booster" by definition, I've not seen or heard NU say or do anything related to NIL - like it doesn't even exist.

Out of curiosity, does anyone have any knowledge of how our academic peers are handling these two things? Are we all just getting smoked because we want to die on some hill of integrity and virtue that isn't real?

Now my #1 guy I would like at OC next year. I’ve become increasingly convinced that Fitz needs a “head coach for offense” position, a guy who can run that side of the ball basically on his own. Chryst is that guy to a T. Plus his offensive mindset fits with Fitz.

I suspect I am just lame with the user interface…but can anyone tell me how to cancel my Rock subscription?

Only Indiana, with those highly-regarded freshmen, is rated in the Top 20 of the AP's pre-season Top 25.
Chris Collins is not beaten yet! The door is open for a Purple surprise...

Apparently, the OC at James Madison, sixth in the ncaa in scoring, is Mike Shanahan, but not that Mike Shanahan.

Played WR at Pitt.
Has been on staff at Pitt, Indiana (Pa.), Elon, and now JMU.
His teams pass and score.


He also has 460 LinkedIn connections.

I thought our NCAA appearance would propel us into a long run of success. We had talent, a dynamic and exciting new coach, our first NCAA appearance. Collins was able to land 4 star commits and guys like Pete Nance.... We built a new and improved venue... I thought we'd be good for a long period.

Here we are picked to finish 13th or 14th by most pundits. Many of our top guys have left the program. CC appears to be a lame duck. Our recruits haven't gotten any offers from any other schools. How did all this happen?

And assuming we dump CC, finish winless and totally hit rock bottom, how do we rebuild it all?

I was thinking after @PURPLE Book Cat ‘s post… let’s try to hire Tennessee’s defensive coordinator Tim Banks for our next offensive coordinator.

He’s been a defensive coach at Illannoy and PSU before, so he knows the B1G. And with all of his defensive coaching experience, he’d see the game a different way than Bajakian or any other experienced OC we could hire.

And if you haven’t been paying attention, UT has been pretty good this season and they’ve had our number in past bowl games. Do y’all agree?

Found another Sporting Goods Store at Village Crossing in Skokie, between Best Buy & Bed Bath & Beyond.

Rally House has been open since may, but road is blocked due to construction. Access via sidewalk

Has NU, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois etc

What a cheap shot my Dramond after he picked a fight with a smaller teammate. Disgusting. I expected more of him, but maybe this is the kind of player Izzo really recruits.
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The Facebook link may not work or it’s being taken down but someone on Wildcats Uncensored posted

“Unfortunately we may be losing our second commitment.”

All times CENTRAL, and all games played on Saturday, October 22. Rankings come from the AP poll. All games nationally televised unless otherwise indicated.

First, the NU game:

Northwestern @ Maryland
2:30 PM, BTN
PxP: Brandon Gaudin
Color: Jake Butt

And the rest:

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

Indiana @ Rutgers
11:00 AM, BTN
PxP: Cory Provus
Color: Matt Millen

Purdue @ Wisconsin
2:30 PM, ESPN
PxP: Bob Wischusen
Color: Dan Orlovsky

Minnesota @ #16 Penn State
6:30 PM, ABC
PxP: Joe Tessitore
Color: Greg McElroy

#18 Illinois, #4 Michigan, Michigan State, and Nebraska are off this week.

I received an email yesterday announcing changes to the Wildcat Fund and "new benefits, levels, and more!"

I have no qualms or shame admitting that I'm "Varsity" Level ($100). I park in the South Golf Lot, which I prefer to the other lots so this aligns just fine with my needs and demand. I noticed in this new marketing, Varisty level does not include "access to football parking based on availability" - I *think* this has always been the case - that you're basically guaranteed at the next/$500 level but at Varsity I am just at the mercy of the trickle-down (and I'll take those odds/I'm fine with that).

Can someone confirm that this is not a change from the status quo? I'm not suddenly/actually INeligible for parking, am I?

Maryland will tell the tale. Over the years, it has seemed that the next game will decide if NU is for real or not. In this case, I believe that to be true. If NU wins, even by a small amount, that may indicate Fitz is getting handle on this. If not, all the speculation that NU is irrevocably trending down will be verified. Who else might we beat? Iowa, but so what? One more win will not change the situation. However, Maryland, NU's last chance for salvation this year, just might turn that around. I sure hope so.

What happened to the post about parking passes I assume it was about reselling them and taken off I am a Northwestern fan and al and had purchased a parking pass on stub hubfor the Ohio State game however it is apparently not available till November 1 why is that when tickets are available much earlier…just curious

Just wanting us to play better. Good luck to our guys and the coaches. They are in Purple and I want them to perform well and win. It won't be easy, but it is possible. Go 'Cats!

The freshman walk-on would have turned 19 tomorrow.

Our fall is complete