For Collins being such a smart offensive minded coach, I am shocked about how stagnant and simple our offensive sets are drawn up. On-ball pick without reliable rolls to the basket or repositioning of the original picker. No off-ball picks or high staggered picks to free up 3 point shooters. It’s just a lot of one on one with Martinielli or Barnheizer or a mid range jump shot from Leach without any true sets. I was surprised to see the entire end of the game and even overtime proceed like it was an organized pick up game or one the Purple league games at old Patten gym. I think that’s the reason we get into som many shooting slumps and have a hard time getting Berry going for simple looks. Collins has a great offensive mind, I wonder why he’s keeping it so simple.

Realizing that this is Lujan's first FBS job, and Tim Mc isn't exactly a grizzled veteran, what do we guess they are making right now?

Here's why I ask: I just happened to catch a recent article that noted the highest-paid coordinators in CFB right now (the Chip Kellys and Wink Martindales) are in the $1.5-2.5M range.

On one hand, I think Braun has exactly the coordinators he wants right now - I don't think he has settled for Lujan and McGarigle because of budget (but what do I know?)

I'm not suggesting we spend $5M on two coordinators, especially since we know money doesn't buy guaranteed success. But whatever our two guys are making right now...how much more experience could we get on our staff with an extra $1M to spend on them? Would that have bought us two more wins this season? Does that investment pay for itself?

@lou v interviewed VMI transfer tackle Tyriq Poindexter about entering the transfer portal and his offer from the Wildcats.

Nfm

It's ba-ack....

I talked to 2026 tackle Claude Mpouma from Chicago Phillips about his recruitment from Northwestern and his offer pregame last week.

Baseball fans may find this interesting and NU football fans may be able to make a correlation. It is an article from Viva La Redbirds that asks what is the best way to develop a winning baseball team. Do not know if it applies to our situation at NU football. But for baseball it seems trade and acquire it the best way to go and money does not always talk. https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2024/12/7/24289381/is-draft-and-develop-a-complete-strategy

Here are @mshelton33's takeaways from the embarrassment in Evanston.

Obviously private universities not reported here, but good info. Breakdowns by conference, individual programs, and YoY estimations.

What stands out is the nearly $700mm in NIL money throughout college football right now. This is 2005 Major League Baseball spending.

I talked to 2026 TE Jack Utz about his offer from Northwestern, his title-winning junior season at Platte County, and more.

Wow. Just wow. 😳

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I talked to Chicago (Ill.) Morgan Park star Nasir Rankin about his offer from Northwestern, his recruiting timeline and trying to break the mold at a Chicago Public League power.

😮‍💨

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Jalen Leach has been a really key player for the Cats this year, particularly in the three wins against EIU, UNLV and now Illinois. Meanwhile, Jalen Blackmon, the guy who took the big bucks from Miami seems to be a bust. Team has now lost five in a row and he didn't even start today in a must-win home game vs. Clemson. Tallied four points off the bench. I wonder if the booster wants his money back LOL

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He released a statement about declaring for the draft

@lou v talked to incoming Class of 2025 Marcus Romain on committing early, enrolling early, battling back from injury, and more.

Jack Utz of Platte County HS in Kansas City, MO picks up a Wildcat offer tonight. Apparently Creighton had a chance to eyeball him on campus; Braun then made the offer.

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He was in the news last week for scuffling with a Steelers WR.

I looked up his stats: he only has 2 interceptions in his 4+ year career!

Is he a bust?

For whatever reason, I don't remember how I felt after we went 1-11. Maybe I was numb to it, maybe so much happened between then and now, but this season really, really took a toll on me. I think being sardine-canned into the end zone bleachers of our lakeside stadium (while paying more than ever!), combined with two more truly abysmal Wrigley Field experiences...to watching us pretty much never make it into the end zone from the red zone...today ends one of the most miserable seasons of my existence and recollection as an NU fan.

Obviously a win today would've been a nice way to send out guys like Kirtz and Henning, and the extra practices would have been nice, but I wasn't looking forward to us getting beaten by Eastern Michigan in the goddamn Idaho Potato Bowl either. It's fine. Stick a fork in us.

I still have faith in Braun (although I understand not everyone does) and I genuinely look forward to seeing what Lujan could do with a serviceable QB. Let's see what the offseason brings...

Not good.

Not that Murphy had interest in us, but how does someone that is high profile like Murphy end up at Duke? Do they have a better NIL setup than NU?

Fun to cheer for. Gritty kids

Jameson Purcell out of Maine South looks to be one of the next top QBs to come out of the Chicagoland area. He already has offers from Indiana, Vandy and most recently the University of Miami. This one has the feel of a Thotson/Alviti to me…a local QB with solid academics at one of our “feeder” schools. I’d assume Lujan will make (hopefully already has made) Purcell a priority recruit…he could be the guy leading us in our new stadium. Lots of good connections here for NU.

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Here’s another big time prospect that recently picked up a Stanford offer. Wesolak is 6’5” DE out of Booneville, MO. Has 35 offers thus far. Seems like the type of kid we should be on.

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