Who knew NU basketball would have this year? All signs pointed down. Even if next season does not equal 2023, it is a program on the rise. Fitz, his coaches and the team are out there rebuilding. To the naysayers--magic happens!
Football is gonna be like basketball.
- Thread starter stpaulcat
- Start date
By the way, I sure hope so. With JON gone that means automatic improvement on defense.
Even you, maybe especially, have been pessimistic. Time to turn the page--somehow, hope will arise. CSC, please take note.
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Sounds like Wrassler did, though Wrassler would predict an appearance in the CFP 😄
True. I've taken on a more pessimistic outlook after the disastrous past 2 seasons. I think @IGNORE2 is seriously thinking of kicking me out of the Purple Kool-aid Klan.
This.
While I don't think it will be a surprise when our defense improves simply because of JON's departure, I predict that the improvement will be of a greater magnitude than many expect. I think this will be a classic example of "addition by subtraction". Having a halfway competent DC will illustrate how JON and his flawed scheme were the main obstacle to our players playing up to their full potential.
Mind you, I'm not predicting a trip to the Big Ten Championship next year. But I also don't feel we'll be the dumpster fire that we were last season. I think we'll be middle of the pack in the West and will be a tougher "out" for opponents. Overall record of around .500, perhaps? (my super early prediction, based on nothing more than my gut)
And if it resembles the 21-22 MBB season, hope the AD does the same public statement since zero chance anyone fires PF no matter how bad it gets.
I truly hope you are right & do expect an improved defense post JON but worry about whether we will be in trouble against strong offensive lines due to lack of enough physically imposing D tackles.
I am also hoping all of the new coaches energize the program and Fitz. Whatever Fitz was doing or (more likely) not doing, was clearly not working. We are 3 and 24 in the conference in 2019, 2020 and 2022. That’s dark ages bad and can’t all be attributed to JON or NIL. I have great respect for Fitz and what he has accomplished but we have to show real improvement next year.
There is no published two deep because there aren’t enough scholarship recruited players to fill one.
Better get the ship righted or expect to find a new job.
This has been subject of tons of debate over there. Did he overstep? Did he actually light a fire under CCC that led to last season? As many opinions as theories. But simple fact: gragg issued ultimatum and MBB danced. Rest is left to speculation and opinion.
Raise your hand if you would accept that fact pattern with Dance replaced with Bowl of consequence.
First of all...CFB and CBB - two totally different animals.
A part of me sincerely worries that the speed at which CFB is changing is simply going to leave the Northwesterns and the Pat Fitzgeralds of the world behind in a cloud of dust. I think Fitz is proud to brand himself an "old school" kind of coach who would like to be NU's JoePa (scandals notwithstanding). But I think if NIL and other things were happening in the 2004-2006 window...Paterno would have been let go in favor of another coach who was ready to go with the flow on everything happening, especially with the resources the Penn State boosters could provide and their willingness to "pay to play."
And now here we are...new coaches but no significant recruits out of the portal and our NIL program doesn't really sound like it's going to attract and retain players so much as it exists for the sake of us saying we're doing something/not doing nothing (regardless of how you feel about NIL...it's here now and other schools are leveraging it to attract talent).
While NIL and coaching mega-salaries certainly do not guarantee success on the field as Texas A&M has proven, they can't hurt when utilized within reason.
My one stitch of hope for next season is the fact that college players can develop unexpectedly and almost out of nowhere - I think there is a legacy of this at Northwestern...but I think we'd need no fewer than a half dozen developmental surprises to make 2023 a bowl season.
A part of me sincerely worries that the speed at which CFB is changing is simply going to leave the Northwesterns and the Pat Fitzgeralds of the world behind in a cloud of dust. I think Fitz is proud to brand himself an "old school" kind of coach who would like to be NU's JoePa (scandals notwithstanding). But I think if NIL and other things were happening in the 2004-2006 window...Paterno would have been let go in favor of another coach who was ready to go with the flow on everything happening, especially with the resources the Penn State boosters could provide and their willingness to "pay to play."
And now here we are...new coaches but no significant recruits out of the portal and our NIL program doesn't really sound like it's going to attract and retain players so much as it exists for the sake of us saying we're doing something/not doing nothing (regardless of how you feel about NIL...it's here now and other schools are leveraging it to attract talent).
While NIL and coaching mega-salaries certainly do not guarantee success on the field as Texas A&M has proven, they can't hurt when utilized within reason.
My one stitch of hope for next season is the fact that college players can develop unexpectedly and almost out of nowhere - I think there is a legacy of this at Northwestern...but I think we'd need no fewer than a half dozen developmental surprises to make 2023 a bowl season.
Solid point and definitely my biggest concern about the defense. I think we're going to be just fine in the secondary. I predict the biggest improvement will be the LBs - they were, IMO, the unit that suffered the most from the scheme last season.
I think that the DL will improve slightly from the change in scheme (from what I understand, they also suffered from paralysis through analysis in what JON was asking them to do from a decision making standpoint after the snap). It sounds like the new scheme will free them up to be more disruptive at the LOS, rather than passive/reactive. As you say, the biggest challenge will be at DT. I actually think some of the DTs might perform well on an individual basis, but the DL as a whole will get worn down over the course of some games because of the lack of depth, especially against some of the big OLs for teams that rely heavily on the run.
This is of course, assuming that we don't get any quality DT transfers through the portal between now and the start of the season.
Still time to get some good transfers. There will likely be a bunch more in the portal after the spring practices end. Success will hinge on the quarterback play. Liked what I saw of Sullivan last year, but can he stay healthy? Early season games will be huge for getting confidence back.
Well, it appears to be happening! A good QB, WR and couple of DL's. Very exited about the prospects for this season now, and they're certainly building for the future. I predict NU will beat Minnesota at home and Wisconsin at Camp Randall and get at least a good bowl game.
I like your optimism! I'd take a trip/bowl win vs eastern Michigan in Detroit for this season with any kind of winning season
IGNORE--"HaHa"? Seriously. A bet is in order, and I'm gonna win it, so go ahead, up your stakes..
Right now, I'd accept the Poulan Weedeater Bowl. This team winning even 5 games would be a cause for celebration. I see them in the 2-4 win range, which is an improvement over 1-2 I thought before the recent transfers.
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