Not ready to declare the season lost yet...

[mikewebb68]

Sometimes Fitz can get a little smug. Going into the Duke game, he allegedly said it was better to play against a real team like Nevada than a practice game against a FCS team like Duke, implying that we would be better prepared.

And we most definitely should have been better prepared. Playing an awful FCS team tells you nothing; and Duke does it year after year. Last year they slaughtered NC Central as wel; how did that work out for them?

 

[mikewebb68]

Just a thought, why the hell does NU always start slow? Losses to Cal, NIU, Ill. St., W.Mich. and now Duke. Who's next...Bowling Green?

Yeah and don't forget that terrible blowout loss to Stanford in our opener a few years ago--oh wait...

 

[DaCat]

Yeah and don't forget that terrible blowout loss to Stanford in our opener a few years ago--oh wait...

That must not have counted because of the time difference...

 

[wildcat229]

Sometimes Fitz can get a little smug. Going into the Duke game, he allegedly said it was better to play against a real team like Nevada than a practice game against a FCS team like Duke, implying that we would be better prepared.

The game announcers talked about this - said Fitz felt the team was battle tested since they played a real game rather than a scrimmage.

 

[NJCat]

The game announcers talked about this - said Fitz felt the team was battle tested since they played a real game rather than a scrimmage.

I agree with him on tis. But Duke was simply the better prepared team. Shame on Fitz.

 

[DaCat]

I agree with him on tis. But Duke was simply the better prepared team. Shame on Fitz.

Hopefully it's a rude wakeup call for Fitz and the players. At least I didn't hear of any water balloon fights. Unfortunately it sometimes takes a shock like this to get the season kick started.

 

[LACatFan]

I posted this another thread:

In order of seriousness / difficulty to fix:
1) Offensive line run blocking
2) DE play - run anchoring and pass pressure; kids need to grow up fast.
3) LBs - lots of bad reads it seems; inexperience is showing a bit though Nagel and Hall have plenty of time in the saddle.
4) CT - better play calling can help with some of his issues; timing with new receivers should improve as season goes on (let's hope)
5) CBs - injuries are the biggest issue; hope RoCamp, Bullock and Mayo heal up soon

This ^.

What was astonishing to me was that ALL of that was happening in the same game. It was like watching some of the Wildcats teams in the Walker era, when opposing teams ran and threw, at will, on NU's D. And the only way to MAYBE win was if the Offense could prevail in a shootout. The ghosts of those old Defenses came back last Saturday, but their brethren on the offensive side of the ball were a no show.

Duke executed on their game plan and they'll no doubt get more W's this season. Time will tell if they're on track for a light's out campaign, or if Northwestern is just really bad.

 

[DaCat]

This ^.

What was astonishing to me was that ALL of that was happening in the same game. It was like watching some of the Wildcats teams in the Walker era, when opposing teams ran and threw, at will, on NU's D. And the only way to MAYBE win was if the Offense could prevail in a shootout. The ghosts of those old Defenses came back last Saturday, but their brethren on the offensive side of the ball were a no show.

Duke executed on their game plan and they'll no doubt get more W's this season. Time will tell if they're on track for a light's out campaign, or if Northwestern is just really bad.

I suspect Duke will be a pretty good team this year. If they are, it will make me feel a little better about our loss, though it is still inexcusable.

Just got to take of business against Bowling Green. A statement victory by 20+ points would be nice for a change.

Then we get a week off, giving us two long weeks to wonder how we'll do against Wiskey.

 

[LACatFan]

I suspect Duke will be a pretty good team this year. If they are, it will make me feel a little better about our loss, though it is still inexcusable.

Just got to take of business against Bowling Green. A statement victory by 20+ points would be nice for a change.

Then we get a week off, giving us two long weeks to wonder how we'll do against Wiskey.

Bye weeks, historically, have not been a friend to NU. Hope that's not the case this time around.