Muck;656760; said:
I think you said that extremely well, Muck. Good stuff.
Now, let's forget this tiny, little prick ever graced our doorstep.:tongue2:
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I think you said that extremely well, Muck. Good stuff.
Now, let's forget this tiny, little prick ever graced our doorstep.:tongue2:
Sutton reminds me a lot of Wolfe. How do you think our defense will handle him on Saturday?
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Last year, Sutton got decent yardage against one of the best rushing defenses Ohio State ever had. I would not be shocked if he got 100.
I also recall that NU had an incredibly easy touchdown drive on their first possession last year; and accomplished precisely squat on offense thereafter. This year they may very well do the same, minus the first possession fireworks.
I also recall that NU had an incredibly easy touchdown drive on their first possession last year; and accomplished precisely squat on offense thereafter. This year they may very well do the same, minus the first possession fireworks.
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thatloserontheNorthwestern Board said:
LOL!!
Let's ask Troy Smith or Antonio Pittman or any one of the many other African Americans on this team how "exploited" they feel...
What a crock.
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martinss01
blissfully stupid
BuckeyeMike80;656865; said:LOL!!
Let's ask Troy Smith or Antonio Pittman or any one of the many other African Americans on this team how "exploited" they feel...
What a crock.
antonio smith might have an opinion as well.
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martinss01;656883; said:
Especially Antonio Smith. If it weren't for his hard work and being that he IS starting for Ohio State, he wouldn't be on Mel Kiper's big board for the draft now would he?
He also has his degree, I seem to remember that he's working on his master's too.
Real exploited there huh?
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Canton
A case of then and now
Friday, November 10, 2006
By Todd Porter REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER
COLUMBUS Woody Hayes was a young man. The Hoover Dam was completed. "Gone with the Wind" was published, and the "Green Hornet" debuted on the radio.
Northwestern was shaking up college football's landscape.
It has been 70 years since the Wildcats beat the country's top-ranked football team. It has been one week since Ohio State played its worse offensive game of the season. So bad that Head Coach Jim Tressel did not hand out any offensive player awards this week.
"We're playing Northwestern when they're playing their best," Tressel said. "I'd like to think we'll have ourselves prepared so that Ohio State's playing its best, and when we go on the road in the Big Ten, it needs to be that way."
Northwestern is coming off its best win of the year, a 21-7 upset at Iowa. First-year Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald is going into this game trying to get his players to bite on history.
The Wildcats finish seasons fairly strong. They've won two of their last three regular-season games each of the last three seasons.
"Now we have an opportunity to shake up everything in the country," Fitzgerald said.
The difference between the team that beat Iowa last week and the one that lost to New Hampshire and Nevada earlier in the season is quarterback C.J. Bach?r. He threw three touchdown passes in his first start, coming against Michigan State.
Bach?r is a sophomore from Sacramento. A stress fracture in his leg prevented him from starting the season under center. He has thrown two interceptions in each of his last three games.
"The best thing they've done is they've decided, 'OK, here's what Bach?r does best, and we'll keep our core business with Tyrell Sutton, and we'll tie the rest of the program around what Bach?r does,' " Tressel said.
"They had other quarterbacks in the game earlier in the year and went through some ups and downs. They've gotten to the point where they really know who they are."
The Buckeyes, meanwhile, are trying to find that offense that was dominant most of the season. They controlled the Illinois game in the first half, then took much of the second half off.
"Games like the one against Illinois make you get back to reality," center Doug Datish said. "It keeps you grounded. We know that things can happen, and things do happen. Tressel is a man that has been in many battles and knew exactly what this past weekend was. A win is a win."
Quarterback Troy Smith, who has been playing with a sore right thumb, completed 13-of-23 passes for a season-low 108 yards. He was sacked three times, a season-high.
Some of the problem can be attributed to missing left tackle Alex Boone. Tressel did not blame Boone's replacement, Tim Schafer.
"It's not like he was the only guy on the line," he said. "Tim Schafer graded out very similar to the rest of the group. ... If anyone thinks (missing starters) were the difference, they're missing the point."
Tressel shouldered some of the blame for the Illinois performance. He said the team wasn't as balanced as he'd like. Also, freshman Chris Wells' fumble prevented the Buckeyes from taking a 21-0 lead.
It was Wells' fourth fumble this season.
"I'd like to think one day, and I'm hoping it's this day, get that under control," Tressel said. "If we're going to become a very good team, then he's going to have to be a part of it."
Tressel backed off of holding Wells out of this game. The freshman sat the second half at Illinois. Asked if Wells fumbled again, would he play?
"Oh, gosh," Tressel said. "Give me the rest of the scenario. Am I the next tailback in the game? Then he's playing."
A case of then and now
Friday, November 10, 2006
By Todd Porter REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER
COLUMBUS Woody Hayes was a young man. The Hoover Dam was completed. "Gone with the Wind" was published, and the "Green Hornet" debuted on the radio.
Northwestern was shaking up college football's landscape.
It has been 70 years since the Wildcats beat the country's top-ranked football team. It has been one week since Ohio State played its worse offensive game of the season. So bad that Head Coach Jim Tressel did not hand out any offensive player awards this week.
"We're playing Northwestern when they're playing their best," Tressel said. "I'd like to think we'll have ourselves prepared so that Ohio State's playing its best, and when we go on the road in the Big Ten, it needs to be that way."
Northwestern is coming off its best win of the year, a 21-7 upset at Iowa. First-year Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald is going into this game trying to get his players to bite on history.
The Wildcats finish seasons fairly strong. They've won two of their last three regular-season games each of the last three seasons.
"Now we have an opportunity to shake up everything in the country," Fitzgerald said.
The difference between the team that beat Iowa last week and the one that lost to New Hampshire and Nevada earlier in the season is quarterback C.J. Bach?r. He threw three touchdown passes in his first start, coming against Michigan State.
Bach?r is a sophomore from Sacramento. A stress fracture in his leg prevented him from starting the season under center. He has thrown two interceptions in each of his last three games.
"The best thing they've done is they've decided, 'OK, here's what Bach?r does best, and we'll keep our core business with Tyrell Sutton, and we'll tie the rest of the program around what Bach?r does,' " Tressel said.
"They had other quarterbacks in the game earlier in the year and went through some ups and downs. They've gotten to the point where they really know who they are."
The Buckeyes, meanwhile, are trying to find that offense that was dominant most of the season. They controlled the Illinois game in the first half, then took much of the second half off.
"Games like the one against Illinois make you get back to reality," center Doug Datish said. "It keeps you grounded. We know that things can happen, and things do happen. Tressel is a man that has been in many battles and knew exactly what this past weekend was. A win is a win."
Quarterback Troy Smith, who has been playing with a sore right thumb, completed 13-of-23 passes for a season-low 108 yards. He was sacked three times, a season-high.
Some of the problem can be attributed to missing left tackle Alex Boone. Tressel did not blame Boone's replacement, Tim Schafer.
"It's not like he was the only guy on the line," he said. "Tim Schafer graded out very similar to the rest of the group. ... If anyone thinks (missing starters) were the difference, they're missing the point."
Tressel shouldered some of the blame for the Illinois performance. He said the team wasn't as balanced as he'd like. Also, freshman Chris Wells' fumble prevented the Buckeyes from taking a 21-0 lead.
It was Wells' fourth fumble this season.
"I'd like to think one day, and I'm hoping it's this day, get that under control," Tressel said. "If we're going to become a very good team, then he's going to have to be a part of it."
Tressel backed off of holding Wells out of this game. The freshman sat the second half at Illinois. Asked if Wells fumbled again, would he play?
"Oh, gosh," Tressel said. "Give me the rest of the scenario. Am I the next tailback in the game? Then he's playing."
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Lima Senior grad Bowers influenced by Walker[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]BY JIM NAVEAU - Nov. 10, 2006[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]EVANSTON, Ill. ? Football coaches deal in reality. They work with what they can see. They always say they have to look at the films before they can give an opinion.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]But when Northwestern football coach Randy Walker died of a heart attack in June and was replaced by 31-year-old Pat Fitzgerald, the Wildcats players and coaches found themselves walking through a world that mixed the real with the surreal.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Lima Senior graduate Chris Bowers, a graduate assistant on the Northwestern football staff, described that time of tragedy and transition earlier this week.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?There was this weird feeling that went through you, like we?re going to going to see how Pat does as head coach and then Coach Walker is going to walk through the door next week,? Bowers said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?There was denial, kind of a surreal feeling,? he said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bowers, like the other coaches at Northwestern, is a Randy Walker guy. Walker hired them. Walker led them.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Like the players, they bought into his message that, unlikely as it seemed to outsiders, Northwestern could compete with Ohio State and Michigan and the rest of the Big Ten and win.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Walker?s personal intervention even pulled Bowers? resume from the discard pile when he was hired at Northwestern.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]But, as much as he owes Walker, Bowers still wouldn?t mind being a little similar to Charlie Weis.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Like the Notre Dame coach, Bowers is trying to make a career in college coaching without playing the game at the college level.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Of the 10 fulltime coaches at Northwestern, nine of them list college playing experience in their biographies in the school?s media guide. That type of percentage is around average on Big Ten coaching staffs.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?I?d be lying if I told you I didn?t know who played and who didn?t,? Bowers said. ?I read all of Charlie Weis? book.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?But coaching is coaching. Dick Crum, who coached coach Walker at Miami and hired him at North Carolina, never played. Lou Holtz played, but he always said he was a fifth-string linebacker or something like that.?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bowers is in his second year as a graduate assistant working with the defense, going into Northwestern?s game against Ohio State on Saturday. He spent another two years as a recruiting assistant and assistant director of football operations for the Wildcats.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The beginning of his coaching career came when a neck injury his sophomore year at Lima Senior ended his playing career. He stayed on as a student volunteer and filled the same role in college at Wittenberg.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]After graduation, he took a job in sales, but decided he wanted to coach either at the high school or college level. He began to pursue a master?s degree at the University of Findlay in 2000 and worked on the Oilers? coaching staff.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]When he saw an opening at Northwestern posted on an Internet site in 2003, he asked Findlay coach Dan Simrell to make a call to give him a recommendation.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Then he began tracking down Rob Walker, the brother of Randy Walker, who was a teacher and coach at Lima Senior when Bowers was in elementary school. Rob Walker also made a call to Northwestern.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?My resume was in the reject file (before those calls) because I was coaching and they didn?t want to hire a coach, they wanted to hire an administrator. It had a red X on it. But Coach Walker asked about it and they pulled it out,? Bowers said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?Justin Chabot, who was the director of football operations at that time, called me and his first words in his phone interview were ?The only reason I?m calling you is that you had the right people call Coach Walker.? He was not real warm and friendly.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?I think he might have been reluctant but one of the things I learned about Randy Walker is that the most important thing when he hired someone was that they were someone he could trust,? he said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]So, where will Bowers? career go when he finishes his time as a graduate assistant. He told Walker when he applied to be a graduate assistant that he saw only three possible career choices ? college coach, high school coach or athletic administrator.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]That choice will come later. But there is one choice that won?t have to be wrestled with on Saturday.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]There won?t be any split loyalties in the Bowers? family, he said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?I have more Ohio State fans than Ohio State graduates in my family. My mom got her master?s degree there and my brother graduated from the law school. My uncle is a big Ohio State fan and my father-in-law, who is the athletic director at Wheaton College, got his Ph.D. there.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?But most of my immediate family understands it?s a lot more important for me to win a game than for Ohio State to win a game,? he said. ?My brother is a big Ohio State fan but he?ll be wearing purple on Saturday.? [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Lima Senior grad Bowers influenced by Walker[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]BY JIM NAVEAU - Nov. 10, 2006[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]EVANSTON, Ill. ? Football coaches deal in reality. They work with what they can see. They always say they have to look at the films before they can give an opinion.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]But when Northwestern football coach Randy Walker died of a heart attack in June and was replaced by 31-year-old Pat Fitzgerald, the Wildcats players and coaches found themselves walking through a world that mixed the real with the surreal.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Lima Senior graduate Chris Bowers, a graduate assistant on the Northwestern football staff, described that time of tragedy and transition earlier this week.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?There was this weird feeling that went through you, like we?re going to going to see how Pat does as head coach and then Coach Walker is going to walk through the door next week,? Bowers said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?There was denial, kind of a surreal feeling,? he said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bowers, like the other coaches at Northwestern, is a Randy Walker guy. Walker hired them. Walker led them.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Like the players, they bought into his message that, unlikely as it seemed to outsiders, Northwestern could compete with Ohio State and Michigan and the rest of the Big Ten and win.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Walker?s personal intervention even pulled Bowers? resume from the discard pile when he was hired at Northwestern.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]But, as much as he owes Walker, Bowers still wouldn?t mind being a little similar to Charlie Weis.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Like the Notre Dame coach, Bowers is trying to make a career in college coaching without playing the game at the college level.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Of the 10 fulltime coaches at Northwestern, nine of them list college playing experience in their biographies in the school?s media guide. That type of percentage is around average on Big Ten coaching staffs.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?I?d be lying if I told you I didn?t know who played and who didn?t,? Bowers said. ?I read all of Charlie Weis? book.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?But coaching is coaching. Dick Crum, who coached coach Walker at Miami and hired him at North Carolina, never played. Lou Holtz played, but he always said he was a fifth-string linebacker or something like that.?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bowers is in his second year as a graduate assistant working with the defense, going into Northwestern?s game against Ohio State on Saturday. He spent another two years as a recruiting assistant and assistant director of football operations for the Wildcats.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The beginning of his coaching career came when a neck injury his sophomore year at Lima Senior ended his playing career. He stayed on as a student volunteer and filled the same role in college at Wittenberg.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]After graduation, he took a job in sales, but decided he wanted to coach either at the high school or college level. He began to pursue a master?s degree at the University of Findlay in 2000 and worked on the Oilers? coaching staff.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]When he saw an opening at Northwestern posted on an Internet site in 2003, he asked Findlay coach Dan Simrell to make a call to give him a recommendation.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Then he began tracking down Rob Walker, the brother of Randy Walker, who was a teacher and coach at Lima Senior when Bowers was in elementary school. Rob Walker also made a call to Northwestern.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?My resume was in the reject file (before those calls) because I was coaching and they didn?t want to hire a coach, they wanted to hire an administrator. It had a red X on it. But Coach Walker asked about it and they pulled it out,? Bowers said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?Justin Chabot, who was the director of football operations at that time, called me and his first words in his phone interview were ?The only reason I?m calling you is that you had the right people call Coach Walker.? He was not real warm and friendly.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?I think he might have been reluctant but one of the things I learned about Randy Walker is that the most important thing when he hired someone was that they were someone he could trust,? he said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]So, where will Bowers? career go when he finishes his time as a graduate assistant. He told Walker when he applied to be a graduate assistant that he saw only three possible career choices ? college coach, high school coach or athletic administrator.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]That choice will come later. But there is one choice that won?t have to be wrestled with on Saturday.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]There won?t be any split loyalties in the Bowers? family, he said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?I have more Ohio State fans than Ohio State graduates in my family. My mom got her master?s degree there and my brother graduated from the law school. My uncle is a big Ohio State fan and my father-in-law, who is the athletic director at Wheaton College, got his Ph.D. there.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]?But most of my immediate family understands it?s a lot more important for me to win a game than for Ohio State to win a game,? he said. ?My brother is a big Ohio State fan but he?ll be wearing purple on Saturday.? [/FONT]
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Sun Times
His widow
Her husband is gone, but Tammy Walker remains a visible member of the NU family. The school again will honor its fallen coach on Saturday.
November 10, 2006
BY NEIL HAYES Staff Reporter
Tammy Walker still follows college football and is a frequent visitor to Northwestern's football offices. She can't help it. The game was too big a part of her life for too long for her to step away completely -- even if college football is a world that contains as many warm memories as painful reminders.
When NU players and coaches run onto the field, for example, Randy Walker's widow forces herself to look away.
''There are situations you avoid,'' she said. ''I don't like to watch the team run out because Randy was always leading them.''
The season opener at Miami of Ohio was emotional for everyone who knew Randy Walker, who starred as a player and later excelled as a coach at Miami before he took the NU job.
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/colleges/131599,CST-SPT-nubk10.article
The first home game at Ryan Field was the first opportunity for many fans to honor the coach who died of heart failure June 29. That was when the driveway that runs in front of the Nicolet Football Center and parallel to Ryan Field was renamed ''Walker Way.'' Northwestern will memorialize Walker once more at halftime of its game Saturday against No. 1 Ohio State. ''Touchdown Terrace,'' which overlooks the north end zone at Ryan Field, will be renamed ''Randy Walker Terrace.''
''He'd be really proud of it,'' Tammy Walker said of her late husband's legacy not only at Northwestern, but also at his other coaching stops. ''More than anything it's the kids he has coached and the coaches he has worked with. I get calls all the time from people who are thinking of him.''
This season has been difficult for everyone associated with the NU football program, Tammy Walker included. A six-game losing streak that ended last Saturday with a breakthrough performance at Iowa was the Wildcats' longest skid since 2001.
Northwestern's struggles shouldn't have come as a complete surprise. Walker's death not only thrust Pat Fitzgerald into the head coaching job, but meant that first-year offensive coordinator Garrick McGee, first-year offensive line coach Bret Ingalls and the three young quarterbacks competing to replace Big Ten offensive player of the year Brett Basanez wouldn't have the benefit of Walker's experience.
Tammy Walker said her husband knew this had the potential to be a trying season.
''He had a hard time staying away from the offense,'' she said. ''He admitted it. It was hard to keep up with every detail of it as a head coach because there is so much other stuff, but he did like to poke his nose in there and see what was going on.
''He would've obviously been a mentor for some of the younger, inexperienced coaches, but he wasn't here. They're finding their way. Maybe it just took a little longer.''
Tammy will board a plane Sunday for a flight to Paris, where her son-in-law is stationed with the State Department. Her daughter, Abbey, delivered a baby girl earlier this week. Clara Elizabeth is Tammy's first grandchild. She said Randy was looking forward to being a grandpa.
She also said her husband would have been impressed by how Fitzgerald has held the team together through trying times.
Randy no doubt would be impressed with how his wife is carrying on, as well.
''There are events in everybody's life that are life-changing,'' Tammy said. ''Obviously, this is a major one. Those kind of things help put stuff in perspective.
''I guess that's one of the biggest changes. Little things, like losing football games, don't bother me. Obviously, I don't have the exact same thing at stake anymore. But I'll always want them to do well.''
His widow
Her husband is gone, but Tammy Walker remains a visible member of the NU family. The school again will honor its fallen coach on Saturday.
November 10, 2006
BY NEIL HAYES Staff Reporter
Tammy Walker still follows college football and is a frequent visitor to Northwestern's football offices. She can't help it. The game was too big a part of her life for too long for her to step away completely -- even if college football is a world that contains as many warm memories as painful reminders.
When NU players and coaches run onto the field, for example, Randy Walker's widow forces herself to look away.
''There are situations you avoid,'' she said. ''I don't like to watch the team run out because Randy was always leading them.''
The season opener at Miami of Ohio was emotional for everyone who knew Randy Walker, who starred as a player and later excelled as a coach at Miami before he took the NU job.
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/colleges/131599,CST-SPT-nubk10.article
The first home game at Ryan Field was the first opportunity for many fans to honor the coach who died of heart failure June 29. That was when the driveway that runs in front of the Nicolet Football Center and parallel to Ryan Field was renamed ''Walker Way.'' Northwestern will memorialize Walker once more at halftime of its game Saturday against No. 1 Ohio State. ''Touchdown Terrace,'' which overlooks the north end zone at Ryan Field, will be renamed ''Randy Walker Terrace.''
''He'd be really proud of it,'' Tammy Walker said of her late husband's legacy not only at Northwestern, but also at his other coaching stops. ''More than anything it's the kids he has coached and the coaches he has worked with. I get calls all the time from people who are thinking of him.''
This season has been difficult for everyone associated with the NU football program, Tammy Walker included. A six-game losing streak that ended last Saturday with a breakthrough performance at Iowa was the Wildcats' longest skid since 2001.
Northwestern's struggles shouldn't have come as a complete surprise. Walker's death not only thrust Pat Fitzgerald into the head coaching job, but meant that first-year offensive coordinator Garrick McGee, first-year offensive line coach Bret Ingalls and the three young quarterbacks competing to replace Big Ten offensive player of the year Brett Basanez wouldn't have the benefit of Walker's experience.
Tammy Walker said her husband knew this had the potential to be a trying season.
''He had a hard time staying away from the offense,'' she said. ''He admitted it. It was hard to keep up with every detail of it as a head coach because there is so much other stuff, but he did like to poke his nose in there and see what was going on.
''He would've obviously been a mentor for some of the younger, inexperienced coaches, but he wasn't here. They're finding their way. Maybe it just took a little longer.''
Tammy will board a plane Sunday for a flight to Paris, where her son-in-law is stationed with the State Department. Her daughter, Abbey, delivered a baby girl earlier this week. Clara Elizabeth is Tammy's first grandchild. She said Randy was looking forward to being a grandpa.
She also said her husband would have been impressed by how Fitzgerald has held the team together through trying times.
Randy no doubt would be impressed with how his wife is carrying on, as well.
''There are events in everybody's life that are life-changing,'' Tammy said. ''Obviously, this is a major one. Those kind of things help put stuff in perspective.
''I guess that's one of the biggest changes. Little things, like losing football games, don't bother me. Obviously, I don't have the exact same thing at stake anymore. But I'll always want them to do well.''
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Northwestern seeking big win, not moral victory, vs. No. 1 Ohio State
November 10, 2006
By Tim Cronin Staff writer
The goal is simple:
Beat Ohio State.
That's how Northwestern looks at Saturday's game with the top-ranked Buckeyes in Evanston.
From the perspective of the Wildcats, of course, there's no other way to look at it. No participant goes into a game planning to lose.
Outsiders, however, look at things more realistically. If the Wildcats come up short but still are able to play the Buckeyes as tough at Ryan Field as Illinois did last week in Champaign, it would still be a sign of progress.
Given that the Buckeyes aren't expected to have two sub-par performances in as many weeks, and that Northwestern's last win over a No. 1 team was in 1956, nothing but an Ohio State win is expected.
Just as nothing but an Iowa win was expected when Northwestern visited Iowa City Saturday.
Final score: Northwestern 21, Iowa 7. And it might not have been that close.
The Buckeyes are 10-0, 6-0 in the Big Ten, have won 18 straight, and eight in a row on the road. Northwestern is 3-7, 1-5 in the league, and have won one in a row.
The problem for the Wildcats is simple. Iowa didn't have Troy Smith at quarterback. Or Antonio Pittman to take handoffs. Or Ted Ginn Jr. at receiver. And the Hawkeyes most assuredly didn't have Ohio State's defense suited up.
Those are among the problems head coach Pat Fitzgerald and his staff have to solve this week, beginning with Smith.
"Troy's the full package," Fitzgerald said. "He takes what the defense gives him. If we execute our game plan, it should take away what he does well."
Smith runs only when he has to, but is a splendid passer with multiple targets to throw to. Do the Wildcats blitz early and often, taking a chance on Ginn against single coverage? That's not likely.
"On a pass rush, we have to stay disciplined," defensive end Corey Wootten said. "We have to stay with our contain."
Do so, and Smith has to throw. Fail to do so, and Smith can take off, complicating things.
"You have to make sure you don't give up the home run," said Fitzgerald, who also is wary of Ohio State's 50 percent third-down conversion ratio and receiver Anthony Gonzalez, who's dangerous on third down.
Illinois succeeded in limiting the Buckeyes to singles last week, but couldn't get its offense going, the Buckeyes rattling freshman quarterback Isiah "Juice" Williams enough to limit his effectiveness.
They'll likely want to greet Wildcats quarterback C.J. Bacher, the sophomore who will be starting his fourth game, just as rudely. The Buckeyes have registered 30 sacks this season, while Northwestern has allowed 20, or two per game.
If the Buckeyes can hammer away on offense, the Wildcats will have to gnaw at their opponents in return.
"What they've done a nice job of is doing what their guys can do," Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel said of Northwestern. "They've built around their core offense, Tyrell Sutton running, and taken what Bacher can do. They've done a nice job of maximizing that.
"We're playing a team who's playing their best football, and I think that's good."
Northwestern seeking big win, not moral victory, vs. No. 1 Ohio State
November 10, 2006
By Tim Cronin Staff writer
The goal is simple:
Beat Ohio State.
That's how Northwestern looks at Saturday's game with the top-ranked Buckeyes in Evanston.
From the perspective of the Wildcats, of course, there's no other way to look at it. No participant goes into a game planning to lose.
Outsiders, however, look at things more realistically. If the Wildcats come up short but still are able to play the Buckeyes as tough at Ryan Field as Illinois did last week in Champaign, it would still be a sign of progress.
Given that the Buckeyes aren't expected to have two sub-par performances in as many weeks, and that Northwestern's last win over a No. 1 team was in 1956, nothing but an Ohio State win is expected.
Just as nothing but an Iowa win was expected when Northwestern visited Iowa City Saturday.
Final score: Northwestern 21, Iowa 7. And it might not have been that close.
The Buckeyes are 10-0, 6-0 in the Big Ten, have won 18 straight, and eight in a row on the road. Northwestern is 3-7, 1-5 in the league, and have won one in a row.
The problem for the Wildcats is simple. Iowa didn't have Troy Smith at quarterback. Or Antonio Pittman to take handoffs. Or Ted Ginn Jr. at receiver. And the Hawkeyes most assuredly didn't have Ohio State's defense suited up.
Those are among the problems head coach Pat Fitzgerald and his staff have to solve this week, beginning with Smith.
"Troy's the full package," Fitzgerald said. "He takes what the defense gives him. If we execute our game plan, it should take away what he does well."
Smith runs only when he has to, but is a splendid passer with multiple targets to throw to. Do the Wildcats blitz early and often, taking a chance on Ginn against single coverage? That's not likely.
"On a pass rush, we have to stay disciplined," defensive end Corey Wootten said. "We have to stay with our contain."
Do so, and Smith has to throw. Fail to do so, and Smith can take off, complicating things.
"You have to make sure you don't give up the home run," said Fitzgerald, who also is wary of Ohio State's 50 percent third-down conversion ratio and receiver Anthony Gonzalez, who's dangerous on third down.
Illinois succeeded in limiting the Buckeyes to singles last week, but couldn't get its offense going, the Buckeyes rattling freshman quarterback Isiah "Juice" Williams enough to limit his effectiveness.
They'll likely want to greet Wildcats quarterback C.J. Bacher, the sophomore who will be starting his fourth game, just as rudely. The Buckeyes have registered 30 sacks this season, while Northwestern has allowed 20, or two per game.
If the Buckeyes can hammer away on offense, the Wildcats will have to gnaw at their opponents in return.
"What they've done a nice job of is doing what their guys can do," Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel said of Northwestern. "They've built around their core offense, Tyrell Sutton running, and taken what Bacher can do. They've done a nice job of maximizing that.
"We're playing a team who's playing their best football, and I think that's good."
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Buckeyes return to scene of bitter loss
By ANDREW SELIGMAN
CHICAGO - No one needs to remind Doug Datish what happened the last time No. 1 Ohio State visited Northwestern _ he's still trying to scrub that burning, bitter taste out of his mouth.
"Most of us playing now played in that game and remember that sour feeling of losing down there in overtime," the Buckeyes' center said. "We know we don't want to let that happen again."
Northwestern outplayed them in just about every facet, racking up 444 yards on offense in a 33-27 overtime victory _ its first over Ohio State in 33 years. And the Buckeyes finished the season 8-4.
Now, top-ranked Ohio State (10-0, 6-0, Big Ten) is on course to play for a national championship, with next week's showdown against No. 2 Michigan likely determining a spot in the BCS title game.
That's assuming no upsets on Saturday _ a big assumption given what happened last week and what happened two years ago at Ryan Field.
Northwestern (3-7, 1-5) is coming off a surprising 21-7 victory over Iowa, while Ohio State nearly saw its national championship hopes derailed before holding off a late charge by Illinois and winning 17-10. The Buckeyes scored the first 17 points, then experienced their first scare of the season.
The Illini made things interesting when Rashard Mendenhall scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 1:40 left in the game. Ohio State couldn't run out the clock, so Illinois took over at its 2 with four seconds left after a 55-yard punt by A.J. Trapasso. The Illini had time for one play _ a short pass to Derrick McPhearson and a series of laterals that ended at the 19.
With that, Ohio State exhaled.
A Buckeyes team that won each of its first nine games by at least 17 remained on course for that showdown with archrival Michigan even though it managed season-lows in points, total yards and passing yards. Illinois held a 233-224 advantage in yards and contained Heisman Trophy candidate Troy Smith. The Buckeyes' quarterback threw for only 108 yards, ran for 37 more and was sacked three times.
"I give Illinois all the credit in the world," Datish said. "They came out there and had a great game plan and played hard and did the things they need to do to be successful against us."
If the close call rattled their confidence or angered them, the Buckeyes weren't saying. Instead, they took comfort in the fact that all but one of Illinois' nine losses were by 17 or less, the notable exception being the 33-0 mauling by Rutgers.
"I don't think anybody really mauled Illinois," Datish said.
But nobody had challenged the Buckeyes like that.
"What happened last week, what happened last month, what happened three years ago, 10 years ago, it doesn't matter," said wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez, who has 43 catches for a team-leading 639 yards. "It's what's going to happen now, it's what's going to happen on the very next play in the very next game."
And the next game is against a team that experienced tragedy in the summer and difficulties on the field before upsetting Iowa.
From the death of coach Randy Walker to a six-game losing streak that included the biggest collapse in Division I-A history against Michigan State, this has been an excruciating season for Northwestern. But the Wildcats took a break from that last week.
Ranked last in the Big Ten in virtually every offensive category, they ran for 225 yards _ 168 by Tyrell Sutton. And C.J. Bacher threw for 218 yards and a touchdown, helping Northwestern stop that slide.
"That's what we expect to do around here," coach Pat Fitzgerald said. "We expect to win around here. We expect to play Northwestern football for four quarters and to finish. That's what we did. I'm disappointed with some of the games we played earlier in the year. ... But we've played our best football now for the last three weeks."
And now, they get the No. 1 team.
The Buckeyes boast the nation's stingiest defense (7.6 points per game) and the sixth-rated quarterback in Smith, who is 158-of-237 with 2,006 yards, 22 touchdowns and three interceptions. They're coming off a scare and they're returning to the scene of an unpleasant event. Two years ago, they were 3-0 and ranked seventh going into their Big Ten opener at Ryan Field.
And then ...
"We all know what happened," defensive back Antonio Smith said.
Buckeyes return to scene of bitter loss
By ANDREW SELIGMAN
CHICAGO - No one needs to remind Doug Datish what happened the last time No. 1 Ohio State visited Northwestern _ he's still trying to scrub that burning, bitter taste out of his mouth.
"Most of us playing now played in that game and remember that sour feeling of losing down there in overtime," the Buckeyes' center said. "We know we don't want to let that happen again."
Northwestern outplayed them in just about every facet, racking up 444 yards on offense in a 33-27 overtime victory _ its first over Ohio State in 33 years. And the Buckeyes finished the season 8-4.
Now, top-ranked Ohio State (10-0, 6-0, Big Ten) is on course to play for a national championship, with next week's showdown against No. 2 Michigan likely determining a spot in the BCS title game.
That's assuming no upsets on Saturday _ a big assumption given what happened last week and what happened two years ago at Ryan Field.
Northwestern (3-7, 1-5) is coming off a surprising 21-7 victory over Iowa, while Ohio State nearly saw its national championship hopes derailed before holding off a late charge by Illinois and winning 17-10. The Buckeyes scored the first 17 points, then experienced their first scare of the season.
The Illini made things interesting when Rashard Mendenhall scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 1:40 left in the game. Ohio State couldn't run out the clock, so Illinois took over at its 2 with four seconds left after a 55-yard punt by A.J. Trapasso. The Illini had time for one play _ a short pass to Derrick McPhearson and a series of laterals that ended at the 19.
With that, Ohio State exhaled.
A Buckeyes team that won each of its first nine games by at least 17 remained on course for that showdown with archrival Michigan even though it managed season-lows in points, total yards and passing yards. Illinois held a 233-224 advantage in yards and contained Heisman Trophy candidate Troy Smith. The Buckeyes' quarterback threw for only 108 yards, ran for 37 more and was sacked three times.
"I give Illinois all the credit in the world," Datish said. "They came out there and had a great game plan and played hard and did the things they need to do to be successful against us."
If the close call rattled their confidence or angered them, the Buckeyes weren't saying. Instead, they took comfort in the fact that all but one of Illinois' nine losses were by 17 or less, the notable exception being the 33-0 mauling by Rutgers.
"I don't think anybody really mauled Illinois," Datish said.
But nobody had challenged the Buckeyes like that.
"What happened last week, what happened last month, what happened three years ago, 10 years ago, it doesn't matter," said wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez, who has 43 catches for a team-leading 639 yards. "It's what's going to happen now, it's what's going to happen on the very next play in the very next game."
And the next game is against a team that experienced tragedy in the summer and difficulties on the field before upsetting Iowa.
From the death of coach Randy Walker to a six-game losing streak that included the biggest collapse in Division I-A history against Michigan State, this has been an excruciating season for Northwestern. But the Wildcats took a break from that last week.
Ranked last in the Big Ten in virtually every offensive category, they ran for 225 yards _ 168 by Tyrell Sutton. And C.J. Bacher threw for 218 yards and a touchdown, helping Northwestern stop that slide.
"That's what we expect to do around here," coach Pat Fitzgerald said. "We expect to win around here. We expect to play Northwestern football for four quarters and to finish. That's what we did. I'm disappointed with some of the games we played earlier in the year. ... But we've played our best football now for the last three weeks."
And now, they get the No. 1 team.
The Buckeyes boast the nation's stingiest defense (7.6 points per game) and the sixth-rated quarterback in Smith, who is 158-of-237 with 2,006 yards, 22 touchdowns and three interceptions. They're coming off a scare and they're returning to the scene of an unpleasant event. Two years ago, they were 3-0 and ranked seventh going into their Big Ten opener at Ryan Field.
And then ...
"We all know what happened," defensive back Antonio Smith said.
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Can Tressel Keep Buckeyes On Track?
November 10, 2006
By DESMOND CONNER, Courant Staff Writer
Top-ranked Ohio State got what some Buckeyes players called a wake-up call last week in a 17-10 victory over Illinois.
This week, the Buckeyes (10-0, 6-0 Big Ten) are at Northwestern, which just upset Iowa 21-7 for its first conference win of the season.
The Wildcats (3-7, 1-5) are a dangerous team and the game comes at a dangerous time. It's the last one for the Buckeyes before hosting Michigan Nov. 18 in the battle of No. 1 and No. 2 in every poll out there.
"I've always been a believer that reality is the best teacher and if you win a decisive game, you need to know why, and here's what we did to win a decisive game," OSU coach Jim Tressel said at his weekly press conference. "If you win a game that's not quite as decisive, why? What was it that we didn't do as well? When you lose a game, what was the reason? Or what were the reasons?
"So I don't know if there's such a thing as a magical wake-up call, but I think reality is very important. And the biggest reality you have is that you go to someone else's place, you better play 60 minutes. I don't want to infer that we didn't play well at all there, because if you turn the film off at halftime, it doesn't look much different than any of the four or five games prior to it; turn it back on, we didn't do the things you need to do. So will it be good for us? If we learn from the reality."
The Wolverines (10-0, 6-0) better watch out themselves. They're at Indiana (5-5, 3-3), which beat Illinois, Iowa and sealed John L. Smith's lame-duck status after drubbing Michigan State 46-21 last month.
A lot of eyes will be on OSU-Northwestern, though. The Wildcats are a scary bunch.
Can Tressel Keep Buckeyes On Track?
November 10, 2006
By DESMOND CONNER, Courant Staff Writer
Top-ranked Ohio State got what some Buckeyes players called a wake-up call last week in a 17-10 victory over Illinois.
This week, the Buckeyes (10-0, 6-0 Big Ten) are at Northwestern, which just upset Iowa 21-7 for its first conference win of the season.
The Wildcats (3-7, 1-5) are a dangerous team and the game comes at a dangerous time. It's the last one for the Buckeyes before hosting Michigan Nov. 18 in the battle of No. 1 and No. 2 in every poll out there.
"I've always been a believer that reality is the best teacher and if you win a decisive game, you need to know why, and here's what we did to win a decisive game," OSU coach Jim Tressel said at his weekly press conference. "If you win a game that's not quite as decisive, why? What was it that we didn't do as well? When you lose a game, what was the reason? Or what were the reasons?
"So I don't know if there's such a thing as a magical wake-up call, but I think reality is very important. And the biggest reality you have is that you go to someone else's place, you better play 60 minutes. I don't want to infer that we didn't play well at all there, because if you turn the film off at halftime, it doesn't look much different than any of the four or five games prior to it; turn it back on, we didn't do the things you need to do. So will it be good for us? If we learn from the reality."
The Wolverines (10-0, 6-0) better watch out themselves. They're at Indiana (5-5, 3-3), which beat Illinois, Iowa and sealed John L. Smith's lame-duck status after drubbing Michigan State 46-21 last month.
A lot of eyes will be on OSU-Northwestern, though. The Wildcats are a scary bunch.
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Dispatch
NORTHWESTERN
Coffman grad sees work paying off for Wildcats
Friday, November 10, 2006
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Adam Kadela, right, leads Northwestern in tackles with 66.
The past three weeks have sort of summed up the primary reason linebacker Adam Kadela decided to go from Dublin Coffman to play football for Northwestern. He knew it wasn?t going to be easy, but there might be a reward or two along the way.
With that in mind, consider that three weeks ago the Wildcats were on the losing end of the greatest major-college comeback in history, Michigan State?s rally from 34 points down to a 41-38 win on Northwestern?s homecoming. The next week, Northwestern hung tough but still lost 17-3 at No. 2 Michigan. Then last week, the Wildcats went to Iowa and dominated in a 21-7 upset victory.
"What that did for the group was provide more evidence that these last couple of weeks we?ve gotten better, and that we have the potential to play against anyone in college football," Kadela said. "It?s a matter of clicking and being consistent. And then to beat Iowa, it was gratifying to know that the hard work paid off."
It?s not going to pay off even in a bowl trip for the Wildcats (3-7, 1-5) this season. But considering how the year has gone, with the death in midsummer of coach Randy Walker, who was replaced by the unproven Pat Fitzgerald, and then a start that included a loss to Division I-AA New Hampshire, the place where Kadela and his teammates now find themselves isn?t so bad.
With No. 1 Ohio State coming to town Saturday, the Wildcats are feeling quite good about themselves.
"During a season like this, one thing you notice about the game is how important experience is," said Kadela, a junior who leads the team in tackles with 66. "We have been playing a lot of young guys on defense, and you can see those guys stepping up and starting to get it now. You know, the light bulb has gone on."
At some places such as Michigan and Ohio State, the lights are on most all of the time. But Kadela ? his father, Dave, played for Michigan and whose brother Dave played tackle with Michael Vick at Virginia Tech on the team that lost to Florida State in the 1999 national championship game ? didn?t have the chance to go to such places out of high school, at least on scholarship. So he picked Northwestern over Indiana and Duke.
"I knew I wanted to play Big Ten football, and I wanted a great education so I?d know I would have something to lean on when football was over," Adam Kadela said. "Northwestern is the perfect place for that, as far as I?m concerned."
But he knew he?d be up against it in terms of football success. The Wildcats? great moments have come in muchseparated spurts, not in years and years of dominance.
"It doesn?t have the football tradition of say a Michigan or an Ohio State, but as a player, I looked at that, and decided that even though tradition is great, I?d like the opportunity to be a part of something special," Kadela said. "If you can get it done at Northwestern, it makes it even more special. I think we?re getting close to do something like that again."
NORTHWESTERN
Coffman grad sees work paying off for Wildcats
Friday, November 10, 2006
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
The past three weeks have sort of summed up the primary reason linebacker Adam Kadela decided to go from Dublin Coffman to play football for Northwestern. He knew it wasn?t going to be easy, but there might be a reward or two along the way.
With that in mind, consider that three weeks ago the Wildcats were on the losing end of the greatest major-college comeback in history, Michigan State?s rally from 34 points down to a 41-38 win on Northwestern?s homecoming. The next week, Northwestern hung tough but still lost 17-3 at No. 2 Michigan. Then last week, the Wildcats went to Iowa and dominated in a 21-7 upset victory.
"What that did for the group was provide more evidence that these last couple of weeks we?ve gotten better, and that we have the potential to play against anyone in college football," Kadela said. "It?s a matter of clicking and being consistent. And then to beat Iowa, it was gratifying to know that the hard work paid off."
It?s not going to pay off even in a bowl trip for the Wildcats (3-7, 1-5) this season. But considering how the year has gone, with the death in midsummer of coach Randy Walker, who was replaced by the unproven Pat Fitzgerald, and then a start that included a loss to Division I-AA New Hampshire, the place where Kadela and his teammates now find themselves isn?t so bad.
With No. 1 Ohio State coming to town Saturday, the Wildcats are feeling quite good about themselves.
"During a season like this, one thing you notice about the game is how important experience is," said Kadela, a junior who leads the team in tackles with 66. "We have been playing a lot of young guys on defense, and you can see those guys stepping up and starting to get it now. You know, the light bulb has gone on."
At some places such as Michigan and Ohio State, the lights are on most all of the time. But Kadela ? his father, Dave, played for Michigan and whose brother Dave played tackle with Michael Vick at Virginia Tech on the team that lost to Florida State in the 1999 national championship game ? didn?t have the chance to go to such places out of high school, at least on scholarship. So he picked Northwestern over Indiana and Duke.
"I knew I wanted to play Big Ten football, and I wanted a great education so I?d know I would have something to lean on when football was over," Adam Kadela said. "Northwestern is the perfect place for that, as far as I?m concerned."
But he knew he?d be up against it in terms of football success. The Wildcats? great moments have come in muchseparated spurts, not in years and years of dominance.
"It doesn?t have the football tradition of say a Michigan or an Ohio State, but as a player, I looked at that, and decided that even though tradition is great, I?d like the opportunity to be a part of something special," Kadela said. "If you can get it done at Northwestern, it makes it even more special. I think we?re getting close to do something like that again."
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Dispatch
COMMENTARY
It?s difficult not to look ahead to The Game
Friday, November 10, 2006
BOB HUNTER
It?s not often that I find myself thinking like a football coach.
Other than those rare occasions when there?s a real need to use the Jim Tressel answer technique (Her: Did you hang that set of blinds like I asked? Me: That?s an excellent set of blinds. They?re durable and attractive and cost-effective, a quality addition to this fine house), coaches and sportswriters don?t often think alike.
But there I was seated at a table in a sports bar after Ohio State?s win at Michigan State on Oct. 14, watching Michigan play Penn State, and somehow the television announcers found a way to awaken the coaching part of my personality deep, deep inside me.
"If Michigan wins, this sets up that battle of unbeatens in Columbus on Nov. 18," one of them said. "It will probably be No. 1 vs. No. 2," the other replied. And with another game going on in front of them, the banter about Ohio State-Michigan continued in that tone for so long that I began to experience a strong urge to rip the bill off a perfectly good baseball cap, punch a TV cameraman or at least tear up some unlucky downs markers.
The game they were talking about ? the Ohio State-Michigan game ? was still five weeks away. Hadn?t these shameless TV shills ever heard about taking them one game at a time? Don?t they know that danger lurks behind every weakling on the schedule? Don?t they realize all Big Ten games are tough? Had they somehow forgotten the 1998 Ohio State-Michigan State game?
As it turns out, my coachbased fears were unfounded. All of the schedule fodder standing between there and here turned out to be just that. Almost four weeks later, Ohio State and Michigan are still unbeaten and are ranked first and second. Now there are only two games that can ruin the one they were salivating over: Ohio State at Northwestern and Michigan at Indiana.
Not many folks in these parts are losing sleep over the snoozer at Indiana. If the Wolverines lose and spoil the matchup the college football world is awaiting, about the only Buckeyes fans who will be devastated are the ones with tickets to sell.
But the game at Northwestern has fans feeling a little uneasy, in part because of the close call last week at Illinois and in part because the Wildcats stunned Iowa last week.
Think about this: The week before Indiana played Ohio State, the Hoosiers upset Iowa. Illinois lost a close game to Wisconsin before playing the Buckeyes, and then Northwestern upset Iowa last week.
Three stinker opponents somehow managed to find respectability the week before they played the Buckeyes, which enabled Tressel to sell his players on the need to be fired up lest these opponents ruin a once-in-a-lifetime season.
But could they? Well, sure. Anything can happen, although it usually doesn?t. To be honest, if half of the bad teams in the conference can upset Iowa, there comes a point at which you have to admit that it isn?t much of an upset.
Still, by beating the Hawkeyes last week, the Wildcats at least showed that they have been improving and might even be better than their, uh, 3-7 record indicates.
"You put on the Iowa film and it was a decisive win," Tressel said. "A year ago, they beat Iowa and they had to score two touchdowns in the last five minutes and they upset them. This year, they didn?t upset them. In fact, Northwestern?s defense held Iowa to about 60 or 70 fewer yards than we held Iowa?s offense to, and Northwestern?s offense outgained how many yards we had against Iowa."
See? Nothing can be clearer than that, can it?
Now, if you?ll excuse me, I have to go watch some film.
COMMENTARY
It?s difficult not to look ahead to The Game
Friday, November 10, 2006
BOB HUNTER
It?s not often that I find myself thinking like a football coach.
Other than those rare occasions when there?s a real need to use the Jim Tressel answer technique (Her: Did you hang that set of blinds like I asked? Me: That?s an excellent set of blinds. They?re durable and attractive and cost-effective, a quality addition to this fine house), coaches and sportswriters don?t often think alike.
But there I was seated at a table in a sports bar after Ohio State?s win at Michigan State on Oct. 14, watching Michigan play Penn State, and somehow the television announcers found a way to awaken the coaching part of my personality deep, deep inside me.
"If Michigan wins, this sets up that battle of unbeatens in Columbus on Nov. 18," one of them said. "It will probably be No. 1 vs. No. 2," the other replied. And with another game going on in front of them, the banter about Ohio State-Michigan continued in that tone for so long that I began to experience a strong urge to rip the bill off a perfectly good baseball cap, punch a TV cameraman or at least tear up some unlucky downs markers.
The game they were talking about ? the Ohio State-Michigan game ? was still five weeks away. Hadn?t these shameless TV shills ever heard about taking them one game at a time? Don?t they know that danger lurks behind every weakling on the schedule? Don?t they realize all Big Ten games are tough? Had they somehow forgotten the 1998 Ohio State-Michigan State game?
As it turns out, my coachbased fears were unfounded. All of the schedule fodder standing between there and here turned out to be just that. Almost four weeks later, Ohio State and Michigan are still unbeaten and are ranked first and second. Now there are only two games that can ruin the one they were salivating over: Ohio State at Northwestern and Michigan at Indiana.
Not many folks in these parts are losing sleep over the snoozer at Indiana. If the Wolverines lose and spoil the matchup the college football world is awaiting, about the only Buckeyes fans who will be devastated are the ones with tickets to sell.
But the game at Northwestern has fans feeling a little uneasy, in part because of the close call last week at Illinois and in part because the Wildcats stunned Iowa last week.
Think about this: The week before Indiana played Ohio State, the Hoosiers upset Iowa. Illinois lost a close game to Wisconsin before playing the Buckeyes, and then Northwestern upset Iowa last week.
Three stinker opponents somehow managed to find respectability the week before they played the Buckeyes, which enabled Tressel to sell his players on the need to be fired up lest these opponents ruin a once-in-a-lifetime season.
But could they? Well, sure. Anything can happen, although it usually doesn?t. To be honest, if half of the bad teams in the conference can upset Iowa, there comes a point at which you have to admit that it isn?t much of an upset.
Still, by beating the Hawkeyes last week, the Wildcats at least showed that they have been improving and might even be better than their, uh, 3-7 record indicates.
"You put on the Iowa film and it was a decisive win," Tressel said. "A year ago, they beat Iowa and they had to score two touchdowns in the last five minutes and they upset them. This year, they didn?t upset them. In fact, Northwestern?s defense held Iowa to about 60 or 70 fewer yards than we held Iowa?s offense to, and Northwestern?s offense outgained how many yards we had against Iowa."
See? Nothing can be clearer than that, can it?
Now, if you?ll excuse me, I have to go watch some film.
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Taosman
Your Cousin In New Mexxico
Originally Posted by thatloserontheNorthwestern Board
A football factory that has absurdly poor grad rates, particularly for its exploited African-American players.
We should be use to this crap by now!
After all we hear the same shit every year.
Ohio State and it's exploitation/criminals/criminal coach, blah blah blah.
A football factory that has absurdly poor grad rates, particularly for its exploited African-American players.
We should be use to this crap by now!
After all we hear the same shit every year.
Ohio State and it's exploitation/criminals/criminal coach, blah blah blah.
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