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Northwestern is my least favorite team in the Big Ten. I know as a Michigan fan I should probably say Ohio State or Michigan State. I have that fan hatred of those teams but Northwestern is my least favorite team because I think they have failed the players. Remember when we do these things we’re not trying to attack these kids. We’re not trying to say we can play better than these kids. These kids are working hard, doing the best they can with what they’ve got. What they’ve got in Pat Fitzgerald is a guy making millions of dollars who went one in 11 last year and it doesn’t get a whole lot better in the years prior.
Northwestern has made a couple of major changes, Pat Fitzgerald relieved, they called it, the defensive coordinator Jim O’Neill, the defensive line coach Marty Long, the wide receiver coach Dennis Springer. That all happened fairly early after the 2022 season ended and there hasn’t been a lot of talk since. So nobody really knows what Pat Fitzgerald is doing over there which means you don’t have a lot to look forward to.
Their recruiting class overall rank is 59 which puts them in the middle of the pack which actually is better than I thought it would be. I honestly don’t know why Pat Fitzgerald still has a job, but here we go.
Here’s the 2023 schedule. They start off with Rutgers. Rutgers is probably the second worst team in the Big Ten so can they beat Rutgers? I don’t know. I doubt it. I’m gonna say that’s a loss.
Texas El Paso they could beat. Maybe that might be their one win for the year.
Duke‘s going to put him down.
I think Minnesota’s going to put him down.
I think Penn State is is going to beat Pat Fitzgerald into the turf.
Howard? Maybe.
Nebraska has a new coach in Matt Rhule. That’s going to be a fun one. If Matt Rhule comes in and devastates Nebraska and Northwestern will Pat Fitzgerald lose his job then? I guess we’ll see.
Maryland? No. I think that’s a loss.
Iowa? That’s definitely a loss.
Wisconsin? Even with a new coach, but it’s Luke Fickell, that’s a loss.
Purdue has a new coach, Ryan Walters. He’s a brand-new coach with no experience. Matt Rhule has at least coached in other places. Ryan Walters has not coached anywhere but he is coming from Illinois so he did learn from Brett Bielema, so honestly, I think that’s a loss for Northwestern.
Illinois? That’s a loss for Northwestern.
Maybe Northwestern goes 2 and 10 this year instead of 1 and 11. They get an extra win right off the bat if, well I shouldn’t say right off the bat because they beat Nebraska in their first game last year, so if they beat Rutgers it’s just like last year.
Will they beat Texas El Paso? Don’t know. I’m sorry to you Northwestern fans. I know you want to hear that your team is getting better. You want to hear that Pat Fitzgerald has either turned the corner or leaves, but it doesn’t look like either of those things are happening. We’ll see and that’s all I can say.