Alright, back to normal. Let's see some links/do some site stuff.
First off, this week's opposing team SBNation blog: The Crimson Quarry. Check em out.
Beat reporter round-up: the Trib and Sun-Times both got in this piece of common sense from Coach Fitz, which echoes what many NU fans are thinking.
"If we can't run it, I'm not going to keep running it," he said. "I want to win. If that means we have to throw it 175 times in a game, that's what we're going to do."
Also of note, the fact that Jim O'Donnell has taken to referring to Corey Wootton as "onetime star Corey Wootton", which is genuinely sad to see, because it's true. The man was a defensive beast, and at this point, I'm just hoping he makes it in the big leagues. He isn't going to be of much use here this year, and a guy who looked like a no-doubt first-day, maybe first-round draft pick keeps looking less and less relevant to our plans this season.
HTP has us down to a 46% chance of making a bowl, I say that's probably generous. To make a bowl we need at the least for a) us to go 6-6. This means we have to beat Indiana and Illinois. b) Indiana to not win two more ball-games c) Penn State to win out, and Iowa to win out or lose only one game, meaning they both would look likely to make BCS bowls (obviously, if NU beats one of those teams, we have a much different story, but it's not looking bloody likely.) So, long story short, a lot of things have to go our way for us to even see the Motor City. Now, none of those things are overwhelmingly improbable - us beating two teams we should beat, Indiana not winning any games they shouldn't win, and the two best teams in the conference doing as well as they should - but it's still a lot of stuff.
Fitz-intense-o-meter, upgraded to a 7.6, symptoms including occasional short bursts of spontaneously combusting limbs. This Indy game is pretty must-win: at home, against a team we probably should beat with about as good a chance (slim) of going bowling as we do? Must-win territory. I can assure you Fitz will be sufficiently amped. By the way, I spoke to some dudes on the team when I was out on Saturday. Fitz was referred to as "the most intense human being alive" by one of them, and another said "that [word typically used to describe fellow people of African-American descent] was crazy" in reference to when Fitz ran out to midfield to verbally castrate the entire kickoff team when Jeravin Matthews fumbled the kickoff, an incident that sadly went uncaptured. So it's good to see that I'm not alone in enjoying his intensity.
Because this is a Northwestern sports blog, I feel I should point out that Gucci Mane released three mixtapes simultaneously on Saturday night, and they're all fire.
There will be details later, but if you'd like to write about basketball on the site, your services will be needed, so shoot me an email.
And now, my Big Ten power poll submission:
- Iowa
- Penn State
- Ohio State
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
- Michigan State
- Purdue
- Minnesota
- Northwestern
- Indiana
- Illinois
Deal with it. I'll talk to y'all later.
