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Morning all. I just did one of these yesterday, so this'll be brief, but there's stuff to mention again.
I WAS JOKING, YOU IDIOTS: Sometime last year -- well, specifically, September 17, 2012 -- I began making a joke. You see, Jeff Budzien seemed very much like one of the most accurate, reliable kickers in the country, and I figured he had a good shot at winning the Lou Groza Award. So, since Northwestern doesn't have any Heisman candidates -- well, didn't, I didn't imagine Venric Mark to be a legitimate candidate at the time, and even now he's got a wayyyyyyyyy outside shot -- and we were a year removed from a complete backfire of a Heisman campaign, I began writing/tweeting three words, mashed into one: #Budzien4Groza.
Here's the first time I posted it. Here's the first time I -- or, as you can see, anybody else -- tweeted it. 
So yesterday, when the Lou Groza Award released its watch list, featuring, of course, Jeff Budzien, I was shocked to see this Tweet:
Craving more Jeff Budzien? Figures. Make sure to give a follow to @Budzien4Groza for all the #BudzienFacts you need. pic.twitter.com/UoL7Ri0XhA
— NU Wildcats Football (@NUFBFamily) July 10, 2013
Oh my goodness, they actually did it.
The Budzien 4 Groza account itself is a mix of actual facts about how good he is at kicking and Chuck Norris-esque humor:
Jeff Budzien went 19-for-20 on FG attempts in 2012, including 6-of-7 from 40 yards or more. #BudzienFacts
— Budzien In '13 (@Budzien4Groza) July 10, 2013
He's lined up 101 PATs in his career at Northwestern. And converted every one of them. #BudzienFacts
— Budzien In '13 (@Budzien4Groza) July 10, 2013
The B1G asked him to skip this year's Kickoff luncheon so that other players could get some media attention. #BudzienFacts
— Budzien In '13 (@Budzien4Groza) July 10, 2013
Will only eat his pregame meal if it's first snapped by Pat Hickey and held by Brandon Williams #BudzienFacts
— Budzien In '13 (@Budzien4Groza) July 10, 2013
Jeff wouldn't step on the @NHLBlackhawks logo. #BudzienFacts
— Budzien In '13 (@Budzien4Groza) July 10, 2013
Guys, look: when I started joking about this, the joke was it was so insignificant that it would never happen. And even when I wrote up the post about the actual Groza list with a healthy #Budzien4Groza slant, I was kinda, you know, joking. I mean, it sure would be nice for Northwestern to have its first major college award winner since Pat Fitzgerald in 1996, but, yo, chill!
Moving on.
Great Googly Moogly: It appears EA Sports made a little mistake:
NCAA 14 wildcat travesty 'wilcats'. @sippinonpurple @EASPORTS pic.twitter.com/n5eGW1kc0m
— Matt Olszewski (@Matt_Olszewski) July 11, 2013
You can see the error here, in this gameplay video, too:
For what it's worth, the gameplay looks pretty great, since the AI knows that we'll be going Colter Mark option all day erry day. And, damn, Ryan Field looks... like Ryan Field. Although Pat Fitzgerald looks sorta nothing like Pat Fitzgerald, but I guess putting that much intensity into one video game would make your fan start whirring really fast and then the disk would catch on fire and your TV would explode. Hey, at least EA Sports doesn't employ the guy who designed Menelik Watson's ring.
PERSA BACK: I checked Northwestern's football roster today, as I do EVERY DAMN DAY, and was thrilled to see a brand new set of new numbers!
Most prominent: Matt Alviti, the 4-star QB, a 6-foot-nothing dual threat guy, wearing No. 7. Ahhhhh, it just seems right.
The full list of numbers for incoming freshmen:
3 -- Keith Watkins, CB
7 -- Matt Alviti, QB
21 -- Kyle Quiero, S
27 -- Matthew Harris, CB
28 -- Godwin Igwebuike, DB
29 -- Xavier Menifield, RB
31 -- Marcus McShephard, CB
32 -- Hunter Niswander, K/P
34 -- Warren Long, RB
56 -- Brett Walsh, LB
60 -- Zack Gurtiz, OL
64 -- Blake King, OL
67 -- Tyler Lancaster, DT
69 -- Brad North, OL
74 -- Graham Bullimore, OL
79 -- Sam Coverdale, OL
81 -- Tom Fuessel, WR
88 -- Jayme Taylor, SB
95 -- Eric Joraskie, DL
You might be thinking: why did I just sit through that? Well, it turns out there's actual news here: Godwin Igwebuike, ranked by Scout as a 4-star safety and others by a three-star running back or safety, is listed as a DB. He had been listed as a running back when Northwestern released info on signing day.
More importantly: HOLY CRAP, THERE'S NINE MORE PLAYERS I HAVE TO PROFILE WHO I HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO YET. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. MY ONLY SOLACE WAS THAT I PRESUMED MOST OF THE INCOMING FRESHMEN WOULD HAVE NUMBERS ABOVE 50 SO I WOULDN'T HAVE TO PROFILE THEM. AND NOW THIS. JESUS.
Maize N BlAGHHHHHH ROY ROUNDTREE: Watch me have Nam flashbacks over at Maize N Brew. They also did a very solid roundup of Northwestern's recruiting.
Law and OHHHH YEAH: Remember Vic Law, Northwestern's new sick basketball commit? This is him playing basketball:
OHHHHHHHH KID WHY'D YOU JUMP THAT'S VIC LAW READY TO DUNK ON YOUR HEAD YEAHHHHH CHRIS COLLINS CHRIS COLLINS NORTHWESTERN BASKETBALL WOOO! He can dunk! He can dunk! A Northwestern player can really dunk!
Media daze: Representing NU at the Big Ten media days will be Kain Colter, Venric Mark, and Tyler Scott. You were surprised? Here's the full list, including Indiana's kicker, who isn't as good as Jeff Budzien.
Things to read: BHGP's Conference Realignment history rolls on, and Jon Bois on the greatest sports Youtube video of all time. You'll wet your britches.