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Northwestern heads to Notre Dame this week to take on the Fighting Irish in what was supposed to be a magical encore to the 1995 game that I've been told was the first time the Wildcats ever played football. But of course, things didn't turn out that way. NU has struggled to a 3-6 record and needs to win this game (and the next two) in order to keep from missing out on a bowl game for the second straight year.
While the Wildcats have shown improvement on defense, the offense has continued to struggle. Quarterback Trevor Siemian has been injured and has struggled to find his groove, while the offensive line has been inexplicably bad and the receivers have been inconsistent. The offense will need to put together its best game of the season in order to take down Notre Dame.
The Irish are no longer in College Football Playoff contention after losses to Florida State and Arizona State, but they're still a solid team. Their biggest flaw recently has been turnovers, so if the Wildcats can bring pressure like they did against Penn State and get the ball in good field position, they might have a chance to win.
Here are all the essentials for watching today's game:
TV: 3:30 PM ET, NBC
Radio: 87.7 FM The Game, 720 AM WGN and 89.3 AM WNUR in Chicagoland
Online stream: NBC Sports Live Extra
Odds: Notre Dame is an 18-point favorite.
Weather: Mostly cloudy with a high of 31 and a low of 25.
Here's what you should be reading:
- The history of Northwestern vs. Notre Dame
- Northwestern depth chart vs. Notre Dame
- Where should accountability really lie for Northwestern?
- Does Northwestern have a talent issue or a development issue?
- I want Northwestern to beat Notre Dame, because that would be very funny