50 Days Until Kickoff

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Well Cat fans, somehow we made it through the long hard six months between bowl season and Camp Kenosha, and we are finally on the eve of college football season.  EVR is finally awake from hibernation and ready to tackle the 2011 season.
As EVR prepares for the 2011 Wildcat Football Campaign, it will begin by reviewing some of the things that happened during the off-season -- and how they will impact the Cats' season, and NU's future.  And a blog that basically only operates for six months out of the year has a lot of catching up to do.  So sorry if this is old news, but we need to recap.

Big Ten Coaching Changes

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While a lot went on during the 2011 winter-spring campaign, clearly the most important to the present and future of Big Ten football was the news coming from the coaching ranks.  We have one beloved head coach who turned down an all-time power to stay at his Alma mater; two traditionally elite programs with new captains for 2011; two struggling programs who hope they finally found the answer; and, of course, the new kid in town.

The big news coming from Evanston was the contract extension of Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald.  But it was not as much the extension itself that made a statement about Fitz's commitment to the NU program (and the program's commitment to him).  It was Fitz did not do that was telling about his commitment.

During the first week of 2011, the University of Michigan fired embattled heah football coach Rich Rodriguez.  This ended months of speculation, speculation that assumed that his successor would be former Michigan QB, and Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh.  Harbaugh took a job with the 49ers, leaving Michigan to scramble for a head coach with only four weeks until national signing day.

Fitz, who has also been discussed as a candidate for the Notre Dame job the year before, was contacted by Michigan within hours of the Harbaugh news breaking.  At the time, Fitz was on a recruiting trip .  Not only did Fitz refuse to even meet with Michigan, but he made an unplanned trip back to Chicago to meet with AD Jim Phillips personally, and resolidfy his commitment to NU.  NU fans rejoiced; the Michigan camp continued to search; and football fans nationally were left scratching their heads.

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Now, EVR is not naive enough to think that there is no scenario where Fitz would leave NU, ever.  He is a professional with desires and goals and aspirations.  And while coaching for his alma mater may be one of those goals; who are we to say that he does not have others.  Fortunately, for Cat fans, Fitz has not felt that he has met those goals yet in Evanston, so he is staying put for the foreseeable future.  While the team has seen unprecedented consistency during his tenure, it has never contended for a Big Ten title.  While the program had played in three consecutive bowl games, that elusive victory still remains.  At the very least, until those goals are accomplished, one has to believe the Fitz is staying put.

The long term contract will go a long way towards furthering this relationship, and fulfilling every Cat fan's dream of a "lifetime contract".  It is rumored that the contract included promises of facility upgrades and raises for assistant coaches -- so it will be incumbent on the University and the AD to keep up their end of the bargain. 

In the short-term, Fitz is in a great position.  He has players that believe in him and trust him inherently.  He has another strong recruiting class (more on that in a later post) and is well on his way to 2012.  He has 17 returning starters, the most experienced team in the Big Ten.  The team has the most advantageous schedule of any team in the Leaders Division, without playing OSU or Wisconsin.  And time will tell whether this is the team that will fulfill some of Fitz's goals.

What we do know is that Fitz will become NU's all-time winningest coach, probably late 2012 or early 2013 (hopefully not that long) -- he needs 15 wins to get there.  We also know that Fitz now has the fourth longest tenure of any Big Ten coach (behind Paterno, Ferentz, and Zook) -- something that recruits who crave stability will take a liking to.

Pat Fitzgerald is the perfect coach for NU football; whether he can bring the program over that next step is the test for 2011.

Michigan : Brady Hoke

Michigan brings former San Diego State coach Brady Hoke to the Big Ten dance floor.  Hoke is known for a tough "Michigan" style football, which should appease the traditionalists in Maize and Blue.  Hoke has a 47-50 record as a head coach at Ball State and SDSU, but has a 12-1 season on his resume and is coming off a solid 9-4 season in the Mountain West.  Hoke has a reputation of being a strong recruiter -- although he was unable to show off his chops this year, given his hire date in Mid-January.  But the Hoke hire will mean nothing if he cannot shore up that pass defense.

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When NU Plays Michigan: NU will have had a much better opportunity to work out the kinks for 2011 prior to this game -- with three road games including Boston College and Illinois.  But NU also has one fewer game.  Michigan will have had a major test against Notre Dame, but Evanston will be Hoke's first road trip.  As long as Denard Robinson can stay healthy, this is sure to be a show between Robinson and Dan Persa.  And unless either defense is able to show major improvements, this should be a high scoring affair (now where have we seen that before?).

 Ohio State : Luke Fickell

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Without getting too much into the details of the Ohio State affair, Fickell clearly walks into the biggest mess of any team in college football right now.  There are too many unknowns both with the NCAA sanctions and how the team will respond to the adversity -- to really predict how this guy will do in the position.  And he has to know that the job is not his long-term.  Other than this, EVR does not know much about him -- and neither does wikipedia for that matter.

With that said, EVR does not think that the Buckeyes are going to be that bad this year.  It does not appear that there is going to be a postseason ban in place for 2011, and with the exception of the notable suspensions, the core of this team returns.  With the next two-three years looking very bleak, look for the Buckeyes to make Fickell look very good in 2011.

Indiana : Kevin Wilson

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hoosiersportscamps.com

EVR gives a special welcome back to the Big Ten to Kevin Wilson, who was one of the masterminds behind Zak Kustok's development and the nearly unstoppable 2000 Wildcat offense.  Wilson was just recently the offensive co-ordinator for Oklahoma.  Like Fickell, Wilson has no college head coaching experience -- although coached Fred T. Foard High School to an 0-10 season in 1989.  Not sure that Indiana's change in direction needed to be an offensive coach, as offense has certainly been the Hoosiers strong suit in the last decade.  But IU certainly needed a change.  Bill Lynch, in EVR's opinion, was not a good fit for the Hoosiers.  His hot-headed, often childish, demeanor is better left to the basketball coaches at IU (there's this; and this) -- and not a program looking to build an identity by "Protecting the Rock."

When NU plays Indiana: NU will in the middle of a very tough stretch and Indiana will be a must win game for the Cats.  Wilson will certainly have his boys fired up to play against his former team -- and by this point in the season, the Hoosiers will have begun to establish an identity.  Also, thanks to the schedule restructuring, this will be the second consecutive season in Bloomington.

Minnesota : Jerry Kill

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Also enjoying his first taste of BCS conference football is Jerry Kill.  Kill has spent the last three years at NIU, where he compiled a 23-16 record, including an impressive 10-3 campaign in 2010.  Prior to that, Kill had spent seven years at Southern Illinois, where his team made the playoffs in five consecutive years.  This guy knows how to win, and he knows the high school coaches in Illinois.  The question is whether he can bring good talent to Minneapolis - and win there.

When NU plays Minnesota: Once again, the Cats will be playing in a must win game which will have a major impact on bowl placement -- or perhaps a spot in the title game.  By week 11, Minnesota's fate will be sealed, good or bad, but they would love to steal a win in Evanston to "make" their season.

Nebraska : Bo Pelini

Pictures are worth 1000 words.  And these just make EVR laugh...

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And for you fans of pop culture....

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Go Cats!