Bear Down

            A saying made popular by the Arizona Wildcats, is more apt for the Northwestern Wildcats instead. Specifically, their coach Pat Fitzgerald. One of the more popular coaches in college football, Fitzgerald is also in my opinion, one of the best. All it took for me was watching one of their games to fall in love with not only Fitzgerald, but with the Northwestern football program.

The game was the 2008 Alamo Bowl against Missouri. The Missouri team had a high-powered offense, led by current NFL players Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin. Nobody, myself included, gave the Wildcats any chance at all in the game. Imagine our surprise when Missouri looked like the underdog team most of the game and needed a field goal to escape in overtime 23-20. What impressed me most was the confidence of the Wildcats, starting with Fitzgerald. From watching his demeanor on the sideline throughout, you could tell he expected to win this game, and that confidence oozed into the players as well. 

We also need to remember what Fitzgerald inherited when he took over before the 2006 season. He inherited a program with not a whole lot of past success, and the team was grieving following the unexpected death of head coach Randy Walker. In my opinion, he literally rebuilt the program. Before Fitzgerald, the program only had six bowl games to its credit. Under Fitzgerald, he has taken them to bowl games in each of the last four years.

        Something else intriguing about this team is their lack of size and superstar talent. The Wildcats don’t ever have your prototypical 6’3 QB who is a pocket passer. For example, their QB this year, Kain Colter, was actually their leading rusher last year and was used mostly as a receiver and running back last year. Fitzgerald always brings in undersized, gritty teams that work unbelievably hard. You can see that just from their game this past weekend. They came out very strong, but squandered a three touchdown lead on the road late in the fourth quarter. Needing a rally, they turned to backup, that’s right backup, QB Trevor Siemian, who drove them 75 yards in 10 plays, capped by a beautiful throw into the end zone to seal the victory. There is absolutely no quit in these Cats. 

Now granted, their lack of defensive size and at times horrific defense usually catches up with them in the mammoth Big 10. It is also probably an unrealistic expectation for Northwestern to win 10 games consistently, but once in a while it might be possible for them to take us on a magical ride. It all starts with their coach, who is very easy to root for. Without him, Northwestern would not be the program it is today.