It’s a longshot, but the ‘Cats still have a smidgen of hope heading into the end of football season.
31-7 is very rarely a scoreline that a losing team should be content with on the gridiron. But in the type of David vs. Goliath matchup we witnessed on Saturday, it might be the best result Northwestern could’ve asked for.
Most of us knew the ‘Cats never had a genuine chance of pulling off the upset, even when they led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter. A friend visiting for the weekend from out of town who I went to the game with asked me if an NU victory was actually possible, and my response was very clear.
“No, just wait. They’re the Ohio State Buckeyes; they’ll figure things out.”
You can clearly tell that my friend knows very little about college football, and nothing about how ridiculously talented Ryan Day’s team is. They started slow, but it didn’t take long for the Buckeyes to start pouring it on with 21 unanswered points in the second quarter. It didn’t get any better from there for the ‘Cats, but the 31-7 scoreline could’ve been much worse given the team Northwestern was up against.
The most surprising part of the day for me were the OSU fans themselves. My section — similar to almost every single one except the student section — was blanketed in a sea of red, but the people were surprisingly quite friendly. They collectively took pity on me as one of the few Northwestern fans in the section, asking me about my Northwestern experience and what it’s like “being a student at a prestigious academic institution,” seemingly believing Ohio State didn’t qualify as one (I won’t provide an opinion on this, but I find the self-depreciation quite funny). You might be confused why I mention this anecdote, but it will make sense a bit later.
OSU fans definitely get a bad rap for being generally obnoxious and brash, but as a New Yorker, I could definitely feel the “Midwest Nice” energy these fans brought to the game. And as a fan on the losing end of things, I appreciated being able to enjoy the company of the opposing fans rather than being taunted by them for supporting a team that clearly is nowhere near the level of theirs. Hopefully, the Michigan fans provide the same warmth when I visit Ann Arbor this weekend, though I have my doubts.
As for Wrigley, there’s no describing how incredible the experience is. This was my second time attending a football game at The Friendly Confines, the first of which was the Iowa game last year. I actually wrote the “Where are we Wednesday” for that game as well, remarking on how I wasn’t mad at the last-second loss, but rather disappointed in the result given how the expectations of the season had changed up to that point.
This time, I feel those two emotions are in polar opposite positions as compared to how I felt last November. I’m mad about the trajectory of the season, given the lackluster performances we’ve seen from the ‘Cats far too many times. This is certainly a tougher schedule and a worse team as compared to 2023, but I still find myself believing that this team could play much better than it has. However, as for this game specifcally, I’m not disappointed at all, given the effort NU showed against extremely tough competition that it was never expected to compete with in the first place.
Getting to a bowl game will be a real challenge, especially considering who the ‘Cats will face in their final two games of the season. Northwestern has what it takes to beat Michigan, but it won’t be easy on the road. The Big House is an unforgiving environment that will really challenge this team, and I don’t know how much NU’s defensive advantage over an awful Michigan air attack can save them. It’s also a huge game for the Wolverines, who similarly need a win to clinch bowl eligibility, given it likely won’t come against their big-time rivals in Ohio State the following week.
Illinois is a better team than many expected, and may very well reclaim the Hat from NU. It also doesn’t help that this game is at Wrigley, which will put the ‘Cats at a massive fan disadvantage once again. This time, it will potentially be even more severe with many students gone for Thanksgiving, along with UIUC’s proximity and the fact that many of their fans live in and around Chicago.
Putting it lightly, qualifying for a bowl game is certainly a long shot. It will take wins against both Michigan and Illinois to guarantee qualification, and NU is a clear underdog in both of these contests.
Even if the ‘Cats don’t get to six wins but can pull out one of these games, they’ll have a chance to reach a bowl game through the academic ranking. If the friendly OSU fans at Wrigley are to be believed about Northwestern being a “prestigious academic institution,” being highly ranked in that department might just be what gets NU back to bowl season for a second year in a row if enough teams fail to meet the six win mark for automatic qualification.
As the title of this article suggests, Northwestern football is hanging on by a thread at this moment, with their season on the verge of ending prematurely if it can’t pull off a victory. Yet, funnily enough, it will be a while until we truly determine how long or sustainable that thread is, with doubts surrounding how many wins are good enough for this team to have a chance at playing football in December.
So, as I prepare to hop on a short flight across Lake Michigan two days from now, Northwestern’s season hangs in the balance. What happens on Saturday will determine whether that thread continues to hold, or whether it snaps and leaves behind only the smallest lifeline heading into Thanksgiving week. The vast majority of the 107,000 people that pack The Big House will certainly hope it collapses, but if there’s anything to know about the Northwestern Wildcats, they shouldn’t be counted out.
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