[NU Sports] Not a bad game to end the day either ...

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

... though again, the Big Ten team lost.

Nice comeback by Minny, but a gutsy call to go for the
win by Bowling Green and a pretty nifty throw to get
it.

Not too sure what to make about opening weekend except
to say that the conference title race could be a wild
mess and that I can see all of the teams in the league
making a bowl push, as MSU and Indiana looked
impressive today.

Also, it looks like it will be a big year for offenses
in the Big Ten. Not just because teams like NU, Purdue
and Michigan have so many weapons ... but also it was
tough to find a defense that looked rock solid in week
1. Michigan was abysmal, Wisky looked vulnerable and
the best defensive performance - PSU - got a lot of
help from the butterfingers at FIU.

Next week should tell us a little bit more about the
Cats' chances as the level of opponent takes a step
up. As for attendance, tough to say ... probably the
usual suspects (small alumni base, spread out alumni
base, school not in session, not much excitement over
opponent from walk-up fans) -- though the weather
looked nice.

I don't think there's too much we can do though - this
will be with us forever. NU has been one of (if not
the) more exciting teams to watch in the last decade
or so and gameday weather has been pretty darn nice
most weekends. And yeah, the non-conference opponents
aren't big names, but there's really no incentive to
get tougher and get behind the 8 ball in the bowl
hunt.

The only thing I can really offer is to perhaps resize
the stadium a bit ala Stanford. I've always thought
those northeast bleachers could be torn down - they
don't fit with the "U" design of the stadium, stick
out like sore thumbs and are usually empty. Tear them
down, move the scoreboard closer to the field and
close the circle with the new locker rooms. That
doesn't fix everything, but it does knock the capacity
down a little and get rid of an eyesore that usually
pops up on video highlights (they seem to be in the
background more than the end zone end of the U). So it
at least looks more full. And then just give away huge
blocks of seats in the end zones to local
organizations, youth football teams, high schools,
etc. - we'll eat the cost, but it will look better on
TV and improve community relations to hopefully build
future fans?

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

* * * * * * * * *
STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!!


       
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