[NU Sports] Fun with numbers ...

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

Well, it was a November to Remember with those victories over Iowa, Ill-noise and Wisconsin to cap an 8-4 season (too bad the voters apparently made their all-league picks in October), but with weeks to go before the bowl game, my mind got to speculating on what we can be thankful for as NU fans.

The decade of the 2000s is now in the books and it has to rank up there as one of the more successful in Wildcat history:

* 7 seasons with six or more wins
* 5 seasons with upper division finishes and winning marks in league play
* 5 bowl appearances
* 1 Big Ten championship
* At least one win against every Big Ten foe

Even more interesting, though, may be a breakdown by team using various timespans ...

Against our "real rivals," NU is doing wonderfully well:

NU vs. ILLINOIS
- Fitzgerald Era: 3-1
- Last five years: 4-1
- In the 2000s: 7-3
- Last 10 overall: 7-3
- Since 1995: 10-5

NU vs. WISCONSIN
- Fitzgerald Era: 1-1
- Last five years: 2-1
- In the 2000s: 4-2
- Last 10 overall: 5-5
- Since 1995: 6-5

NU vs. IOWA
- Fitzgerald Era: 3-1
- Last five years: 4-1
- In the 2000s: 4-4
- Last 10 overall: 5-5
- Since 1995: 8-5

The results are not as good against our designated rival ...

NU vs. PURDUE
- Fitzgerald Era: 2-2
- Last five years: 3-2
- In the 2000s: 4-6
- Last 10 overall: 4-6
- Since 1995: 6-9

And we also hold our own or better against the only three league schools to not make a B(C)S or Bowl Alliance bowl ...

NU vs. MINNESOTA
- Fitzgerald Era: 2-1
- Last five years: 2-1
- In the 2000s: 4-4
- Last 10 overall: 5-5
- Since 1995: 6-5

NU vs. INDIANA
- Fitzgerald Era: 2-1
- Last five years: 2-1
- In the 2000s: 6-2
- Last 10 overall: 7-3
- Since 1995: 8-3

NU vs. MICHIGAN STATE
- Fitzgerald Era: 1-3
- Last five years: 2-3
- In the 2000s: 4-4
- Last 10 overall: 4-6
- Since 1995: 5-6

But against the "Big Three," it's not so good ...

NU vs. MICHIGAN
- Fitzgerald Era: 1-2
- Last five years: 1-3
- In the 2000s: 2-5
- Last 10 overall: 2-8
- Since 1995: 4-8

NU vs. PENN STATE
- Fitzgerald Era: 0-2
- Last five years: 0-3
- In the 2000s: 2-5
- Last 10 overall: 2-8
- Since 1995: 3-8

NU vs. OHIO STATE
- Fitzgerald Era: 0-3
- Last five years: 0-4
- In the 2000s: 1-7
- Last 10 overall: 1-9
- Since 1995: 1-9

So this weekend, we owe Coach Walker and Coach Fitz and all the assistants and players and staff a big round of thanks for one heck of a decade! Let's cap it off with a BOWL GAME VICTORY!!!

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

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