[NU Sports] Sad

[Beamsley, Jeff]

Nothing wrong with the venue.  Whether another game is played there or not, it more than accomplished its goal of associating Northwestern football with Chicago.  It WAS a bowl game atmosphere with a "once-in-lifetime" feel about it.  The east end zone folks saw a touchdown.  The roof top folks drank a lot of beer.  Everyone who attended left with a story to tell their friends.
 
Also the venue had nothing to do with the outcome.  Illinois would have pounded the team that we put on the field wherever the game was played.  They were playing for bowl eligibility, pride, and Zook's job.  
 
That said, they were also clearly beatable.  If we were able to start Persa rather than Watkins, we would have avoided the turn-overs, righted the ship, and likely had the lead at the end of the half.  We would have shredded their secondary in the second half and given our D a little more time to recover on the sidelines.  They still would have put up big numbers on the ground, but nothing like what we saw yesterday because our offense would have kept their offense on the sidelines longer.
 
But you have to play the hand that you are dealt.  This experience WILL make Watkiins a better player.  It will also deliver HUGE benefits next season in increased ticket sales from Chicago area folks who have developed an affection for Northwestern football as a result of this game.  We certainly don't want to emulate the lovable loser strategy that has kept the Cubs in business for years, but our kids did do their best to make a game of it against steep odds.  Clearly NU was the underdog even though we had the better record.  If Persa returns healthy next year, there will be a lot more buzz in Chicago about NU as a result of this game.
 
At the end of the day, even though the football team lost, the Phillips-Fitzgerald team hit a home run.  Between them, they have the abiliity to transform NU football into the media powerhouse that we have all hoped it could become - Chicago's Big Ten Team.
 
Jeff


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From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com on behalf of Dennis W. Brandt
Sent: Sat 11/20/2010 10:34 PM
To: nwu-sports at tssi.com
Subject: [NU Sports] Sad



A pathetic example of defensive football played in the wrong stadium.  May Wrigley Field never see another football game.  I hope those sitting in the left field stands and on the rooftops brought their binoculars to see the game.

Evan Watkins didn't look good, but that is hardly surprising.  He has the size and obviously has the arm.  All he needs is the experience to know when and where to throw the ball.  It took him a long time to locate Ebert and Dunsmore, but he seems to have a fine relationship with Tony Jones, who looks like he may turn out to be a good receiver during the next three years.  Next week Evan will be better but not good enough to prevent a thumping by the Badgers.
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