‘Cats ride disrespect to Big Ten title game
Northwestern proved the skeptics wrong all season — and now must do it again against OSU
Northwestern beat rival Illinois 28-10 on Saturday at Ryan Field in a game that had no real meaning for the Wildcats other than the annual Land of Lincoln Trophy awarded to the winner.
So naturally the focus afterward was on what’s next: the Big Ten championship game against No. 4 Ohio State.
Unarguably the top team in the Big Ten and one of the best in the nation, Ohio State only is a participant in the title game because the conference changed its rules Wednesday to accommodate the Buckeyes, allowing a team with five games to qualify instead of the mandatory six.
Otherwise, the cancellation of Saturday’s Michigan-OSU game because of COVID-19 concerns would’ve left the Wildcats with a much less daunting task, namely beating Indiana.
“To Ohio State’s credit, they’re undefeated, they’ve beaten everybody they’ve been asked to play,” Pat Fitzgerald said after Saturday’s win. “Regardless of what would have happened today in the Michigan game, like we earned (a spot), they would’ve earned the privilege out of the East to play in the Big Ten championship game. I fully support the decision.”
Northwestern likely will go into the championship game as a three-touchdown underdog while trying to avoid a repeat of the 2018 title game that resulted in a 45-24 Buckeyes rout. Ohio State needs to prove its worthy a College Football Playoff berth, so a blowout is in its best interest.
Fitzgerald said he would have ranked Ohio State No. 2 if he had a vote and lauded every phase of the Buckeyes’ game, including the punting.
“I’m sure we’re going to be underdogs by like 70,” he said. “So I don’t know. We’ll try to put together a good week and get ourselves prepared, represent the Big Ten West now, again. Any questions for me about my team?” No thanks. We’re good.
Playing the “respect” card has
been Fitzgerald’s mantra all season, whether it’s alleged disrespect by the media, opposing players or ESPN analyst Joey Galloway. One year after a 3-9 season, his team went 6-1 in their abbreviated schedule to win the West Division, setting up the showdown in Indianapolis almost no one believes the Wildcats can win.
But Northwestern has proved everyone wrong in 2020, so dealing with naysayers is something the Wildcats have grown accus
tomed to. Once again Fitzgerald and his players were upset by a remark that turned into bulletinboard material, this time from Illini linebacker Milo Eifler, who called Northwestern an “awful school,” said the color purple is “disgusting” and added it was good to play a team in state so “we can beat up on our little brothers.”
At least he didn’t say anything bad about the ribs at Hecky’s Barbecue.
“I made sure that (remark) was conveyed to the guys, very crystal clear, the level of disrespect,” Fitzgerald said. “That is what it is. The (Land of Lincoln) hat stays in Evanston.”
It probably should be noted that the Illini were 2-4 coming in and hadn’t had a winning season since 2011.
“We take it personal,” Northwestern linebacker Paddy Fisher said. “We look at it as a sign of disrespect. We’re not going to let anyone disrespect us. We basically said if they want to call us the little brothers, we’ll go out there and show them.”
While the Wildcats were “showing” the Illini, Ohio State scheduled a light practice Saturday and reportedly planned to watch the Northwestern-Illinois game at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. If the Wildcats had hoped to get the Buckeyes overconfident before the game in Indy, they likely succeeded during an uninspiring first half.
A Northwestern team that harbored dreams of an unbeaten regular season only two weeks ago — until blowing the game at Michigan State that Fitzgerald referred to as a “stubbed toe” — got off to another inauspicious start against the beleaguered