Fitzgerald, Northwestern eye Big Ten title upset

EVANSTON, ILL. >> Safety Jared McGee recalled how little he knew about Northwestern early in the recruiting process and the impression coach Pat Fitzgerald made during a campus visit.

It’s safe to say the coach played a major role in luring McGee to Evanston.

“I was like yeah, Northwestern, what conference is that in?” said McGee, a senior from the Dallas area. “And then I showed up to Fitz’s house on my official visit and it was like he had been watching me since I was playing Pee Wee. That definitely held true in my time here. I couldn’t have asked for a better coach in my college career.”

The program’s winningest coach by a wide margin, Fitzgerald has No. 21 Northwestern playing in the Big Ten championship game for the first time. The Wildcats (8-4, 8-1 Big Ten) face No. 6 Ohio State (111, 8-1) ) in Indianapolis on Saturday. If they pull off the upset, they will clinch their first Rose Bowl appearance since their coach was a star linebacker on the 1995 team.

Back then, the Wildcats captured the nation’s imagination with a stunning turnaround after 23 losing seasons. This time, they simply found their footing after stumbling in the early going and won the Big Ten West.

With quarterback Clayton Thorson still limited after surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, Northwestern dropped three in a row following a seasonopening win at Purdue. Top running back Jeremy Larkin had to retire because of a spinal issue following the third game. Northwestern went 0-3 in nonconference play, with a loss to Akron at home. Despite all that, look at the Wildcats now.

They are rolling, with seven wins in their past eight games. And Cameron Green insisted Fitzgerald is a big reason why.

“He pushes us to be the best that we can, whether it’s working out, it’s conditioning, practicing,” said Green, who plays the hybrid “superback” position. “He always knows we can be one step better, and he believes in us, which is very key to everything. Never really puts doubt on us or puts us down in any circumstance or situation, and he picks us up more than anything to give us more confidence. I think that, honestly, is one of the best things you can have as a person.”

The lone loss in the past eight games was by 10 to No. 3 Notre Dame, a likely playoff team. They have also won nine straight away from home and own a 15-1 record in their past 16 Big Ten games.

Fitzgerald earned some recognition this week when the conference’s coaches and media selected him Big Ten Coach of the Year. But the Wildcats have a chance to grab a bigger prize.

“The brotherhood of this team is the hallmark of what’s been the glue that’s kept us together through the adversity,” Fitzgerald said.