First games are the worst (unless they’re not)

eastbaycat99 · Sep 2, 2026

Over the years, first games are often outliers. In some, the Cats look good and it turns out the opponent was bad and sometimes the team just can’t shake the rust and then turns out pretty good.
In the last 5 years, NU is 2-3 in first games. Both wins were followed by bad seasons. Two of the losses were followed by pretty good seasons. The reality is that jumping off a cliff if the first game is a disaster, or getting too pumped if the first game is impressive is a good way to make yourself crazy.

For me, the best openers were (of course) Notre Dame in ‘95, Stanford in ‘15 and NIU in 2000. Honorable mention were Oklahoma in’97 and Cal in ‘13 (Both of which made me hopeful ahead of disappointing years).

Worst were Air Force in ‘02, MSU in ‘21, Wake Forest in’96, with honorable mention to Rutgers in ‘23, WMU in ‘16 and Tulane last year.

i hope they come out and play well Saturday with a win. I would not be shocked if there are plays that would make me want to kick the dog, and so my wife has promised to keep him away from me during the game.

Go Cats!

hdhntr1 · Sep 2, 2026

eastbaycat99 said:
Over the years, first games are often outliers. In some, the Cats look good and it turns out the opponent was bad and sometimes the team just can’t shake the rust and then turns out pretty good.
In the last 5 years, NU is 2-3 in first games. Both wins were followed by bad seasons. Two of the losses were followed by pretty good seasons. The reality is that jumping off a cliff if the first game is a disaster, or getting too pumped if the first game is impressive is a good way to make yourself crazy.

For me, the best openers were (of course) Notre Dame in ‘95, Stanford in ‘15 and NIU in 2000. Honorable mention were Oklahoma in’97 and Cal in ‘13 (Both of which made me hopeful ahead of disappointing years).

Worst were Air Force in ‘02, MSU in ‘21, Wake Forest in’96, with honorable mention to Rutgers in ‘23, WMU in ‘16 and Tulane last year.

i hope they come out and play well Saturday with a win. I would not be shocked if there are plays that would make me want to kick the dog, and so my wife has promised to keep him away from me during the game.

Go Cats!

First games can be dangerous particularly if facing more formidable opponents that you do not get any credit for beating but get beaten up if you lose to them, It is one thing if it is a high end game but something else if the perception is that you should easily win but don't

Zazzy · Sep 2, 2026

Is 13 point favs the same as an ”easy” win? I don’t think so seeing d ST press for other games

Zazzy · Sep 2, 2026

Spreads!!

hdhntr1 · Sep 2, 2026

Zazzy said:
Is 13 point favs the same as an ”easy” win? I don’t think so seeing d ST press for other games

In the end, people will remember that it is an FCS opponent and not that it is the best of FCS. And it is still a double digit spread (basically two TD) favorites. That is pretty big for NU

phatcat_rivals223240 · Sep 3, 2026

eastbaycat99 said:
Over the years, first games are often outliers. In some, the Cats look good and it turns out the opponent was bad and sometimes the team just can’t shake the rust and then turns out pretty good.
In the last 5 years, NU is 2-3 in first games. Both wins were followed by bad seasons. Two of the losses were followed by pretty good seasons. The reality is that jumping off a cliff if the first game is a disaster, or getting too pumped if the first game is impressive is a good way to make yourself crazy.

For me, the best openers were (of course) Notre Dame in ‘95, Stanford in ‘15 and NIU in 2000. Honorable mention were Oklahoma in’97 and Cal in ‘13 (Both of which made me hopeful ahead of disappointing years).

Worst were Air Force in ‘02, MSU in ‘21, Wake Forest in’96, with honorable mention to Rutgers in ‘23, WMU in ‘16 and Tulane last year.

i hope they come out and play well Saturday with a win. I would not be shocked if there are plays that would make me want to kick the dog, and so my wife has promised to keep him away from me during the game.

Go Cats!

The problem is, losing game one this year is a bit of a disaster. Takes away any margin for error, because of schedule difficulty (3 away games v top 5 opponents).

It's a tough game, but the Cats should win. NO TURNOVERS!

EagerFan · Sep 3, 2026

hdhntr1 said:
In the end, people will remember that it is an FCS opponent and not that it is the best of FCS.

This is where I'm at. Regardless the outcome, after a few month all folks will remember is NU played an FCS team.

hdhntr1 · Sep 3, 2026

EagerFan said:
This is where I'm at. Regardless the outcome, after a few month all folks will remember is NU played an FCS team.

And if we win, nothing more will be thought of it but if we don't that will be remembered and stuck in our face for years like Ill State, New Hampshire, etc

hdhntr1 · Sep 3, 2026

phatcat_rivals223240 said:
The problem is, losing game one this year is a bit of a disaster. Takes away any margin for error, because of schedule difficulty (3 away games v top 5 opponents).

It's a tough game, but the Cats should win. NO TURNOVERS!

Feel the RBs are solid at holding on to the ball. Have no idea of what to expect in that area regarding Chiles. He has had issues in the past so hopefully that has been drilled out of him by Kelly and company

Deeringfish · Sep 3, 2026

I can't decide if I want Chiles to come out firing or let the RBs grind out the first series. I think the Bunnies will be ready to stuff the run which could make for a slow start.

prez77 · Sep 3, 2026

Deeringfish said:
I can't decide if I want Chiles to come out firing or let the RBs grind out the first series. I think the Bunnies will be ready to stuff the run which could make for a slow start.

If an FCS team can stop our Chip Kelly running game, it's gonna be a really long season.

Purple Pile Driver · Sep 3, 2026

prez77 said:
If an FCS team can stop our Chip Kelly running game, it's gonna be a really long season.

Exactly. I am jumping off the cliff if we lose this game. No way we go bowling with a loss here. We would deserve the *** beating we would get by the media and opposing fans if we lay an egg.

Having said that, I believe we coast to a victory. Believe fellow fans, it’s easy to say we should win but would not be shocked with a loss! Take a stand folks.

NU'06er · Sep 3, 2026

Purple Pile Driver said:
Exactly. I am jumping off the cliff if we lose this game. No way we go bowling with a loss here. We would deserve the *** beating we would get by the media and opposing fans if we lay an egg.

Having said that, I believe we coast to a victory. Believe fellow fans, it’s easy to say we should win but would not be shocked with a loss! Take a stand folks.

The median prediction for NU on the season wins poll thread is 7, despite the 5.5 o/u in Vegas. I don't think there's a lack of belief on these boards, just hope that belief is fulfilled...!

TheC · Sep 3, 2026

Purple Pile Driver said:
Exactly. I am jumping off the cliff if we lose this game. No way we go bowling with a loss here. We would deserve the *** beating we would get by the media and opposing fans if we lay an egg.

Having said that, I believe we coast to a victory. Believe fellow fans, it’s easy to say we should win but would not be shocked with a loss! Take a stand folks.

It would be terribly disappointing if we lose this game, but I have been an NU fan for far too long to assume the season will be a complete failure even if we lose on Saturday. We have lost bad games, but still end up in bowl games many times in the past. Although a loss on Saturday may dampen our National Championship expectations.

TheC · Sep 3, 2026

NU'06er said:
The median prediction for NU on the season wins poll thread is 7, despite the 5.5 o/u in Vegas. I don't think there's a lack of belief on these boards, just hope that belief is fulfilled...!

I think we just don't know what to expect. We lost some talent on defense and that OLine and have a question mark at quarterback. On the other hand, NU always seems to generate good defenses (the Jim O'Neil years excluded), we have an exciting new OC, and the QB has the potential to be solid, if not spectacular.

ringthebells · Sep 3, 2026

Our, SDSU, biggest weakness last season was the secondary. The coaches brought in a ton of guys to compete for those spots. If Chip Kelly is the genius everyone says he is, he will test the secondary early and often. Griffin Wilde, oof dah. That guy is a beast.

I hope Chip insists on exerting power and trying to run the ball. The Jacks are tough as hell up front. 10-12 deep on the line and 5 really good LBs. I am really excited to see how they hold up against an FBS offense.

JustGary · Sep 3, 2026

ringthebells said:
Our, SDSU, biggest weakness last season was the secondary. The coaches brought in a ton of guys to compete for those spots. If Chip Kelly is the genius everyone says he is, he will test the secondary early and often. Griffin Wilde, oof dah. That guy is a beast.

I hope Chip insists on exerting power and trying to run the ball. The Jacks are tough as hell up front. 10-12 deep on the line and 5 really good LBs. I am really excited to see how they hold up against an FBS offense.

I think Kelly will try to establish the run. I heard something about a modified wing-T, which means a lot of movement and misdirection with sweeps and options. An experience coach like Kelly would look more for a balanced attack until he sees what is working. If we can’t dominate their defensive line, we stand no chance against the Big Ten foes.

Purple Pile Driver · Sep 3, 2026

It’s gonning to be a Wild Child type of game,

hdhntr1 · Sep 3, 2026

ringthebells said:
Our, SDSU, biggest weakness last season was the secondary. The coaches brought in a ton of guys to compete for those spots. If Chip Kelly is the genius everyone says he is, he will test the secondary early and often. Griffin Wilde, oof dah. That guy is a beast.

I hope Chip insists on exerting power and trying to run the ball. The Jacks are tough as hell up front. 10-12 deep on the line and 5 really good LBs. I am really excited to see how they hold up against an FBS offense.

If it was last years OL, we would be pushing them around. Do not know what to think about this years edition

Catmandoo78 · Sep 3, 2026

Guys, this is an FCS team. No Big Ten team will ever lose to an FCS opponent again, now that we can pay players.

Per CBS Sports, NU is one of just three B1G teams to not have a $20M+ roster. That being said, our roster is paid 20x what SDSU is paying their roster.

FCS teams are bleeding talent to FBS programs that can pay way more. The talent gap between FCS and Big Ten has never been bigger. We will crush them, and learn absolutely nothing about our team in the process.

Fanaticat98 · Sep 3, 2026

I’m in the camp that this opener is more important than usual since it will be so hard to get to 6 wins without it since we have Indiana, PSU, OSU and Oregon. If we lose to SDSU and its likely we lose all those tough ones we’d have to go 6-1 in our other games.

Braun knows that, and he also knows he doesn’t want to lose to SDSU as an NDSU guy who is now coaching with so much more resources at NU.

Moreover with said resources, Braun knows we just can’t accept having these complete dud games to start the season like Tulane and Rutgers where we were bad, boring and conservative.

Deeringfish · Sep 4, 2026

hdhntr1 said:
If it was last years OL, we would be pushing them around. Do not know what to think about this years edition

I feel like we were a little suspicious of last years OL before the season opener too.

First games are the worst (unless they’re not)

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