Game thread for Duke vs. Northwestern

NUera

Redshirt
May 29, 2001
6,365
12
25
Hull carried this team. I put this loss on the coaches for being so stubborn about their perfect game plan for the whole first quarter.
 

corbi2961

Senior
Sep 9, 2005
30,524
785
0
Good news is despite all the problems the players and coaches never quit, unlike many of the usual cynical losers who post their BS on the game thread every week.

We’ll get them next week.
 

Fanaticat98

Sophomore
May 29, 2001
8,524
174
63
Aaaaaaargh so close. Of all people though, can’t fault Hull. He could have wrapped with both hands better but had to be tired after what he accomplished today. we would have still had to convert a 2 pt and then win in OT. Although I think if Hull breaks in for that TD we would have definitely gone on to win that game.
 

samuirocks

Redshirt
Jul 3, 2012
145
0
15
I love the fight in this team. Bad bounces today. That tipped pass for duke that went 50 yards was a momentum swing. The sky is not falling. Need to fix the slow starts.
 

freewillie07

Redshirt
Aug 22, 2017
5,162
4
23
I love the fight in this team. Bad bounces today. That tipped pass for duke that went 50 yards was a momentum swing. The sky is not falling. Need to fix the slow starts.
I agree, but we have been talking about fixing the slow starts for years and nothing has really changed.
 

DaCat

All-Conference
May 29, 2001
24,908
1,259
113
This one hurts because it would've been an epic comeback. A lot of our team flaws were exposed today, but that's a discussion for later. Hull had a massive game, Hilinski made a lot of mistakes but almost pulled it out... but a lot of the blame rests on the coaches, not having the team ready at the start of the game is very disappointing.
 

zeek55

Sophomore
Nov 21, 2010
3,583
132
0
We were down 21-0 in the first quarter; made a game of it and the defense played pretty well the rest of the way.

We had two chances late to take the lead or tie it; hard to really feel bad about the game given how it began. Just started way too slow before things settled in and started working for us.

Feel a lot better after this game than the past 3 Duke losses. We'll have chances going forwards to try to win some games I think.
 

NUera

Redshirt
May 29, 2001
6,365
12
25
We had two chances late to take the lead or tie it; hard to really feel bad about the game. Just started way too slow before things settled in and started working for us.
This I disagree with. That the players and coaches rallied after the 2nd and made a game of it just shows how terrible the game plan was and how slow we were to adjust from it. That’s frustrating af. This could have and should have been a win — which is to say, it’s just another NU OOC schedule in a year that starts with a 2.
 

Bwm57

All-Conference
Sep 12, 2011
3,690
1,058
103
because real fans who don’t quit in a message board thread are winners and totally impact the outcome of a game 😂
Enjoy your despair. We can only hope tomorrow will be worse.
 

zeek55

Sophomore
Nov 21, 2010
3,583
132
0
This I disagree with. That the players and coaches rallied after the 2nd and made a game of it just shows how terrible the game plan was and how slow we were to adjust from it. That’s frustrating af. This could have and should have been a win — which is to say, it’s just another NU OOC schedule in a year that starts with a 2.
It should have been a win, but I think many of us felt that way before the other Duke games.

Just how these games go at times. I really hope we find a way to not start this slow against Duke again. 4 times is already way too many times for this same show.
 

CrippleCat

Redshirt
Mar 8, 2019
3,144
0
0
Good news is despite all the problems the players and coaches never quit, unlike many of the usual cynical losers who post their BS on the game thread every week.

We’ll get them next week.
Very good post Corbi . I will say if NU football is ever as bad as its fan base, we won't beat anyone. They played their game in front of a fan base smaller than most high schools, and all the negative crying by most on this board. Seriously, most of you need to find another team to trash on. I wouid say Alabama, but you would grow tired of not being able to complain and trash coaches and players With all that went wrong in this game this team never gave up and believed in eachother. This is a typical Northwestern Pat Fitzgerald team. They fought to the end I personally was proud of the team on the field today. These are the type players you want on your team. Thank you to the Wildcats players and coaches for playing your hearts out and giving me an exciting game to watch up till the final minutes. #GoCats
 

stpaulcat

Senior
May 29, 2001
34,880
544
113
Very good post Corbi . I will say if NU football is ever as bad as its fan base, we won't beat anyone. They played their game in front of a fan base smaller than most high schools, and all the negative crying by most on this board. Seriously, most of you need to find another team to trash on. I wouid say Alabama, but you would grow tired of not being able to complain and trash coaches and players With all that went wrong in this game this team never gave up and believed in eachother. This is a typical Northwestern Pat Fitzgerald team. They fought to the end I personally was proud of the team on the field today. These are the type players you want on your team. Thank you to the Wildcats players and coaches for playing your hearts out and giving me an exciting game to watch up till the final minutes. #GoCats
us.
 

kaTNap

Sophomore
Nov 6, 2005
2,542
116
63
If you think fans of other teams aren't cynical and PO'ed during and after a loss, I have news for you.
 

samuirocks

Redshirt
Jul 3, 2012
145
0
15
This I disagree with. That the players and coaches rallied after the 2nd and made a game of it just shows how terrible the game plan was and how slow we were to adjust from it. That’s frustrating af. This could have and should have been a win — which is to say, it’s just another NU OOC schedule in a year that starts with a 2.
Dude - I hate pessimists. I’m sure you are perfect. We won 3 quarters of play. All is not lost.
 

NUera

Redshirt
May 29, 2001
6,365
12
25
Enjoy your despair. We can only hope tomorrow will be worse.
Now you’re speaking my language. What you’ve just described is the reason I’ve found success as a writer - and how I’ve stayed an NU fan for so many decades.
 

NUera

Redshirt
May 29, 2001
6,365
12
25
Just how these games go at times. I really hope we find a way to not start this slow against Duke again. 4 times is already way too many times for this same show.
That’s the part I take issue with. It’s not “how these games do” for better teams. But it keeps happening to us year-in and year-out. I’m not gonna get silly and call for Fitz to be fired bc he’s our guy and I’m good with that - but saying “it’s Fitz, we’re gonna have slow starts all season and blow an OOC game every year in frustrating fashion” doesn’t make it palatable.
 

Rodenthater

Redshirt
Jan 1, 2013
757
25
18
Here's what Fitz should say on Monday, "we're going to work really hard to get off to a slow start against SIU. These fast starts are wearing us out, so I'm gonna coach my *** off to get these guys to be really slow at the start so that when its the 4th quarter we're gonna be flying!"
 

NUera

Redshirt
May 29, 2001
6,365
12
25
Dude - I hate pessimists. I’m sure you are perfect. We won 3 quarters of play. All is not lost.
Lol Ya’ll need to calm down and stop getting so triggered by these opinions and calling people pessimists and losers and all of that nonsense - you’re starting to sound like Gen Z Twitter warriors. First, it’s a game - and literally none of us are playing it or impacting the outcome. Second, I never said all is lost, so again, take a breath and stop trying to invalidate my opinion by exaggerating my position.

What I did say was that this game was lost in the first quarter through stubborn insistence on sticking with a game plan that wasn’t working. And I haven’t read anything from you or anyone else to convince me otherwise. But hey - I’m open to it. So stop exaggerating and make a meaningful contribution to the discussion of what happened on the field.