Good morning. Welcome to another edition of the Inside NUsletter, as we get you set for the Badgers and the Wildcats tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC. Inside this issue, you’ll find our coverage from last week’s win over Purdue as well as preview content for this week’s massive showdown against Wisconsin.
The Big Ten continued its odd trajectory of a season amid this pandemic. Minnesota, Michigan and Penn State have won a combined two games, emblematic of the chaos unleashed upon the conference.
No. 9 Indiana travels to Columbus to play no. 3 Ohio State, a game which holds massive implications for the Big Ten East. The Buckeyes gained a de-facto bye last week due to a COVID-19 outbreak at Maryland. The Terps will also not play this Saturday’s game against Michigan State.
College basketball is almost back as well. In conjunction with the Big Ten’s schedule release, Northwestern announced its slate. The ‘Cats will open their season against Arkansas Pine-Bluff on December 2, followed by three more nonconference games against Chicago State, Pitt, and SIU-Edwardsville. A 20-game conference schedule begins at Michigan State on December 20.
On the women’s side, no schedule has been released yet. But we are publishing daily content previewing the season for both teams. Be sure to check that out.
A lot is happening right now in both the college sports world and the actual world. We have you covered every week, and we’d very much appreciate if you hit the subscribe button.
In case you missed it
For the third straight week, the ‘Cats relied on a solid defensive output to vanquish the previously undefeated Purdue Boilermakers 27-20.
Northwestern’s ground game was nonexistent, but a big day from its wideouts, namely Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman, enabled the offense to put enough points on the board.
Mike Hankwitz's defense subdued Purdue’s rushing attack and neutralized receiver David Bell, whom Pat Fitzgerald called as the best receiver in college football.
Peyton Ramsey was 23-of-36 for 212, three touchdowns (all to RCB) and one interception in arguably his best performance in an NUniform.
Here’s a quick list of our coverage and analysis from Saturday’s victory.
On the hardwood
The men’s basketball schedule was released Wednesday, and the ‘Cats tip off the season December 2 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. But with the way basketball programs have shut down because of positive tests, we’ll believe this game is played when we see it. As we previously mentioned, here’s the stream of player previews for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams. These will be updated.
In Big Ten country
In case you haven’t been following the conference too closely, here’s a quick list of interesting reads keeping you updated with everything happening across the conference. For instance, Michigan is terrible.
Preparing for the Badgers
The defending Big Ten West champs will travel down I-90 to face off against Northwestern in both programs’ most consequential game of the season thus far.
The Badgers came out of the gate hot against Illinois with a 45-7 win. Redshirt freshman Graham Mertz threw for an astounding 20-of-21 with five touchdowns in his debut before testing positive for COVID-19. The outbreak grew to 22 total members of the program, and Wisconsin’s next two games against Nebraska and Purdue were canceled. The Badgers returned to action by dismantling a much maligned Michigan squad 49-11. The running game averaged nearly seven yards per carry, while Mertz didn’t have to do all that much.
While Mertz’s emergence as an absolute stud has gained a ton of attention and opened up Wisconsin’s offense, the Badgers’ defense remains a talented bunch and will offer Mike Bajakian and his unit their greatest challenge of the season, thus far.
Some in the national media labeled this game as a “Big Ten semifinal.” A win for either team would give them a clear path to the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis to battle the winner of the Ohio State-Indiana, another conference semifinal played tomorrow.
Here’s our preview content to get you ready for this massive game:
Exclusive roundtable
Where does this game rank in magnitude since the 1995 Rose Bowl?
Eli Karp: Let’s call it the biggest. Northwestern, unlike in some of its other big games, has a chance to win this one. This game is comparable in hype to Ohio State in 2013, but it’s later in the season, and a win feels more realistic. A victory sets NU up for a second Big Ten title game appearance in three years and plenty of national coverage. Somehow this feels bigger than the 2018 Big Ten Championship, and if NU were to win this contest, there’d be much more hype in Indy than there was two years ago. It would put the Big Ten West within Northwestern’s grasp, keep conference hopes alive and maintain NU’s chances (albeit slim) in the Playoff race, as crazy as that sounds.
Daniel Olinger: In terms of what it meant to the program going into the game, Northwestern Big Ten title bout with Ohio State in 2018 was the most important. The shared conference titles of ‘96 and ‘00 were great, but neither ended in a Rose Bowl appearance nor a win over the Buckeyes. That ‘18 championship match was the ‘Cats chance to dethrone the rulers of the conference, and given that a win on Saturday likely ensures a future match with OSU in Indianapolis, I’ll say this is NU’s third biggest game by magnitude of the past 25 years, behind only the conference title game and the 54-51 masterpiece win over Michigan in 2000.
Lia Assimakopoulos: It’s not often that Northwestern plays a game with such significant implications, especially during Week Five of its season. The division will essentially be won this weekend barring any unexpected upsets in the final three games. As a result, I’ll also rank this matchup in the top five since the Rose Bowl, considering a NU win could lead to an undefeated regular season. However, I agree that the 2018 Big Ten Championship game and the 2000 Michigan win take precedence as well as the 2013 Gator Bowl victory. In my rankings, Saturday’s matchup ties for fourth with the 2018 win over Iowa to win the West.
Colin Kruse: I follow Dan’s logic pretty closely. With the immensity of the moment, the 2018 Big Ten Championship Game against Ohio State probably prevails over Saturday’s contest against Wisconsin. The very thought of a Rose Bowl berth and defeating the dreaded Buckeyes galvanized Northwestern’s fanbase to converge upon Lucas Oil Stadium. A win makes a trip to Indy more likely but does not guarantee anything. For all we know, the ‘Cats could win on Saturday against Wisconsin and then fall flat against Michigan State, Minnesota or Illinois, rendering this game irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. I also place this game behind 2000’s win over Michigan and just slightly ahead of 2018’s win over Iowa (because the ‘Cats had no guarantee of winning the division title with a victory that evening).
Mac Stone: Somebody has to say it, so I’m going to. This is the most important game that Northwestern has played in the last 25 years. A win against Wisconsin would not only hopefully secure a Big Ten West title, but also potentially a NY6 berth. Northwestern’s playoff chances would skyrocket up to 19% with a win, when have we ever said that! I’ve noticed some other games being tossed around, so let me refute those. The 2018 Big Ten Championship was in a year with a weak West, and let’s be real, they were never beating Ohio State. The 2000 Michigan game was great, but they lost at Iowa the following week and then got blown out by Nebraska in the Alamo Bowl. The Gator Bowl was huge as well, but I just think this game means more. A win this weekend places Northwestern back in the national spotlight.
Noah Coffman: In terms of regular season games, I slot this one in right behind 1996’s matchup with no. 15 Penn State, which came with no. 11 Northwestern sitting at 7-1 and 5-0 in conference play and would have potentially set up an outright Big Ten Championship and second consecutive Rose Bowl berth. Since their loss in that game, NU has not played in any game halfway through the season or deeper in which a win would lay out any kind of realistic path to playing for a national championship. Such an opportunity not only comes on Saturday, but does so in the form of a top-ten team that has struggled mightily at Ryan Field of late and could give the Wildcats their most impressive win in a decade-plus.
Editors’ Picks
Rodger Sherman (@rodger): Wisconsin 31, Northwestern 14
The smartest thing for Northwestern to do would be to somehow get this game canceled and render Wisconsin ineligible for the Big Ten championship game. It'd be pretty messed up for us to fake a COVID outbreak, so let's just slash the tires on the trucks that wheel in Ryan Field's janky lights. Once again, I'm sticking with a rough approximation of the SP+ prediction for the game.
Eli Karp (@karp_eli): Northwestern 19, Wisconsin 17
My marketing professor likes to talk about touching both the head and the heart, and this prediction reaches only the latter. I wish I could give you the rational explanation for Northwestern winning this game, but even when NU is good, hardly is it rational. As pleasing to the eye as Wisconsin has been statistically, Fitz and Mike Hankwitz have a knack for slowing down the Badgers. I’m concerned about Northwestern’s offense and the fact that some national writers are picking the ‘Cats. For whatever reason, though, I see the Wildcats pulling it out. I can’t hop off the wagon just yet.
Lia Assimakopoulos (@lassimak): Wisconsin 27, Northwestern 21
Don’t get me wrong, Northwestern is a top team in the Big Ten and deserves all the attention its received this past week, but Wisconsin is too sound of a program to drop this game. After missing two weeks due to COVID, the Badgers simply cannot afford to lose this weekend, and Graham Mertz will pose the biggest threat to Northwestern’s defense thus far. Since both teams have standout defenses, this game will be won at hands of the offense, and the redshirt freshman will outplay Peyton Ramsey, earning his first win against NU. Please, Wildcats, prove me wrong.
Colin Kruse: Wisconsin 24, Northwestern 13
I expect another hearty performance from the Northwestern defense to keep the contest close, but Wisconsin is neither Purdue nor Nebraska. The ‘Cats’ secondary will test Graham Mertz, who has been phenomenal thus far against softball opponents, but the Badgers’ golden boy will do just enough on his end to move his offense down the field and score some points. On the other end of the field, the Northwestern offense will face its biggest challenge so far. If the ‘Cats can neither establish the run game nor enter a stage of the game where they can rely on Peyton Ramsey as a game manager, they might be in trouble, especially when down by a couple of possessions late. I really hope I’m wrong.
Daniel Olinger (@dan_olinger): Wisconsin 24, Northwestern 21
Predicting any opponent to break 30 points against Northwestern’s unrelenting defense (ranked 5th nationally in SP+) is a fool’s errand in my opinion. However, Wisconsin isn’t going to be stymied in the same way prior opponents were. Their running game shows up with the consistency of crappy weather in Evanston, and that institutional strength paired with deep shot slinger in Graham Mertz makes them as dangerous as ever. I have more confidence in their raw, superior talent than I do in the cohesive unit Northwestern has put together. It’ll be close, but a victory for the Badgers is my call.
Mac Stone (@MacStone00): Wisconsin 27, Northwestern 19
The ‘Cats are a good football team, but we need to pump the brakes on the Playoff talks. Wisconsin hasn’t played anyone good but has rolled over both Michigan and Illinois, and Graham Mertz has looked extremely impressive for the Badgers. At the end of the day, Northwestern’s offense will once again be its downfall. The ‘Cats will struggle to move the ball all game, but their defense will keep them in it late. On the bright side, Charlie Kuhbander will go 4-for-4 on field goal attempts.
Good Tweets
For reference, NU star women’s basketball guard Veronica Burton’s brother Austin is a backup quarterback for the Boilermakers (#17), and her boyfriend, Wildcat corner Greg Newsome, is only a few yards away from him in this shot. Newsome was chirping the Purdue bench the entire night. Great content all around.
That’s all from us. Make sure you’re subscribed to the Inside NUsletter as we’ll have anything and everything Northwestern/Big Ten football (and basketball) covered in the coming months. Give us your questions, comments, suggestion, compliments, good Tweets and everything else by emailing us at insidenu@gmail.com. Have tips, article ideas and more? Hit us up.
See you next week.
Written by Colin Kruse and Eli Karp.