Few know the Northwestern football program quite like Phillip Rosman-Reich. The Northwestern grad does an excellent job covering the team for RiseNorthwestern.com (Phillip is changing addresses later this week) as well as the Big Ten website Delanys Dozen. Not to mention that he’s constantly sharing his thoughts on the Wildcats on Twitter as well.
Well today, we put Phillip on the Crystal Ball Run hot-seat, as he discusses Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern’s woeful defense, and of course, the ‘Persa Strong,’ campaign.
1. With so many great coaches nationwide and even in the Big Ten, it seems like Pat Fitzgerald gets lost in the shuffle. Quite frankly, I think he might be the most underrated coach in college football, and quite possibly gets more out of his players than anyone else. Tell us exactly how much “Fitz,” means to Northwestern.
Where to begin with Pat Fitzgerald and Northwestern? He means everything to the program and the school. He is completely home-grown and represents both NU’s glory in the past (read: 1995 Rose Bowl and 1996 Citrus Bowl) and the hope for its future. The administration knew when they tabbed Fitzgerald as Randy Walker’s successor after his sudden death that Fitz was a lifer. Fitzgerald has been indebted to Northwestern and now everyone on campus who loves sports is indebted to him. He literally can do no wrong.
What makes Fitzgerald even more endearing is that he deflects all the glory away from himself. It took convincing from athletic director extraordinaire Jim Phillips to make Fitzgerald the face of the Chicago’s Big Ten Team. But he has come to embrace it, and it has made Northwestern better for it. The marketing campaign has been an incredible success because of the work Fitzgerald has done on the field and the work he has done off it too.
Fitzgerald has become the face of the entire Northwestern community. And that is saying something for a school and a campus that has not always embraced sports.
2. Speaking of how much someone means to your program, there’s Dan Persa. Most people don’t realize it, but when he went down with injury last year, Persa actually lead college football with an absurd 73.5 percent completion percentage. For those of us who don’t get to watch him on a weekly basis, let us know just how good he is.
Part of it is the system Persa is in. It seems since Fitzgerald took over, NU is able to find a quarterback that can step in immediately and put up insane completion percentages. Mike Kafka only had one year to do it before graduating and then Persa stepped in last year.
What is most impressive about Persa though is how he is able to completely command the offense. He did just about everything last year for the team. NU’s running game is not so good, Persa was probably the team’s most consistent running option last year. That will change this year as NU tries to protect him a little bit.
What really makes Persa unique is his patience and ability to make the right play. He is not always going to put up the gaudiest stats. He rarely goes over 300 yards. But he remains patient, calm and never forces anything. It tends to mean NU has less flashy plays and a lot of dink and dunk type plays, but that is how NU wants to beat you. The Wildcats want to be methodical and error-free. In that sense, Persa is perfect for the team. And, yes, he still will make big plays when you give it to him.
3. Hopefully, this question won’t overlap with the last, but I’ll ask it anyway: A big fuss was made when Northwestern sent 7 lbs. dumbbells to particular media members to raise awareness for Persa’s Heisman campaign. I thought it was a brilliant way to get college football writers thinking about a guy that they might not have otherwise. What’d you think?
The #PersaStrong Heisman campaign is part of a larger project to get the nation, and especially Chicago, to notice Northwestern. Last year, when the campaign started, it was a bold move to change the perception of Northwestern sports in the market. I mean, who thinks of Northwestern as Chicago’s Big Ten Team? Most Big Ten schools have larger alumni bases in Chicago than NU.
But, starting with the Wrigley Game, NU found a ton of success in this marketing campaign. The Persa Heisman campaign is the splashy move this year to get notice.
Northwestern is fighting a perception problem. Many people still think of the Dark Days when the team would struggle to win one game in a season when they think Northwestern. Since 1995, those days are over. The Wildcats are a consistent program now — three straight bowl games for the first time in school history and plans for a fourth — they just want the notice and, more importantly, the attendance at Ryan Field to go with it.
4. Statistically the defense wasn’t all that terrible last year….at least until the last three games when they gave up a combined 168 points. YIKES! Was that an aberration, or are there big time concerns with this unit?
There always seems to be concerns about depth when you talk about Northwestern’s defense. Last year, the defense really crumbled after Persa’s injury partly because of their own shortcomings and partly because Evan Watkins and Kain Colter could not keep the offense on the field. The defense should be better this year (as should Colter if Persa ever can’t go).
There are questions though at some important positions. Fitzgerald has been challenging his linebackers to improve their play ever since the loss in the Ticket City Bowl and nobody is quite sure who is going to step up and take ownership of each linebacker position. The defensive line should be decent, led by senior Vince Browne, but the Wildcats have never been a team to get consistent pressure on the quarterback. Browne should be among the Big Ten’s sack leaders.
As much as Persa’s injury has been the talk of preseason camp, figuring out who will step up in the front seven and how they will perform is a bigger question that needs some quick answering. The secondary is experienced and should be pretty good. But I don’t think anyone will say they will lock down receivers all the time.
NU’s defense should be, like last year, solid. But how solid likely determines whether Northwestern settles for seven wins or has a really special season.
5. Looking at the schedule, things seem pretty manageable, with only a trip to Nebraska looming as a surefire loss. Sure there are other games where the Wildcats probably won’t be favored (Michigan State, Penn State at home), but no games that the Wildcats can’t win. Given everything, what’s a realistic expectation for this team?
Goal number one is get to that bowl game. No doubt, having an entire recruiting class spend each year in a bowl game is an incredible accomplishment considering Northwestern’s history. Other than that, the team has the goal to win the Legends Division. That might be more of a goal to reach for rather than one that can actually happen.
It helps a lot of NU’s bigger games are at home — Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State all at home — and the Cats should aspire to finish in the top half of the division. A realistic expectation is probably eight or nine wins. That would be if things go really well and the Wildcats win a couple of these toss-up games. A really good season is certainly out there for the taking.
Be sure to follow Phillip on Twitter @RiseNU
And of course follow Crystal Ball Run on Twitter @CrystalBallRun
