Last
Update: 09/22/05 11:05pm
Northwestern vs. Penn State
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Live on WNUR 89.3 FM
TilTalk!
PSU Game a Must-Win for Wildcats
Friday,
September 23, 2005
By Howard Tilman
TilTalk
is new, and it will be back! Howard Tilman's weekly take on all
things Northwestern football is a must read before every
Saturday.
It’s
not common for a week-four game to be considered a must-win for any
team. However, for the Northwestern Wildcats the upcoming match
up with the Penn State Nittany Lions is just that.
The ‘Cats are at an early turning point in the 2005 season. They
sit at 2-1 in non-conference play and are looking to make an opening
statement to the rest of the Big Ten. If that statement is
anything less than a win it could spell the end of the ’05 season for
the ‘Cats for three main reasons.
Schedule
Strength
As we’ve talked about since last spring, the Big Ten schedule that the
‘Cats face is a difficult one. Seven of the eight teams on the
slate are at least receiving votes in each of the polls.
According to the coaches, six of those teams are Top-25 worthy.
With impressive wins in non-conference play, Purdue and Michigan State
are looking very strong. Add those two teams to the already
brutal stretch of Michigan, Iowa and at Ohio State, and what you have
is a five week stretch that rivals any other in the nation for sheer
difficulty.
With the modest goal of achieving bowl eligibility in mind, the ‘Cats
need to find four wins on their remaining schedule. Assuming the
three games not in the aforementioned five week stretch are victories,
Penn St. included in that obviously, they still need to steal one win
from a Top-25 team. With a loss this weekend, that number grows
to two and becomes much more difficult.
Which Wildcats?
In the first three games of the season I’ve seen at least three
different Wildcat teams. I’ve seen the team that dominated a weak
Ohio team, both offensively and defensively, that looked as good as any
team in the Big Ten. I’ve seen the team that let a decent
opponent in Northern Illinois hang around throughout the entire game,
but was able to come through in the clutch and earn the victory.
Then I looked out and saw under the dessert sun a team that was
helpless. They could stop neither the pass nor the run and put up
their weakest offensive performance of the season.
Will the real Northwestern Wildcats please stand up?
It’s likely that the real Wildcat team is in fact none of the above
options but it’s time for them to let us know who they really
are. I’ve had many conversations this past week claiming that the
team in Arizona was an anomaly and that we can expect a better
performance this week. The ‘Cats need to prove to all their
doubters that the offense that put up 500+ yards against Ohio and NIU
is capable of doing so against Big Ten defenses and that their own
defense is capable of slowing down opposing offenses just enough to
allow Brett Basanez and Co to go to work. A win against Penn St.
would be a great way to do that while a loss would only allow
skepticism to grow.
Student Support
As a result of Northwestern’s quarter system, this week will be the
first game with students in attendance. During the first two
games of the season there was a noticeable absence in sections 132 and
133 as the crowd was missing a significant amount of obnoxious
taunts. With school back in session there will be an additional
3,000 fans in attendance that have been waiting to be at a football
game since last November. Bodies will be painted, keys will be
jingled and beverages will be consumed. In addition, the class of
2008, who enrolled in school last year, has never seen a Northwestern
loss at Ryan Field. The ‘Cats are on a seven game home-winning
streak and are looking to extend that to eight. A loss to the
Nittany Lions would put a significant dent in the excitement of heading
to games at Ryan Field, especially for the students. As Coach
Walker said last year about the student support, “it gave us some juice
and the team really appreciated it… It helps.”
Bonus:
Howard's Book Club
This is Northwestern people. There is always a certain air of
academia surrounding everything that goes on, so why should a column
about football be any different. Each week I'd like to suggest
something new to keep on your nightstand. Starting things off
this week is Seth Wickersham's article in ESPN the Magazine about
former Wildcat Luis Castillo. It discusses his decision to take
steroids prior to the NFL Scouting Combine and his subsequent regrets
of that choice. The article portrays Castillo in a very positive
manner both on the field and off it. It is a perfect example of
how college athletics are not just about producing victories, but about
teaching those participating valuable life lessons, and that at
Northwestern this is achieved.
Howard is a busy man, but if you must
reach him to set him straight, e-mail him at h-tilman@northwestern.edu.
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