Northwestern Wildcats Fans: The Sky Isn't Falling

You would think by reading the posts on certain message boards that the Northwestern football season is already an unmitigated disaster.

Northwestern lost a winnable non-conference game?

That NEVER happens. (Citrus Bowl season.)

NU lost their Big Ten home opener?

Surely a sign of disaster. (Sun Bowl season.)

Give me a break.

Yes, NU’s schedule to start the season looked ridiculously easy. And yes, some people (myself included) expected a 6-0 start.

But guess what, everyone? The goal is not to win the national title. The goal is not necessarily even to make the Rose Bowl.

Face the facts. NU has not been to back-to-back bowl games since the mid-90s and they’ve won ONE bowl game in their history.

The goal is to do both this year and that goal is very much alive.

If Northwestern beats Purdue this Saturday, they’ll start the Big Ten season with a 1-1 record.

In 2008, they also started the Big Ten season 1-1 and finished in the Alamo Bowl.

Last season was the first time since the 1960s that NU went undefeated in non-conference play. This year, barring an absolute disaster against Miami of Ohio, they’ll go 3-1 in non-conference competition—not a bad record.

And the Wildcats' remaining schedule is still really easy.

Purdue, Miami of Ohio, Michigan State (currently 1-3), Indiana and Illinois are all winnable games.

A win over Wisconsin is no impossibility, either.

And NU loves playing at Kinnick Stadium, so even a win versus Iowa isn’t out of the question.

Heck, NU always plays Penn State tough in Evanston, so why can’t they run the table?

Okay, that may be a bit too optimistic, but isn't predicting a 4-8 season or some other horrific outcome too pessimistic?

Concerned about the defense?

NU had the worst defense in the country in 2005 and went to the Sun Bowl.

Concerned about the lack of a running game?

So far that hasn’t really hindered NU’s offense.

My prediction before the season was that NU would finish 8-4, and darn it, I’m sticking.

I wanted nine wins. That looks unlikely. But eight wins is still very doable.

Of course, if they lose to Purdue, then I’ll be running for cover from the falling sky, just like the rest of you.