Cautious Wildcats Optimism
Alex Massie has a good post trying to find a political analogy in tomorrow’s Penn State-Ohio State game. Not surprisingly, he finds that there isn’t really any neat, cute correspondence. But that’s OK! Because the game is really important for the BCS rankings, and even more important for the Northwestern Wildcats.
The Cats have a ridiculously soft schedule this year. We’re not playing Penn State, and the other traditional Big Ten powers we are facing (Ohio State, Michigan, Illinois) are both having below-expectations seasons. So, if we want to make the Ohio State-NU game at Ryan Field, November 8, the biggest game of that week, then we need to see Ohio State impressively beat Penn State and find their way back into the Top 5. If the Wildcats can meet their rather low expectations and beat sorry Indiana and not look ahead to Ohio State and beat the surprisingly-good Minnesota Gophers, then the OSU game will be the biggest sporting event at Northwestern in years. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but this is looking to be quite an exciting year.
PS – Alex wanted me to dream of Roses, but after me and a bunch of guys painted “WILDCATS ROSEBOWL” on our chests for the horriffic Michigan State game, I’ve learned to be a bit a bet less audacious in my hope.
PPS – Jon Chait, Wolvernine alumnus, is just being silly
I think, unsurprisingly, that Obama is the parallel of Rich Rodriguez. Brilliant, innovative figure, hated for his rapid rise and willingness to discard old allies on his way up. Michigan right now is the Obama campaign circa last fall, or this last summer — fans are panicked, fearing they’re trying to change too much too fast, imploring the coach/candidate to revert to more conventional tactics, but the coach/candidate is confident the new course will succeed in the end with some patience.
