ANNAPOLIS, Md. In a throwback to 2000 that had defensive coaches wishing football was a game of 11-on-12, Northwestern found a little bit of pizzazz, winning by a 49-40 score that would delight hoops head man Bill Carmody.
Of course, there was one difference between Saturday’s win and the storied season of two years ago.
In 2000, it was Wolverines and Badgers putting up the points.
In 2002, it’s Midshipmen.
So it has gone in the first third of this season of change. For every highlight there’s been a sobering lowlight. NU has played significantly better in each of its four games, but a look at the schedule reveals that the opponents have gotten significantly worse, moving from an Air Force team that’s currently 3-0 to a Navy team that hasn’t won a home game in years.
Head coach Randy Walker decided to give the go-ahead to some of his young guns, the most notable being true freshman quarterback Alexander Webb, who wowed the crowd against TCU with a quick touchdown then stunned Walker by suffering that all-too-common season-ending lacerated liver minutes later. Oops.
The Wildcats are working against the odds to be sure. It doesn’t take a Ph.D. in Pigskinology to know that starting five freshmen and seven sophomores ain’t a good thing if you’re interested in winning games.
Perhaps that’s why it was so intriguing to see this new breed revert to the type of back-and-forth game that was the hallmark of two seasons ago, when the roster looked so very different. For as much turnover as NU has seen in this past winter, so many things haven’t changed a bit.
The defense stinks.
The offense gets too conservative at times and works in streaks that would make a nudist colony proud.
Penalties abound and discipline disappears.
The defense really stinks (it’s worth another mention).
Walker continues to insist that his team needs to worry about learning and improving from within, blocking out external forces as much as possible.
Nice sentiment, but one has to wonder if the Cats have a clue about what’s about to hit them.
“We’ve got to find ourselves. Who are we? And how are we doing?” Walker asked after Saturday’s affair. “We’re so young and so immature in our development as a football team that we have to do a great job of coaching and growing as players and coming together.
“I hope that’s good enough.”
Hmmm. Reeks of confidence, doesn’t it?
Yet still, redshirt freshman quarterback Brett Basanez has been playing the cocky, kooky new kid on the block. His effervescence makes it quite clear that this team has very little clue what’s about to come. (Note to Brett: Michigan State and Ohio State are a tad better than Navy and look forward to knocking your block off).
Right now, Walker has to be hoping that the Big Ten beasts lining up give his guys enough pointers to continue to improve.
After two ugly losses and two shaky wins, it’s no secret that this is the definition of a rebuilding year. Major setbacks against the best teams in the league could be costly for years to come.
There’s a foundation in place based on the steps made against Duke and Navy. It’s fair to say that this collection of guys has the potential to be pretty darn good down the road, maybe even good enough to start playing close games with the big boys, instead of just the cupcakes. But a couple of bad losses in the next few weeks might send this ship back to port, and there’s no alternative course to take.
Anchors aweigh.
