John Legend sang the chorus of his hit song “Ordinary People” on Friday night: “We’re just ordinary people, we don’t know which way to go, ‘cause we’re ordinary people, maybe we should take it slow.”
He might as well have been talking about Northwestern’s football team.
NU’s game against Miami (OH) was supposed to be the final act of a grand Inauguration Weekend for University President Morton O. Schapiro. The new NU president was named an honorary captain in a game the Wildcats were supposed to dominate.
But like Legend’s lyrics suggest, the Cats’ running backs looked pedestrian against the RedHawks, rushing for only 58 yards when taking out Jeravin Matthews’ 16-yard scamper on a reverse. This came against a defense that headed into Evanston giving up more than 160 yards per game on the ground. Arby Fields seemed lost, often getting stopped by running into his own blocker.
It certainly appeared the Cats were willing to take it slow. Foolish penalties set their offense back and kept their defense on the field. A late hit penalty on Jordan Mabin came on a third-and-long after Miami failed to convert. Brian Peters also had a personal foul call on a deep pass, giving the RedHawks 15 free yards.
“I’m not pleased with the way we’re playing, but we can fix that,” coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “To get our fourth win, and to put ourselves in a position to make this season significant is what you’d hope to have, but we can definitely play better.”
They’ll have to. Sure, the Cats got the 16-6 win, but as 23-point favorites against a 0-5 team. Even though they got the win, as Bill Simmons would say, it was a “moral defeat,” especially considering the festivities surrounding the introduction of the new university president.
Schapiro stood on the sidelines the entire game, showing his support for Fitzgerald just as Fitz did at the inauguration on Thursday. Schapiro even helped the team by flipping the coin in NU’s favor.
But compared to Legend’s performance, Saturday’s game was a lullaby.
“We’ve got to pick it up a notch,” senior quarterback Mike Kafka said. “Going through six games, we need to raise our level of play to be even better. The coaches are doing a great job.”
Perhaps because of a combination of Schapiro’s inauguration and facing Randy Walker’s old team, the coaching staff stepped up its intensity in practice last week. “We weren’t all going to sit around and sing Kumbaya,” Fitz said. “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”
The coaches and players are saying all the right things. The issue is they’ve been saying the same things week after week, and the same problems keep coming back to plague the Cats.
“And you made your mistakes, And we both still got room left to grow,” Legend sang in “Ordinary People.”
Yes, the Cats have made mistakes. I don’t think you could find a player, coach or fan who could honestly say the team played nearly at the level it is capable in any of its first six contests. There is certainly room for improvement in all facets of the game.
But that growth has to come fast. Next week starts the heart of the Big Ten season for NU. A road game against Michigan State is going to be the Cats’ toughest challenge so far this season. If they come out and play the way they did against Miami, they will get pounded in East Lansing, Mich.
Legend’s “Ordinary People” lyrics list the possibilities: “Maybe we’ll live and learn, Maybe we’ll crash and burn. … Maybe we won’t survive, But maybe we’ll grow.”
Whatever happens, NU can’t afford to take it slow.
Deputy sports editor Brian Chappatta is a Medill junior. He can be reached at [email protected].
