Northwestern has played exceptionally well in recent years at Big Ten stadiums much larger and more raucous than Ryan Field.

That’s why I was surprised when coach Pat Fitzgerald said the noise coming from the 30,075 fans at Ryan Field last Saturday contributed to the Wildcats’ defensive struggles in the fourth quarter.

“We had some communication issues in our own house because of how loud the crowd was, and that’s a good problem,” Fitzgerald said. “I can’t remember that happening in a long time.”

The Cats practiced this week with fake crowd noise, but it will obviously be louder at TCF Bank Stadium when they play Minnesota on their homecoming. It’s the sixth time in the past three seasons NU will visit a Big Ten opponent on their homecoming weekend.

Big Ten schools seem to enjoy scheduling their homecoming festivities the week they host NU. And historically, the Cats’ conference brethren have picked on them when they come to town.

That all changed in 1995 when coach Gary Barnett and then-linebacker Fitzgerald led the Purple to Pasadena and the Cats won five away games in a row during the regular season. Since the program’s revival that year, some of the Cats’ most impressive victories have come on the road.

And there’s no better way to earn respect from opponents than quieting thousands of fans in their own house.

The Cats have won their last three games at the notoriously hostile Kinnick Stadium, including spoiling Iowa’s undefeated season on Family Weekend last November.

NU’s nine road wins since the beginning of the 2008 season top the Big Ten. The Cats are also 3-2 against conference foes on their homecoming weekends during that stretch.

Fitzgerald said the Cats approach each road game the same way , regardless of their opponent’s homecoming hoopla.

“We show up two hours before the game,” he said. “We leave right after, and we play for 60 minutes.”

But Fitzgerald did point out that there may be extra pressure on the Golden Gophers this weekend, and not just because they’re 1-3 and coach Tim Brewster’s on the hot seat.

“They’ve got a lot of distractions that they’re going to have to deal with,” Fitzgerald said. “Pep rallies, a lot of former players back, maybe the only time they can make it back. So I think it’s less of a distraction for the road team than it is for the home team.”

Still, the Gophers will look for revenge Saturday for the last time they hosted the Cats on homecoming.

In arguably one of the most signature wins during the Fitzgerald era, NU upset No. 20 Minnesota in 2008 after safety Brendan Smith returned a game-winning interception to the house on the final play from scrimmage.

The Gopher faithful also didn’t expect NU’s backup quarterback, Mike Kafka, to rush for a Big Ten record of 217 yards on their homecoming.

So to the rest of the Big Ten, go ahead and pretend that scheduling your homecoming game against NU won’t be a tough test. Just warn your older alumni that this Cats team is no longer the pushover they remember from their college days.

Besides, I hear Illinois is available.

Justin Schecker is a Medill junior. He can be reached at [email protected].