It’s hard to watch a dream die.
After three consecutive years of bowl losses, this was the year in which Northwestern would break through.
The program was trending upward. You could scrutinize Pat Fitzgerald’s first five years as head coach and see continual improvement. There was his inaugural 4-8 campaign, followed by a promising 6-6 record in 2007 and then the stunning 9-4 finish in 2008 that saw the team nearly win its first bowl game in 59 years. 2009 saw continued success as the Wildcats knocked off ranked Iowa and Wisconsin teams.
And then in 2010, even as NU finished with three consecutive losses and a 7-5 record, NU fans knew it wasn’t fair – knew that if quarterback Dan Persa hadn’t ruptured his Achilles, the season would have gone in a loftier direction. But, he was coming back in 2011, so we knew that this was going to be a magical season in Evanston, that this would be the season in which the upward progress of Fitzgerald’s tenure as head coach would mix with the unrealized promise of 2010 to create the most blessed of years for Cats football fans.
We dreamed big here in Evanston. Dan Persa was a Heisman Trophy candidate. The Cats were Big Ten championship contenders. And maybe, just maybe, we would cry tears of joy as NU celebrated its first bowl victory in 62 years.
Now, the Cats would be lucky to make a bowl game. Unless they can defeat either Nebraska on the road or Michigan State at home, every single one of their lofty dreams for the 2011 season will be dashed. Given the way Michigan State played against Wisconsin, and the prospect of that high-powered Spartans’ offense going up against a very susceptible Cats’ defense, it’s hard to imagine NU taking down Michigan State. So, this season will come down to a victory in Lincoln. Living on a prayer, indeed.
Yet, ultimately what hurts the most, beyond five straight losses, is that this was the season in which all the cards were stacked in NU’s favor. A highly favorable schedule, an All-Big Ten quarterback, one of the best wide receivers in the conference, a heavily experienced offensive line and a secondary backed by two all-conference type competitors had everyone dreaming big. It was the perfect equation for a bowl victory, and yet somewhere along the line, the math went wrong. And the troubling question is, if they can’t win now, when can they win?
NU will get painful reminders of its dashed dreams over the next couple of weeks. Empty sections will dominate the Ryan Field landscape for home games against Minnesota and Rice. The stands might be full for the season finale against Michigan State, but they’ll be full of green and white – not white and purple – as the Spartans compete for a Big Ten championship. That game between Michigan State and Northwestern could have turned into a showdown for the Big Ten Legends Division championship. One of those teams lived up to that promise. The other didn’t.
In place of big dreams lie burning questions. After years of thriving on the no-huddle offense, it is worth asking whether the Cats can ever become serious winners when they continue to get manhandled in the trenches week after week? Can NU win without a big-time running back?
A long time ago, poet Langston Hughes asked what happened to a dream deferred. It will be interesting to see what the answer to that question is in Evanston.
Sports editor Jonah Rosenblum is a Medill senior. He can be reached at [email protected]
