Oct. 18, 2010
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
The 'Cats, after an off-week, returned to routine on Monday and that meant a morning meeting between coach Pat Fitzgerald and the players' Leadership Council. At that gathering, he asked them what they had learned during their time away.
"The first thing (linebacker) Quentin Davie said was the significance and importance of the kicking game. . .," Fitzgerald said about their response. "The guys kind of played off of that, how critically important that is here in the last half of the season. We've made some improvements in some areas. There's other areas where we need to improve in the kicking game. Pretty obvious (since Stefan Demos is 8-of-13 on field goal attempts and 15-of-18 on extra points). But we're in a position now to really take a step in that area. It's going to be a challenge. But I think we've got just as much talent on the field in the kicking game that we've had. So that was one thing.
"The second thing is they kind of echoed what I thought. That anybody can win on any given Saturday. From a players' perspective, it gives them a good sense of where the league is at. And then, most importantly, they talked about how hungry they are to get back out and practice and play. As a competitor, it's no fun to watch. So they're excited."
Dan Persa, the quarterback, is a member of that Council and later, when asked what he had learned, said: "Probably the biggest thing was that the teams that stick together at this point in the season are the teams that are going to make more plays, are the teams that are going to win. It doesn't really matter what you've done the past couple of weeks. The Big Ten's wide open. There's a lot of teams with zero, one and two losses in the conference. A lot of teams control their own destiny. We're one of them. That's pretty much all you can ask for."
"That's good," cornerback Jordan Mabin added minutes later. "In my freshmen year (2007) we went 6-6 and our destiny was out of our hands. We had to wait and see if they'd allow us to go to a bowl game. (They didn't.) Now, things have changed a little bit. We're winning more games than we did a few years back. We control our own destiny. That's a good feeling to know that if we play the way we've been taught, we can win this game and then move on to the next game and hopefully win that. It's a great feeling knowing you control your own destiny."
Two Saturdays ago Purdue rolled into Ryan Field following an off-week and unveiled any number of new formations (17, by Fitzgerald's count) during their upset of the 'Cats. Any chance he'll throw curveballs like that at Michigan State when it visits Ryan this Saturday?
"We're in a little different position from Purdue," he said. "They lost their starting quarterback the week before, so we all knew there was going to be a lot of change. How much will we? I don't know. We've got some things that we continue to evolve and we try to progress as the season goes along and build complements off the things that we do. I think that's true of every staff, every team. But how much from the bye-week? You just try to get better."
The Spartans are 7-0, off to their best start since 1966 and, at No. 8 (Associated Press poll), the Big Ten's top-ranked team. That means, naturally enough, the 'Cats are the underdogs, which is just what they were when they defeated No. 17 Wisconsin and No. 8 Iowa last year and No. 20 Minnesota in 2008. "That's out of our control," Fitzgerald says when asked if that underdog status is some kind of prod for the program. "Do I talk about it to the team? No. Not at all. I talk more about the things we need to do and how we need to play and our mindset and our attitude, the work ethic that's needed in how you approach things to be consistent. I think our team's maturing. I think we're starting to come together a little bit."
How, then, does he explain his team's performances against ranked teams?
"I think it's just consistency. I think we look at each game similarly from the standpoint of how we prepare and what we do to get ready for the game and how we need to go out Saturday and stick together and make plays happen when they present themselves. Is there anything magical? I don't think so. After watching football this weekend I think this conference, top to bottom, is as competitive as it's ever been. When you have that happen, each week is a 60 minute street fight."
"Most of the time we are underdogs," Mabin will echo minutes later. "But we take it one game at a time. Coach Fitz always says that. So we go in with the same mindset, the same focus, to get one day better. That's what we're doing. We're eager, we're ready to get this week started. We had a bad taste in our mouth after last week, so we're ready for tomorrow to come."
But is there an Us vs. Them mentality built into the 'Cat football culture?
"I'd say yes and no," says Mabin. "That's what it was for a long time here. But I think by how we've played the last couple of years, we're changing the culture and atmosphere around here at Northwestern. We have that winning attitude going into games thinking, 'We can beat this team. We should win this game.' That's what we've been trying to preach to the guys, that's what the coaches have been preaching to us."
Later, Persa will be asked if the 'Cat success against ranked teams might have something to do with their approaching such games with a nothing-to-lose attitude. "Nah," he fairly spat out. "I always think we have something to lose. Winning to pretty much everybody on the team is the most-important thing. We don't take that attitude. Losing a game is pretty serious around here."
Quickly noted: On the 'Cat depth chart, Quentin Williams has replaced Kevin Watt as the starting left defensive end. "Quentin's been playing pretty well. So has Kevin. So we've got a good deal there," Fitzgerald said when asked about that. . . When asked about right defensive end Vince Browne, who sat out much of the Purdue loss with an injury, he said: "He was running around today. We expect him to be out at practice this week.". . . And then there was this on Demos: "How's he doing mentally? He's doing great. Obviously, he wants to make every kick. So he's disappointed in some of the momentary failures that he's had. . . I've got all the confidence and belief in the world in him. But it's also a production business and he needs to be consistent. He knows that. Unfortunately, if it doesn't happen, we're going to have to making a change. But I don't anticipate that happening."
And finally: The 'Cats did some bonding during their off-week and part of that occurred when a group went to the movies together. And just what did they see? To great laughter, Mabin replied, "Jackass (3D)."
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