Northwestern University Athletics
Murphy's Mark: Wildcats Break Into Top 25
10/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | General
Oct. 26, 2005
National Ranking
With three wins in a row, including a 49-14 victory over Michigan State on the road last week, our football team has surged into the national spotlight. We are now ranked in the top 25 in all the major polls, with the Associated Press poll ranking us 21st. In addition, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl named us the National Team of the Week. With this success, a number of our players -- Brett Basanez, Tim McGarigle, Herschel Henderson, Marquice Cole, Joel Howells and Tyrell Sutton -- have been recognized for their outstanding play in recent weeks. Brett deserves special mention for his performance this year. He has been through a lot of ups-and-downs during his four years as a starter, but he has put it all together this year. He is playing with great confidence, and is the unquestioned leader of the offense. The success that he is having this year is a testament to his hard work -- particularly in studying our opponents on film -- and to the value of experience. He has seen most everything in his four years here and nothing rattles him now. Randy Walker and his staff also deserve special credit for the great work they have done in bringing the team along this year.
Great Matchup
The game Saturday against Michigan figures to be a tremendous matchup. Like us, Michigan is coming into the game with great confidence. They have had two consecutive great wins -- handing Penn State its only loss of the season on the last play of the game two weeks ago and ending Iowa's 22-game winning streak with an overtime victory last week. Both teams are ranked in the top 25 -- we're 21st and Michigan is 25th. In fact, it is the first time since 1959 that we have been ranked higher than Michigan at the time of our game. The fact that the game will be played at night before a national TV audience helps to make the contest even more special. Let's hope we can continue to play inspired football and that there is magic in the night air at Ryan Field again.
Instant Replay
The Big Ten experiment with instant replay has proven to be a great success. In fact, last year's experiment went so well that 10 of the 11 Division I-A conferences are using some form of replay this year. In addition, replay will be used in the bowl system this year. Like the system used in the NFL for years, the Big Ten replay system utilizes existing technology to make sure that the correct call is made. In our system, though, coaches cannot challenge calls and reviews take considerably less time than in the NFL. Instant replay is here to stay in college football, and Jim Delany and the Big Ten should be credited for this improvement to the game.
