Northwestern University Athletics
The Skip Report: The Tie That Binds
11/4/2017 9:03:00 AM | Football
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
THE TIE THAT BINDS: He was asked about the superback Cam Green, who caught half-a-dozen passes for 76 yards, a touchdown and a two-point conversion in Northwestern's triple-overtime win last Saturday over Michigan State.
"He's been working really hard. This is the most dedicated and focused that I've seen Cam," Pat Fitzgerald said. "We (the coaches) only get 20 hours (a week) with them (the players). As a guy that, early in my career, worked on football for 20 hours— eventually you either figure it out or get beat out. When you figure it out, you're usually going a lot longer than that on your own."
And he was asked about the defensive end Joe Gaziano, whose sack against the Spartans pushed his season total to a team-high six.
"Again, he's another guy who's just working his rear end off," Fitzgerald said here. "I think that whole group up front is now. That entire group is really focused. They're really working hard Sunday through Friday to get ready for Saturday. Sunday's our day off. I'm in here, I see guys coming in. It's not just the D line. Guys are working their rear ends off."
And he was asked about the wide receiver Flynn Nagel, who broke out against the Spartans with a team-high eight receptions for 87 yards and what-turned-out-to-be the winning touchdown in the third overtime.
"Again, you're hearing a theme, but it's the truth," Fitzgerald said now. "He's been really grinding in practice. I think his confidence is back up. Playing fast."
Those comments echo many he has made during the 'Cats three-game winning streak, and explain well enough why this week unfolded without fuss or frizzle even though they need just one more win to be bowl eligible. That, in the not-too-long ago, would have been cause enough for celebration. But after seven bowl appearances in the last nine seasons, and with a group so attuned to honest labor, there here was no talk or thought of the post-season.
"We're talking about going 1-0," Fitzgerald said, and then came a familiar reprise.
"This group has really been focused. Even when we didn't end up being successful, this has been a pretty-focused group. I think they've learned from their experiences. I think they have. In the past I'd be concerned about the maturity of our team based on looking at records or listening to outside noise. I don't get a sense of that at this point. Will I talk to them about those types of things? Yeah, because I have to. But other years I maybe have to be really demonstrative about it because of our lack of maturity. I haven't sensed that to this point. I gauge a lot of that also based on our work ethic during the week."
ONE FOR ALL: The 'Cats never did get their run game going against the Spartans. But their O line did a fine job protecting Clayton Thorson, who was sacked just once even while flinging it 48 times.
"Coming into the game," the guard Tommy Doles said of its work, "we just decided that we're going to finish every play. We're going to play with an attitude. We're going to play tough. We're going to play for the guy next to us. Throughout the game, that's what we were doing. On the boundary, we'd make our corrections, figure out what we had to do. But we were enjoying it. There's only so many moments left. Nothing's guaranteed, especially as you're getting to the twilight of the season. So you just really want to enjoy each moment and get the most out of it."
And how has the line gotten by its early-season struggles?
"One thing to know is it wasn't any pep talk we heard, or magic pill that we took, that, 'OK. Click. We've figured it out now,'" Doles said. "It's a product of our work in the off-season, training camp, the work we put in throughout the season. It's things starting to come together. Getting our timing together. Being on the same page. Making our calls. And playing with a chip on our shoulders, playing with a little bit more of an attitude. We love doing our job."
AND NOW: The goal always, of course, is to win a championship. But the 'Cats will not accomplish that this year, not unless a band of zombies takes down Wisconsin. So, with that as reality, what will constitute a successful season?
"Winning games. Winning games. Just keep winning. . .," said Fitzgerald. "You're looking at an end-of-the-year-looking-back question. I'm looking at, right now, we've got to find a way to go 1-0. That's my only focus right now. You're grinding through trying to find ways to win games."
"If you ask a lot of guys, we're thinking of the next game. That's not the answer you want to hear," said Doles. "But stepping back from that, and a lot of this high-level stuff will be in retrospect, it'll be how we look back on the season— if we can look back on each game and have no regrets about the way we prepared, have no regrets about having left everything out there on the field, I think we can be proud of what we put out there. I like to believe that if we put in the preparation, and if we show up to perform, that's going to coincide with winning games. As I'm starting to get older, you start thinking more about the high-level stuff. It's a game we've been playing since the fifth grade in my case, and we'll never have this exact team together again. So did I get the most out of the time I had playing with (senior wide out) Macan (Wilson) and (senior center) Brad North and all these guys with us. We'll look back on it after the season. But that's how I'd see success."
QUICKLY NOTED: On Saturday the 'Cats visit Nebraska, who are 4-4 overall, 3-2 in the Big Ten, and coming off a last-second, one-point win over Purdue. But it is unusually unsettled in Lincoln, where the Huskers have lost to Northern Illinois by four, to Wisconsin by 21 and to Ohio State by 42. That has firmly placed their third-year coach, Mike Riley, on the hot seat, and made his future with the program this fall's topic du jour. . . . But the situation has hardly kept fans away from Memorial Stadium, which will be sold out Saturday for the 360th consecutive game. "One of the great venues in college football with, you could argue, the best fan base in America. They're rabid," Fitzgerald said of the place and the people who fill it. . . . Husker quarterback Tanner Lee has thrown 10 interceptions. But nine of them came in the first four games and only one in the last four. Against the Boilers he went 32-of-50 for 431 yards and two touchdowns without a pick. . . . In stark contrast, the Huskers rushed for only 40 yards against the Boilers after gaining just 44 on the ground against the Buckeyes. "It's pretty simply the whole idea of winning the one-on-one match-ups," Riley said of these running woes, sounding a familiar theme. . . . This is the 'Cats fourth visit to Lincoln since Nebraska joined the Big Ten. They won by three in '11, lost by three in '13 and won by two in '15.
AND FINALLY, Fitzgerald, on his job: "The cool thing is no two days are the same. That's why it's so invigorating and such a challenge. I get asked a lot in the off-season, do you feel you get complacent because you've been somewhere so long. Absolutely not. Every day is a new and spectacular challenge. It's the other way around. It's a daunting challenge. But it's awesome. I wouldn't want to do it anywhere else."
