It turns out, El Guapo and Ohio State may have broken the back of Pat Fitzgerald's Northwestern career.
"But I thought Coach Fitz was good," somebody might say. And yes, you might think so. After all, when was the last time you read a critical word on Pat Fitzgerald?
But internet man Mark Machiedo compiled some career stats of Mr. Fitzgerald's, and what they say is: Actually, Coach Fitz is bad.
- 1-2 vs. Nebraska
- 1-3 vs. Wisconsin
- 2-6 vs. Michigan State
- 1-4 vs. Bowl Opponents
- 1-5 vs. Michigan
- 0-4 vs. Ohio State
- 0-5 vs. Penn State
- 6-29 TOTAL
- 9 losses by 21+
- 5 losses by 30+
- 3 losses by 40+
- 1 loss by 50+
Last year, Northwestern sat at 4-0 (with wins against Cal and Syracuse) when Ohio State rolled into town. The Wildcats looked up for it until the second half when Carlos Hyde got angry and put the Buckeye's national title hopes on his back. El Guapo whipped Northwestern for 168 yards and three touchdowns. He broke down and cried afterwards. It was that kind of win for Ohio State.
Northwestern's season, in retrospect, was tombstoned that night in October. NU lost seven of their last eight. This year — after a summer of attempted unionization — the Wildcats sit at 0-2 after losses to woeful California and MAC powerhouse NIU.
Does Fitzgerald sense his seat is getting hot? It'd appear so.
From Teddy Greenstein of The Chicago Tribune:
“I played on two championship teams here because we had a hard edge and we were tough,” he said. “I’ve coached five bowl teams here in a row and coached multiple guys who have played at an All-Big Ten level, and they were tough.
“Right now our football team is not very tough, and that’s an embarrassment from my standpoint. It’s an embarrassment for anyone who’s ever put on the purple and white.”
What does "toughness" even mean? It's just an ambiguous yet ubiquitous phrase coaches (and fans) love tossing around, seemingly when they're out of answers.
Why are we losing? Toughness. The other team just wants it more.
The tribe is a merely a reflection of its chief, after all. And while Fitzgerald can call out his players toughness — Go play injured and for free, or whatever? — to me, it just looks like a team that's no longer buying what its coach is selling.
Source: twitter.com/FunkDrSpock1975
