West Lot Pirates

Ugh... Northwestern's latest September FCS defeat not only hurts the Cats' chances to go bowling in 2022, but really makes us take a deep look at the root of this systemic September issue. Join us as we re-hash last week's game with a critical eye at the coaching staff and then look ahead to the final non-conference matchup against Miami, OH.

Northwestern's September woes reared their ugly heads once again as the Cats dug themselves a big hole that was just a little too big to clamber out of. Evan Hull and Ryan Hilinski had incredible games, but a few bounces the wrong way, fumbles an inch too soon and Duke being in the right place at the right time combined with a potent Blue Devil rushing attack was too much to overcome.

What better way to celebrate our 500th episode than to have on Joe Spivak, one of the greatest personalities to come through the NU locker room in quite some time and currently in training to become one of the next WWE Superstars. We'll also talk about this weekend's revenge spot against Duke.

If you can think of a better way to start off the 2022 season, we'd sure like to hear it. Northwestern looked fantastic throughout the game and was outright dominant down the stretch as they knocked off Nebraska in Dublin Ireland. We're going to walk you through all the highlights of this game that we will all remember for quite some time.

All the previews have been done, all the books have been read, all the predictions have been made and now it's time to kick off the 2022 season with a trip to Dublin, Ireland as the Cats take on Nebraska. We'll get you ready for gameday as Northwestern looks to exact some revenge from last year's drubbing.

For our final preview of the offseason we turn our attention to the much-maligned Northwestern Offense. We know so much about some of the position groups, RB, OL to name a few. With another potential first round LT anchoring the line and Cam Porter coming back healthy, we can hope to see some improvement. But, like every other year, so much depends on who we have under center. Will we see the necessary QB improvement in 2022?

At last we have come to the start of the 2022 football season. With Northwestern about to fly to Ireland, we take a deep dive into the Wildcat Defense. So much went wrong last year, so we try to interrogate what happened and how we think they will address the issues for this season.

We wrap up our Summer previews with a look at our instate rivals, the Illinois Illini. Bret Bielema only needed one year to get Illinois frisky. Will they be able to take the next step and get bowl eligible? Will we be able to get the LOLHat back to its rightful place?

2021 was a really good season for Purdue, but they are entering 2022 having lost some MAJOR pieces of that squad. Do they have the ponies to replace guys like George Karlaftis and David Bell among others? Or will Jeff Brohm have a bigger rebuilding job ahead of him?

Coming off a successful 2021 season with a tremendous running attack, despite some brutal injuries to the RB corps, Minnesota looks to keep the momentum into 2022. Will the return of Kirk Ciarrocca bring more balance to the Gopher offense?

Ohio State is a perennial CFP contender and this year is no different. Tonight we take a look at the Buckeyes and try to get to the bottom of if the hype surrounding them is warranted.

The calendar may have turned from 2021 to 2022, but with Kirk Ferentz still going strong at Iowa, it looks like we might have a very similar Hawkeye team to last season's. Will they be able to ride their dynamic Defense back to Indy or will their offensive struggles catch up to them?

After making a bowl game for the first time since 2014, Maryland looks to ride their high powered offence to back-to-back winning seasons. Will their defense be the thing that keeps them from doing so?

Last year, Wisconsin rolled with one of the best defenses in the country but their struggles on offense kept them from going to Indy. With Jim Leonhard inexplicably not the head coach somewhere else, do the Badgers have what it takes to run back last years excellent D?

We take a quick break from our Summer Previews to mark the official start of NU Football's Summer Camp. Ray Niro III was honored with the #1 jersey in the first meeting of camp so there's plenty to celebrate on that front. We also discuss some of the big topics that came up at the Media Days in Indy including NIL and further expansion beyond the USC/UCLA moves.

Getting back into conference play, Northwestern starts the month of October on the road in State College. Penn State is coming off a 7-6 2021, but locked up James Franklin to a 10 year contract extension. Will their 2022 offense bring enough to the table to help out their outstanding D?

Northwestern's annual FCS and MAC games will always cause some apprehension amongst the fan base. This year it's no different. In fact, there may be more reason for concern. We'll take a look at Southern Illinois and Miami, OH as we round out the NU non-conference slate.

The Cats' second game of the season comes after returning from Ireland. Duke was not a great team last year but NU really put up a stinker in Durham. Will 2022 present an opportunity to exact some revenge from last year? What does Duke look like without David Cutcliffe at the helm?

We turn our attention to the NU schedule as we begin with a Week 0 matchup against the so-called "Greatest 3-9 team in history." Northwestern travels to the Emerald Isle to take on a Nebraska team that is trying to figure out an identity as Scott Frost's seat gets hotter and hotter. Will UNL finally make a bowl game under their Prodigal Son come home?

We wrap up our previews of the Big Ten teams not on Northwestern's schedule with a look at Rutgers. In 2021, many people were singing the praises of Rutgers and envisioned a good season for them. But as the legendary NU coach Dennis Green once said, they are who we thought they were. Will 2022 be any different?