NCAA Football FanHouse

Worst Moments in Big Ten Football History #9: Northwestern Sets the Futility Record, 1979-82

Mark Hasty — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:19:00 EST

Filed under: Northwestern Football, Big 10, NCAA FB History, Chicago

FanHouse is counting down the ten best, ten worst, and ten weirdest moments in Big Ten football history.

ABOVE: "Interstate 94, Northwestern 0" was a common joke in Evanston during the early 1980s.

Every team has an off season now and then. Northwestern had a couple of off decades, and they were called the 70s and the 80s. Right in the middle of that stretch, the Wildcats racked up an accomplishment which may never be equaled by any other ~~Division I-A~~ Football Bowl Subdivision program.

Northwestern coach Rick Venturi took over for the deposed John Pont in 1978. Pont's Wildcats had put together back-to-back 1-10 seasons, which is enough to get anybody fired. You might think there's nowhere to go but up from that point. You might want to think about that again.

Northwestern went winless in 1978, losing ten games but tying one. That one tie came in Venturi's debut, when the Wildcats tied Illinois, 0-0. (It wasn't a very good time for football in Champaign, either.) A 27-22 win over Wyoming in the second game of the 1979 season (it wasn't a very good time for football in Laramie, either) had to feel like an incredible relief. Venturi certainly savored his first win as Northwestern's coach.

Wait, did I say Venturi's first win? My bad. I should have said Venturi's only win as Northwestern's coach.

You read that right. The Cats went winless for the rest of the 1979 season and all of 1980 as well. Venturi was let go after that. Enter Dennis Green (yes, that Dennis Green), whose opening season was probably the worst of any major program in the past fifty years.

Mind you, it got off to a good start. In Green's debut the Cats hung with Indiana, losing 21-20. It would be their best game all season. The average NU game in 1981 was a 49-7 sucker punch ... and that includes the one-point loss to IU.

After losing their record-setting 29th game in a row, a 61-14 atomic wedgie from Michigan State, Northwestern students reacted the only way they could: by ripping down the goalposts and throwing them into Lake Michigan. But they weren't done losing yet. The next week they lost to Ohio State, 70-6.

It was not until September 25, 1982, more than three years after the Wyoming win, and following a credibility-stretching 34 consecutive losses, that Northwestern would get a win. The unfortunate victim was Bill Mallory's Northern Illinois squad, which actually wasn't that bad of a team. With the floodgates now open, the Cats would go on to finish 3-8, actually winning two conference games. Was this a sign of things to come?

Yes, it was. The Cats also won two conference games in 1983 and 1984, their only victories in both seasons. After a 3-8 year in 1985, Green was gone and things ... um, well, things didn't change very much until the mid-90s, but we've been over that already.

With just about every team scheduling a lower-division creampuff these days, we'll probably never see another Division I-A Football Bowl Subdivision team lose 34 games in a row. Northwestern's accomplishment stands alone, but do bear in mind that Northwestern only holds the FBS futility record. The all-division record is 80 straight losses, by Prairie View A&M from 1989 to 1998.

Wow.

Worst Moments in Big Ten Football History #9: Northwestern Sets the Futility Record, 1979-82 originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:19:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ron Zook Sings

Charles Rich — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:07:00 EST

Filed under: Big 10, NCAA FB Coaching, NCAA FB Video, Chicago, Illinois Football

Illinois Head Coach Ron Zook took in a Cubs game at Wrigley and was given the honor of leading the crowd in singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" today.

Clearly Zook does not get the recruits to Illinois by serenading them.

Ron Zook Sings originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:07:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Best Moments in Big Ten Football History #4: Northwestern Smells the Roses, 1996

Mark Hasty — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:24:00 EST

Filed under: Northwestern Football, Big 10, Bowl Games, NCAA FB History, Chicago

FanHouse is counting down the 10 best, 10 worst, and 10 weirdest moments in Big Ten football history.

Howard Stern could take over for Katie Couric on the CBS Evening News. Your cat could win the Nobel Prize in physics. Guns 'N Roses could actually release Chinese Democracy. Those are three things which seem as unlikely now as Northwestern's 1995 Rose Bowl run seemed at the time.

Northwestern had occupied a certain niche in the Big Ten's ecosystem, that of the perennial homecoming date. The Wildcats could be counted on to show up sometime between late September and late October to provide an all but guaranteed W for the returning alumni. And as long as they still played football in Evanston, every Big Ten team knew that no matter what other outrageous fortune befell them, they wouldn't go winless in the conference unless it was one of those years Northwestern just wasn't on the schedule.

A lot of coaches sacrificed large parts of their careers coaching in Evanston, trying to face up to the challenge of turning around a football team that hadn't won a conference title since 1949. But not even legitimately good coaches like Lou Saban, Ara Parseghian, and Dennis Green could accomplish anything with the Wildcats. So how did Gary Barnett do it?

Barnett had been the offensive coordinator for Bill McCartney's great Colorado team of 1990, the one that split the national championship with Georgia Tech. He could have had any of a number of college jobs. He picked Northwestern, for the same reason so many other coaches had. He loved the challenge, and he knew that if he succeeded there, he could succeed anywhere.

Barnett's first three seasons didn't exactly suggest that he had a bright future as a head coach. He went 9-23-1 and in the best of those first three seasons the Wildcats were only outscored by 141 points. 1995, however, proved to be different. On offense, running back Darnell Autry was a one-man ball control system, allowing Northwestern to keep their opponents off the field. When the defense, captained by current NU coach Pat Fitzgerald, took the field, they more than did their part. The Wildcats went from being outscored by 141 points the previous season to outscoring their opponents by 130. The only loss all year (prior to the Rose Bowl) was a two-point loss to Miami of Ohio in the second game of the season.

Ohio State, in Eddie George's Heisman season, did nearly as well but couldn't beat Michigan in the season finale. (It was the John Cooper era, after all.) That gave NU the outright Big Ten title for the first time in 46 years and sent them to Pasadena to face Southern Cal.

The Cats lost, 42-31, but they made a game of it. Not even losing could distract from the sheer amazement the college football world felt that a punchline program like Northwestern could rise up and claim a conference crown. At the time we didn't realize the new era of parity was beginning. But we know it now.

Barnett would share the Big Ten title with Ohio State in 1996 before a little regression to the mean would occur. He left for Colorado in 1998. Northwestern brought in Miami's Randy Walker, who had been the only coach to beat NU during the 1995 regular season. His brand of creepy ninja football got Northwestern to four bowls in six years before his tragic death. Now, of course, Pat Fitzgerald walks the Ryan Field sidelines. And nobody pencils in Northwestern as a guaranteed W any more.

Best Moments in Big Ten Football History #4: Northwestern Smells the Roses, 1996 originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:24:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Brother Of Notre Dame Running Back Shot

Tom Fornelli — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 13:11:00 EST

Filed under: Notre Dame Football, NCAA FB Police Blotter, Chicago

Notre Dame freshman running back Robert Hughes has been excused from the team and has returned home to Chicago to be with his family. Hughes' older brother, Earl, was shot to death early on Tuesday morning in Chicago.

Police spokeswoman Monique Bond said the circumstances that led to Earl Hughes' death are under investigation. Police have one witness who said she heard arguing and then shots fired, Bond said.

The shooting occurred about 12:45 a.m. in the 5300 block of West Wabansia Avenue in the city's North Austin community, police Lt. Steven Masters said.

Neighbors told police they heard several shots, then saw the victim lying motionless on the corner, Masters said. He had been struck in the head and was unresponsive when officers arrived.

Earl Hughes was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead at 4:12 AM.

As for when Hughes will return to the Irish, nobody's sure, and Charlie Weis isn't about to give him a time frame.

"I told him to come back when he's ready to come back," Weis said Tuesday. "Something like that, how can you give him a time frame?"

Just another in a long list of things that have gone wrong for the Irish and their players this season. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Hughes family.

Brother Of Notre Dame Running Back Shot originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 31 Oct 2007 13:11:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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USC-Notre Dame: Cheer, Cheer for Beer!

Scott Olin Schmidt — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:18:00 EST

Filed under: Notre Dame Football, USC Football, Pac 10, NCAA FB Fans, Chicago

The USC Trojan Marching Band performed a pre-game pep rally Friday afternoon on Chicago's Navy Pier, welcoming hundreds of Trojan Faithful to the Windy--and stormy--City. Following the pep rally, the band broke from its usual repertoire of ten songs to break into the Notre Dame Fight Song.

Well, not exactly. As you can hear in this video, this version of the song mentions nothing about thunder from the sky, but instead mentions what the Trojans are going to do to the Irish on Saturday. Hopefully.

Watch about halfway into the song and hear the band go acapella, "In heaven, there is ... no ... beer." A jingle which has been in my head all afternoon.

USC-Notre Dame: Cheer, Cheer for Beer! originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:18:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bielema to Sing at Wrigley

Bruce Ciskie — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 22:05:00 EST

Filed under: Wisconsin Football, Big 10, Chicago, Wisconsin, Cubs

Ever since the passing of legendary Chicago Cubs announcer Harry Caray, a veritable "Who's Who" have gotten in line to sing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" at Wrigley Stadium Field.

Some have done it with great passion and effort.

Others, like Mike Ditka, apparently had to use the bathroom.

Ozzy Osbourne would have us believe he really didn't know the words, but he know how to say "Let's get some runs!".

Of course, it was Jeff Gordon who knew neither where he was nor what the words were.

("Yeah! Let's get some runs!")

Even former Wisconsin football coach and current athletic director Barry Alvarez has done the deed. Now, so will his successor.

Yes, second-year Wisconsin head man Bret Bielema will sing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" Monday night at Wrigley, as the Cubs take on the Philadelphia Phillies. He'll be in Chicago for the Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon starting Tuesday.

Bielema will join Ron Zook (Illinois) and Charlie Weis (Notre Dame) as active college football coaches who have performed in front of the masses. I'm thinking Bielema will look skinnier in a Cubs jersey than Weis did.

Bielema to Sing at Wrigley originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 24 Jul 2007 22:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Charlie Weis Is No Harry Caray

Brian Grummell — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 12:29:00 EST

Filed under: Notre Dame Football, Chicago, Cubs

Anyone who has ever seen the late great Harry Caray sing the seventh inning stretch during a Cubs baseball game knows just how distinctive and resonant his performances were. The old man may or may not have been soused on pre-game Old Style's, but he came strong no matter what.

Since his death, various celebrities and notables have stood in for him to deliver the stretch. Recently, Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis contributed to the legacy. Sadly, it was more like a lullaby than Caray's impassioned and rousing stretches. Hopefully the video will hit YouTube but for now, see this link and watch the video.

Where was his football coach voice? This was more like he was singing to his daughter than to the assembled 40,000 at Wrigley. At least the offensive mentality shines through. After completing the ballad, Weis shouts "let's score some runs!"

Indeed.

(Via: SportsByBrooks)

Charlie Weis Is No Harry Caray originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 03 Jul 2007 12:29:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jeff Samardzija Should've Stuck With Football

Pat Lackey — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 15:27:00 EST

Filed under: Notre Dame Football, NFL Prospects, Chicago, Cubs, NL Central

It's funny to think of Jeff Samardzija and baseball together (or to see him in a Cubs uniform!), but I suppose that's what we have to do since he's currently in the Cubs minor league system. I suppose currently is definitely the best word for it. From today's LA Times (free registration required):

The Cubs bought him out of a possible NFL career in January, guaranteeing him $10 million. He has started 11 games this season, winning none, with a 5.75 ERA, a .349 opponents' batting average and only 20 strikeouts in 52 innings. The Cubs moved him to the bullpen last week.

If you're the kind of person that needs a record to verify pitching performance, Samardzija's 0-5 this year.

I don't know who to question more on this one. On one hand, Samardzija definitely had an NFL career waiting for him after his impressive college years at Notre Dame. On the other hand, a career in baseball is definitely a safer thing than a career in football.

Then you've got the Cubs side of things. Samardzija was a fifth round draft pick by the Cubs. I understand part of the reason he fell so far was worries over his football career, but $10 million is a ton of money to pay any draft pick, especially one not taking in the top couple picks of the draft. And people think Alfonso Soriano and Jason Marquis are over paid. In any case, with the start that his baseball career is off to, one can't help but wonder if he's got a Drew Henson-like career ahead of him, bouncing from sport to sport without ever really settling in.

LA Times link via Lion in Oil, Lion in Oil link via Ballhype. Chest bumps and hat tips all around.

Jeff Samardzija Should've Stuck With Football originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 11 Jun 2007 15:27:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pigs Fly: Illinois Football Tickets Selling Out

Brian Grummell — Wed, 30 May 2007 19:39:00 EST

Filed under: Big 10, Chicago, Illinois Football, Illinois

SORT OF. Examine if you will the graphic below. Notice anything ... unusual?

Holy crap! Ron Zook may not set the world on fire as a coach, but his legendary salesman's rep continues to grow.

An explanation:

The Fighting Illini football program has enjoyed a generous season ticket sales increase with more than 10,000 new seat holders already on board for the 2007 campaign. The increase is the second-best number recorded nationally, behind only Rutgers University, which has sold more than 12,000 this offseason. No other institution offered a new season ticket number comparable to the increase Illinois.

Well there you have it. Juice Williams and his 39% completions are still at quarterback, but at least the Fighting Illini will have a few more fans in the stands.

Pigs Fly: Illinois Football Tickets Selling Out originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 30 May 2007 19:39:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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