42. Northwestern

Rivals says: Air Force


I say.....

42. Northwestern Wildcats

The Wildcats are another team that I have considerably higher than Rivals, because for the last couple years they have been the perfect example of consistancy. 6-7 wins every year is not something to brag about, but given the history of it's program, three stright bowl trips is certainly nothing to scoff at either. The Wildcats are historically to the Big 10 what Baylor is to the Big 12 and Vanderbilt to the SEC: a school big to be worth having, and an automatic win for any decent program every year. The Wildcats had one of the worst runs of any program in history in the late 70's, I even once read that fans rushed the field after losing to a rival team by 20 points because getting that close was thought to be unthinkable. The bar has been raised now, there will be no field-rushing for a loss, because this team is now generally thought to be capable of an upset. The Big 10 is tough this years, and the Wildcats will not be contender, but once again should have no problem earning bowl eligability and competing against a second tier team from another big six conference, which is about what one should expect from a 42nd ranked team. The running game will almost certainly have to improve this year, ranked 95th nationally last year, but returning all five starters on the line. The schedule is pretty light too, with the toughest out of conference game being the aforementioned joke squad of Vanderbilt. Additionally, the Cats will get to skip Ohio State this year in conference play and facing Iowa at home may give Northwestern a shot in that game. The key to getting noticed nationally will be a hot start, the only team that went to a bowl last year on the schedule during the first 6 games is 6-6 Minnesota, largely thought to be just about the worst bowl team in the nation last season. A hot start will be necessary to get noticed, because Wisconsin, Penn State, and Iowa are three of the last four games, and getting out of that stretch at anything better than 2-2 will be virtually impossible for this team.