Northwestern Enters Buckeye Nation

As advertised - Lake the Posts (LTP) of the prestigious Big Ten Bloggers has taken over Buckeye Lane (BL).

BL: What do you think NU’s chances of winning are this weekend?

LTP: Slim to none. Coming into the season I thought it may have been the first time I can remember ever thinking we had a legit shot at winning in The Shoe. OSU had a hundred question marks and NU was under the radar with all of our skill players returning, a solid line and a defense that was allegedly going to be our best in a decade. Well, Tyrell Sutton went down in quarter one of week 2, our defense has been horrific and the Buckeyes answered every question last week at Washington. I do think our offenses are similar and C.J. Bacher is quietly becoming a reliable asset, but I expect our D to get steamrolled this week.

BL: Does NU go into every OSU game expecting a win or hoping just for a good game?

LTP: Rarely do we expect a win against the Buckeyes. I’m as positive as they come, but I don’t remember ever penciling in a “w” in August when looking at the schedule and seeing the Buckeyes. However, I will tell you this is one of the few upsides of being the scrappy underdog. The mere thought of a win is a season-maker, regardless of our overall record (see 2004). That adds so much juice to the game. Most of us live in fear of getting embarrassed, which has happened –most recently last year when you whooped us 54-10. The reason I started the blog was the fact that I was sick of being chuckled at for rooting for the purple. Here in Illinois, the Illini, who have had one good season in the last 17 years, somehow are regarded as a respectable program. The Cats have gone 16-16 in conference play during the last four seasons (remember, most people still think of us as only being good in our Big Ten (co)Champion years – 1995, 1996, 2000) yet still are carrying the “Dark Age” burden of being bad for so long.

BL: I’m guessing OSU is like an evil empire for NU - Do u hate Michigan more? Give me a list of the most hated teams in order for NU-

LTP: Amazingly, no. Unless, of course, you are an NU alum who is a) from Ohio b) living in Ohio or c) married to someone from Ohio. We tend to dislike Michigan more and that is likely because we are competitive with them since 1995 (3-7 with a couple of close games) and their alums always seem to be lobbying for the value of a Michigan education which is about the only thing NUers cling to when it comes to trying to claim the #1 slot in the Big Ten. Here is LTP’s take on the Big Ten:

Most Disliked:

Illinois (what is that?) –

(Illinois is the most hated opponent Northwestern plays)

Illinois is our only true rival who despite having an imcomparably worse program over the last decade plus still somehow doesn’t get the cellar dweller treatment.

Michigan – we love knowing they fear us since we have beaten them a few times since 1995. The academic debate drives them/us crazy.

Wisconsin – this plays into a larger cultural phenomenon that no joke stems from the fact that Wisconsin-ites hate the fact that Chicagoans vacation up there and create traffic issues. We also laugh since they take themselves so seriously not knowing they were our only chance for a win during a 25-year stretch until Barry came to town.

Iowa – Their alums are everywhere in Chicago and their fans tend to be obnoxious. Barnett and Hayden didn’t particularly like each other and we continue to beat them, but they show us no respect. We are 6-4 against the Hawks since 1995.

Ohio State – the one untouchable team for NU fans. We take solace in the fact that we continue to steal under the radar players who turn into our poster children ( Tyrell Sutton, Adam Kadela, etc…).

Like:

Penn State – How can you root against JoePa? His comments about NU during 95 and 96 made us feel special.

Indifferent:

Indiana – Since 95 we’ve owned the series so if anything we like seeing them.

Purdue – Nice fans, hard to dislike.

Michigan State – Despite the 2006 debacle we have had success against them in recent years. We used to really dislike them in the 80s and early 90s.

Minnesota – Now that our former OC is there, we expect to see the spread coming back at us. Again, we’ve had success and therefore little disdain.

Thanks - look for my answers on Lake the Posts