Sigh. More Northwestern-Auburn thoughts.
by Graham Filler on Jan 2, 2010 3:52 PM CST
in Northwestern
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PrintFake it huh. This is going to be a hot topic of discussion because it seems like anyone could kick a 22 yard field goal, which leads me to believe that Fitzgerald wanted to end the game RIGHT THEN instead of going into double OT. Personally? I don't go for it - the Wildcats had a tough defense and an offense that was picking up first downs. But who am I to question Fitzy? I love the way NW plays.
9 lives. I sweated through two shirts during the last 25 minutes of this game. Auburn rushed the field three times, I think. Kafka's non-fumble, Demos' missed field goal 1, Demos' missed field goal 2...There were so many "I don't believe it" plays, the true mark of a great game. Markshausen's non-fumble fumble that got illegally booted by an Auburn player into Kafka's hands...the momentum turning fumble on the kickoff return by Auburn...Kafka's game tying touchdown on a deep ball with a minute left in regulation...the wild fake field goal to end the game...
One of the better ref'd games I've seen. The crew, utilizing instant replay at every given opportunity, refused to blow calls that greatly affected the game. The kickoff return fumble that should have given NW the game? Correct. The Kafka fumble when the ball hit the ground first? Correct. The non-catch in OT that negated an illegal kicking by Auburn? Correct. Even the roughing the kicker penalty when Demos got knocked out of the game? Correct, in spite of the fact that the Auburn defender never went after Demos, only sliding on the wet turf. (Is there a 5 yarder in CFB?)
Kafka threw the ball 84 times. Is this bad? I don't know, but I love that NW could come back with a vengeance against a team with superior athletes.
Speaking of, superior athletes, Auburn laid out big hits and used their speed to take a two touchdown lead. But that magical spread offense, filled with wide receivers straight out of my Miami (OH) rec league team, kept the game competitive.
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The only issue
I had was “utilizing instant replay at every given opportunity”. They got the calls right, and that is a good thing. But the replays were too frequent, breaking up any sort of flow for the game. I don’t know how to avoid that, but I hated it.
It never gets to be easy
As I said in my recap
except for the one play, the field crew had all the plays on the field called correctly before the booth guys decided to review them…. a bit bizarre
I guess what I don't understand
is if they were instructed to to be overzealous? The regular season was not like this.
It never gets to be easy
by chitownhawkeye on Jan 2, 2010 6:57 PM CST up reply actions
Probably C-USA refs
And we know how good those guys are at their jobs.
I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning.
I hate Fitzy
But his postgame comments made me at least respect the man. He said he’d play to win the game. So does he regret going for it? Nope, he’d do it again — and twice on Sunday. It’s a Coach that will stand behind his convictions, believe in his players, and deal with the shitstorm if and when it comes.
I hate how jNW plays Iowa tough, and I hate how he gets them going for every game, but like I said, I respect the man for standing up for his decision. Bummer jNW had to lose that one. Both teams deserved the win.
Great game and effort by Northwestern
I really thought Northwestern was going to get run out of Raymond James Stadium after the early 14 point deficit, but man, they didn’t give up or quit. They showed as much in that loss as they did in any of their regular season wins, including their upset of Iowa.
If there’s such a thing as a ‘good loss’, this was it. I thought this game and the Michigan State matchup in the Alamo Bowl were going to be big losses for the conference, but both games were very good ones, and gave the Big 10 some creditability, even in a loss.
"We're used to Favre-a-palooza now. We're engulfed in Favre-a-palooza. It's not even Favre-a-palooza anymore. He's family now."
--Vikings TE Visanthe Shiancoe, on Brett Favre
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