B1G 2018 | Northwestern Potluck IV: Predicting the Wildcats’ 2018 Record

Northwestern plays the damn best home schedule in the country this year.
[ed. note: No research went into this hottaek.]

Of course, these teams are still coming to Ryan Field, where Northwestern enjoys a modest home advantage on good days and is drawn equally by visiting fans on...well, about 50% of Big Ten contests. So it might not be, well, any advantage.

But it’s a helluva draw for us, the fans. After a year in which I didn’t renew my season tickets because I got married and make very little money each year and my now-wife so lovingly suggested that I spent money on our down payment and wedding and my debt and—

What was I talking about?

Yes, our excellent home schedule, which has hopefully driven up season ticket purchases, especially for older Northwestern fans, who seem to have more of a hard-on than most for seeing Notre Dame (if because they likely grew up as Subway Alumni) and, now, beating Notre Dame, too. It’s an exciting slate, and I would put to you that it’s the country’s best.

Visitors include Duke, Akron (shut up, it gets better), Michigan, Nebraska, wisconsin, Notre Dame, and Illinois. Hell, here’s the whole schedule.

Got all that? Have you learned anything this week? Answer these questions anyways:

[1] Give us Northwestern’s 2018 record. Be as detailed as you’d like.

[2] Rate your team’s 2018 home schedule and tell us how mad you are as a fan that you’re wasting your money on that shit.

Thumpasaurus: I want to say 8 wins with losses to Michigan, MSU, Wisconsin and Notre Dame. I hate that Notre Dame is going to be pretty good this year. It’s the one game in which I will root for Northwestern.

However, that path to 8 wins seems a little too predictable. I don’t think they lose to Duke because they did it last year. So it’s going to be a loss to Purdue.

Then you balance that out by having them win a game they shouldn’t later in the year. Actually, the most Northwestern thing to do would be to lose a close one to Purdue, pound Duke to make the fans a little more confident, then lose to Akron totally inexplicably so the fans can start raging about whether or not Pat Fitzgerald can take this team to the next level. They lose the next two, squeeze out a win against Nebraska and don’t lose for the rest of the season, beating Wisconsin and Notre Dame in consecutive weeks. Then at the end of the year, the team is pretty good but why the hell did they lose to Akron?

I’m just glad our public execution at the hands of Penn State is kicking off so late. That’ll give me plenty of time to drink so much I forget about going to the game.

WSR: 4 gimmes (Duke, Akron, Rutgers, Illinois), Nebraska because it’s not on the road [ed. note: he doesn’t get how this relationships works], and wisconsin and Notre Dame because they’ll both be atrociously overrated, and **flips coin** yeah, you’ll beat Purdue. 8-4.

I would say that Michigan should be a win, but it’s still 2 days too early and therefore Michigan will get one last great performance out of whomever their September Heisman winner is.

Jesse: I’m terrible at predictions and we’ll have more time to do them later. I’m just here to say that I think Nebraska wins because Northwestern only beats Nebraska in Lincoln… This is not to say this is a good thing, but facts are facts…

Also 6-6 after some insane 4-0 start. MNW may die this season. (I’m terrible at predictions, as noted.)

Creighton: I’m sticking with 7-5 due to Fitzgerald’s tendency to rubber band backwards after having a good season. I think Notre Dame will win on some bullshit last minute randomness. I think Northwestern will probably drop one game it really shouldn’t. Duke maybe? No, Akron for sure. I think they beat Wisconsin, but don’t win the division.

Iowa’s schedule is dumb and boring. We get Indiana, Maryland, and Penn State as division crossovers, but our non conference games don’t feature a single Power 5 football team, as we play Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa, and Iowa State.

MC ClapYoHandz: I’ll go 9-3 here without reading any of the material that has been produced up to this point this week. [ed. note: thanks] Looking at either a fun MSU crossover win or a really, really fun Notre Dame upset.

Wisconsin’s home schedule ate paint chips as a kid, its breath smells like farts, and its farts smell like if you made a Bret Bielema Yankee Candle. The best game on the schedule is against a Nebraska team our Husker “writers” are hoping reaches 6 wins this season. Don’t believe me? Look up the lineup. I’m not linking it because I’m still annoyed I’ll probably have to watch half the games on public access this year.

There it is, folks. There’s hate tomorrow and some Mailbag answers before I die. Vote in the poll and let us know your picks in the comments. Thanks for a fun Northwestern Week!

B1G 2018: Northwestern Week

Monday: Preview | Potluck (worst 10-win season) | Mailbag Call

Tuesday: Coaches | Potluck (10th Assistant)

Wednesday: Traditions | Podcast | Potluck (Transfer Season)

Thursday: Facilities | Potluck (Predictions)

Friday: HATE | More HATE? | Mailbag