It's here. Big Ten media days -- and that means the college football season is right around the corner. The annual event brings together all of the coaches and some of the most notable players to stand in front of the media and try to formulate answers on things that they just don't know about yet.
It's all good fun, and we've been taking a look at all 18 of the teams now in the improved -- er expanded Big Ten to highlight some of the top things inquiring minds want to know. It would be an understatement to suggest it was a surprising year for Northwestern, somehow coming off the mat after Pat Fitzgerald was let go to elbow its way into a bowl game, but now a new year brings new expectations.
Here's a look at three of the top questions facing Northwestern football in 2024 as we get set for Big Ten media days.
3. Was last year just smoke, mirrors, and sleight of hand?
I still don't believe Northwestern was able to win eight games last year including a win over Utah in SRS Distributors Las Vegas Bowl, but a quick look back after blinking our eyes and removing the glasses reminds us that, yes, that's exactly what happened. Kudos, but can that be repeated, even improved upon in 2024? There were a lot of one-score wins that went the correct way last season and that same type of "finding a way to win" will have to be commonplace again this fall.
2. Will the elimination of divisions actually hurt Northwestern?
There's no two ways about it. Teams in the West Division of the Big Ten had a big advantage when it came to scheduling than teams in the East. Not having to deal with Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State on an annual basis gave teams in the West a leg up in most years. That's changing though and Northwestern's schedule in 2024 looks to be harder and that might be the case going forward. The Wildcats have to play Ohio State and Wisconsin at home and must travel to Michigan, Iowa, and Washington. Ouch.
1. How will "home games" go?
Remember those one-score games? Yeah, most of those were at home where the crowd and familiar environment created an advantage. You can throw that out the window this season because Ryan Field is going through an extreme makeover and five of the Wildcats home games are going to be at a "lakeside retreat" with fewer fans. The other two will be in Wrigley Field and that's been a house of horrors for the program so far, having yet to win there. Without a real home-field advantage, can we really expect Northwestern to put last year in the wash and rinse and repeat?