Northwestern Wildcats Win 49-7

The Northwestern Wildcats (1-1) hosted the Bowling Green Falcons (0-2) on a beautiful Saturday night in Evanston. I was excited about being “On the Beat” at Ryan Field for the first time this season.

Although the game started at 6:30, I arrived much earlier at around 2:30. Perhaps it is because I started this writing thing rather late in life, but I always arrive early to soak in all of the experience for as long as I can. From my first time with media credentials at a Los Angeles Dodgers game with my friend Chuck Gekas to this game almost 10 years later, I still get the same thrill. I hope it never wears off and I don’t think it will..

It was rather quiet as I entered Ryan Field. I saw the Wildcats loosening up on the field. As I watched these young athletes, I wondered which, if any, would be playing in the NFL one day. In the storied history of Northwestern football, over 170 players have made it to the NFL, including at least 7 currently on NFL rosters. That group includes 12th year guard Zach Strief of the New Orleans Saints.

Up this close and outside of actual game conditions, you really get a glimpse of how athletic these players are. Their speed, grace and pure athleticism is clearly evident as they seemingly effortlessly run through drills.

I watched the players for what seemed like a few minutes, but was actually about a half hour. Time flies for me in this environment.

I meandered out of the stadium to Wildcat Alley, which was starting to come alive. Vendor booths of food and fun were opening for business, the band was performing and fans started to fill the area. Within minutes, this area became a sea of purple.

I also had to take a slight detour to Sharon Drysdale Field, home of the Northwestern Wildcats Women’s softball team. I am already missing softball, but at least there will be a few more games, as I wrote on the Patch at Northwestern Wildcats to Play Fall Ball.

A this point, it was time to check out some tailgating, purely for reporting purposes, of course. Fortunately, I even had an invite courtesy of my previously mentioned friend Chuck, who was there with family.

The mile walk east was a mix of serenity (seeing the lake in the distance) and frenzy (as waves of purple fans passed by me as they headed to Ryan Field. I met my friends at the parking lot, just north of the future practice field for the Wildcats. My friends had a great tailgating setup, including a canopy tent, delicious food spread, beverages, a bags game and more. If they had a tv, I could have watched the game right here, with the awesome lake as a backdrop.

Fulfilling my reporting duties, I talked to Mark and Jean Egan, whose daughter is third year cheerleader Annie. Naturally, they predicted a win for the Wildcats, as did siblings Hunter and Julia. Annie’s uncle Chuck, aunt Mary and cousins Anthony and Jen Gattuso agreed. What better sources than insider’s thoughts?

This group was the perfect example of one of the things I love most about Northwestern football (and college sports in general). The love, enthusiasm and support of the families is so special.

I eventually tore myself away from the pre-game festivities to head back to the stadium. I hated to leave the fun, but at least I was headed for other fun.

I entered the stadium and briefly went to the field again, before heading to the press box. I saw my Chicago Sky media colleague Lisa Byington preparing for her historic broadcasting duties. She was about to become the Big Ten Network’s first female play-by-play announcer to call a game. Having enjoyed her other work on previous broadcasts and seeing her up close at Sky games, I was happy to see her achieve this milestone. She does excellent work and is a class person.

By this point, I already had a full day of fun, but the game hadn’t even started. Once it did, the action was fast and the Wildcats looked great. They scored first and were up 14-7 after one quarter and 35-7 at halftime. There was no scoring in the third quarter, but the Wildcats tacked on two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make the final score 49-7.

Looking at the team stats, the Wildcats had a narrow 30:05-29:55 edge in time of possession. The Wildcats had 375 passing yards to Bowling Green’s 256 and 303 rushing yards to 96 for the Falcons.

The Wildcats improved their record to 2-1. Their next game starts their conference play and is Saturday, September 30, against Wisconsin in Madison. This will be a challenge, as the Badgers have outscored their opponents 130-30 on the way to a 3-0 record.

I will not be in Madison, but I will be back in Evanston the next Saturday for Homecoming, when the Wildcats host Penn State. That will be another big hurdle, as Penn State has outscored opponents 141-14. At least it will be on home turf.

Those next two games will tell a lot about the Wildcats. Despite the impressive stats of the Nittany Lions and Badgers, I am not counting out the Wildcats.

Before I end my recap, you might be wondering why I summarized the actual game in just two paragraphs. I had an fantastic time at my first game of the season and I hoped to paint a picture of all of the activities available on game day. It truly isn’t simply a football game. If it was just a football game, you could watch it on television (and hear Lisa describe it so well). It is a whole experience filled with family and friends (old and new).

The full game recap, box score, play-by-play and other notes can be found on NUSports.com. You’ll also find the team schedule and ticket info there. You can also check BigTen.org for the bigger picture.