When I felt Fitzgerald lost control of the game, comparing coaching

[TenerHallTerror]

everyone is talking about the critical targeting call/ejection of Paddy Fisher with 8:46 left in the 3rd quarter.

I did not believe Fitzgerald had the proper demeanor with the player after the call, but it came as no surprise because on the play before that one, NW stuffed Saquon for a 7 yd loss. The NW players reacted like they had scored a TD.

When you're down 17 points at home, your demeanor needs to be ALL business. In that moment, I felt Fitzgerald had lost control of his players and the game. "Act like you belong there" comes to mind.

But when you're defensive game plan just seems to be "stifle Saquon's Heisman standing", it is easy to see WHY your team is down 17 at home and celebrating that play. But all praise to Franklin, a great coach who has the trust of his players. And Saquon doesn't get mad, he gets even. He ripped off a 53 yd TD run a few minutes later.

I see a LOT of discipline on Penn State, especially on the defense. This is one part great recruiting, one part great coaching.

 

[BBrown]

everyone is talking about the critical targeting call/ejection of Paddy Fisher with 8:46 left in the 3rd quarter.

I did not believe Fitzgerald had the proper demeanor with the player after the call, but it came as no surprise because on the play before that one, NW stuffed Saquon for a 7 yd loss. The NW players reacted like they had scored a TD.

When you're down 17 points at home, your demeanor needs to be ALL business. In that moment, I felt Fitzgerald had lost control of his players and the game. "Act like you belong there" comes to mind.

But when you're defensive game plan just seems to be "stifle Saquon's Heisman standing", it is easy to see WHY your team is down 17 at home and celebrating that play. But all praise to Franklin, a great coach who has the trust of his players. And Saquon doesn't get mad, he gets even. He ripped off a 53 yd TD run a few minutes later.

I see a LOT of discipline on Penn State, especially on the defense. This is one part great recruiting, one part great coaching.

Mine was in the 2nd half when they showed a the NW sideline and there was a group of players dancing. WTF? Your losing by 17, with no hopes of your offense even getting a first down and your dancing? SMH.

 

[BrianS]

Mine was in the 2nd half when they showed a the NW sideline and there was a group of players dancing. WTF? Your losing by 17, with no hopes of your offense even getting a first down and your dancing? SMH.

This!!!!
My wife and I said the same thing. Dancing on the sideline when you are losing the game. I would hope someone from Northwestern, who was watching the game on TV, reports this to Fitzgerald. Might be some suspensions happening.

 

[bytir]

He lost it when he signed off on the game plan to sell out to stop 26. Ask IU & Pitt how that worked out for them. Ferentz is the only one who got close, and it took an incredible atmosphere and off night by Trace to get there.

That atmosphere yesyerday on Homecoming seemed off on TV. Curious what those that went thought. Seems like there us something wrong in the land of the purple cats!

 

[PSU.:.]

Secondary was amazing yesterday. They destroyed the passing game knocking balls down all over.

 

[garw]

I think Fitz is mad he didn't get the PSU job. They have gone all out the last few years to beat State. Franklin needs to up the killer instinct and tool Fitz next time we play.

 

[Ski]

He lost it when he signed off on the game plan to sell out to stop 26. Ask IU & Pitt how that worked out for them. Ferentz is the only one who got close, and it took an incredible atmosphere and off night by Trace to get there.

That atmosphere yesyerday on Homecoming seemed off on TV. Curious what those that went thought. Seems like there us something wrong in the land of the purple cats!

From the stands I felt a lack of passion. Homecoming, top 5 opponent, nice day for October in Chicago and 10 minutes before the game there were huge numbers of empty seats. Every NW season ticket holder in the seats around and behind me must have sold their tickets to the game on StubHub, as we had our own mini PSU section on the 50 yard line. Shows exactly how tough the NW coaching job is.

 

[T J]

I think Fitz is mad he didn't get the PSU job. They have gone all out the last few years to beat State. Franklin needs to up the killer instinct and tool Fitz next time we play.

Fitz is a Northwestern guy all the way.
He's a NW legend, he graduates his players at a very good school and still plays competitive BT football.

Fitz is a great fit for their school.

 

[Fox Chapel Lion II]

Mine was in the 2nd half when they showed a the NW sideline and there was a group of players dancing. WTF? Your losing by 17, with no hopes of your offense even getting a first down and your dancing? SMH.

I saw that. I don't know if they do that shiz all the time or if they save it for when they are losing to Top-5 teams. I thought it was very Pitt.

 

[NewEra 2014]

Fits lost his composure early in the first quarter. I don't ever remember seeing him get so unhinged on the sideline before, but he was Nardouche-level batsh*t yesterday. Something was off with the guy.

 

[garw]

I never said Fitz wasn't a good fit for Northwestern. He has a coaches ego and with that comes the urge to play on the biggest stages.

 

[Sharkies]

Mine was in the 2nd half when they showed a the NW sideline and there was a group of players dancing. WTF? Your losing by 17, with no hopes of your offense even

This... I noticed it too. They were actually only down by 10 at the time, game not over. I said they are gonna be sorry when the coaches review the game tape, because here they are on the sidelines dancing... Like wtf? You want to play football or do you want to dance?

 

[AldenT]

Fits lost his composure early in the first quarter. I don't ever remember seeing him get so unhinged on the sideline before, but he was Nardouche-level batsh*t yesterday. Something was off with the guy.

All that steroid use in college coming back to bite him. Bats in the belfry.

 

[loosey goosey]

He deserves the beat down after he mocked James at the Big 10 media day

 

[T J]

I never said Fitz wasn't a good fit for Northwestern. He has a coaches ego and with that comes the urge to play on the biggest stages.

Believe his family loves it at NW.

They have millions to spend in a metro area they like, where he grew up. Wouldn't surprise if they want their sons to go to Northwestern too, because of the academics and being a Big Ten member.

Fitzgerald resides in Northfield, Illinois with his wife, Stacy, and three sons, Jack, Ryan, and Brendan.

He purchased a $2.3 million newly constructed home in January 2010.[3]

A born and bred Chicagoan, Fitzgerald is a huge fan of the area pro sports teams often using his Twitter feed to support the Bears, Blackhawks and White Sox. While Fitzgerald has led the Wrigley Field crowd in the iconic "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" song during the seventh inning stretch of a Cubs game,

as a South Sider he is a die-hard White Sox fan.

Fitzgerald signed a ten-year contract extension with Northwestern before the 2011 season.

While Northwestern, as a private institution, is not required to release compensation figures the school's tax data released in 2013 shows that Fitzgerald earned $2.2 million in 2011; he is widely believed to be the university's highest paid employee.[4]
​

 

[mrtailgate]

This... I noticed it too. They were actually only down by 10 at the time, game not over. I said they are gonna be sorry when the coaches review the game tape, because here they are on the sidelines dancing... Like wtf? You want to play football or do you want to dance?

Bad white boy dancing. Heck with the coaches, wait till the other players see it,

 

[bdgan]

Secondary was amazing yesterday. They destroyed the passing game knocking balls down all over.

PSU had no respect for NW's passing game. I saw one 3rd down where PSU had all 11 defenders within 3 yards of the LOS. Even the announcers commented about PSU having nobody at safety.

 

[PaoliLion]

All that steroid use in college coming back to bite him. Bats in the belfry.

He deserves the beat down after he mocked James at the Big 10 media day

What did he do at media days?

 

[mn78psu83]

PSU had no respect for NW's passing game. I saw one 3rd down where PSU had all 11 defenders within 3 yards of the LOS. Even the announcers commented about PSU having nobody at safety.

Good point. The coaching staff obviously sized up NU's receiving personnel against the PSU secondary and said, "Let them try to throw downfield on us."

 

[Victor E. Bell]

Mine was in the 2nd half when they showed a the NW sideline and there was a group of players dancing. WTF? Your losing by 17, with no hopes of your offense even getting a first down and your dancing? SMH.

Thought it was very strange. This is simply not done. Clown around when the game is salted away. I think a few kids are going to get acquainted with every bleacher in Ryan Field. If those were our kids and we were losing I'd be going bats and this board would be volcanic.

 

[T J]

He deserves the beat down after he mocked James at the Big 10 media day

Please remind. What did he do?

 

[SmithtonLion]

Most games, whether with PSU, Ohio State, Alabama, Utah, Texas, or Pitt are won or lost on February 4th two or three years before the game.

 

[TenerHallTerror]

Mine was in the 2nd half when they showed a the NW sideline and there was a group of players dancing. WTF? Your losing by 17, with no hopes of your offense even getting a first down and your dancing? SMH.

trying to find clips of the infamous Pitt water dance . . . hilarious

 

[rudedude]

The atmosphere at NU IMO is not big time college football. More reminiscent of a larger high school football game. In between periods having a dude try to toss a football through a hole? Buffalo Wild Wings sauce races? Huh?

We even walked through all the tailgating outside the stadium and, compared to ours, their tailgating is maybe one parking section at Beaver Stadium. Not a big time college football atmosphere, but it is an excellent university.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

Mine was in the 2nd half when they showed a the NW sideline and there was a group of players dancing. WTF? Your losing by 17, with no hopes of your offense even getting a first down and your dancing? SMH.

Similar to Wadley shushing the crowd down 14 last year

 

[BBrown]

trying to find clips of the infamous Pitt water dance . . . hilarious

LOL, do they still do that?

 

[TenerHallTerror]

LOL, do they still do that?

let me ask the 4 Pitt fans on the PantherPiss-Lair who haven't drunk themselves into a complete holiday stupor

 

[BBrown]

The atmosphere at NU IMO is not big time college football. More reminiscent of a larger high school football game. In between periods having a dude try to toss a football through a hole? Buffalo Wild Wings sauce races? Huh?

We even walked through all the tailgating outside the stadium and, compared to ours, their tailgating is maybe one parking section at Beaver Stadium. Not a big time college football atmosphere, but it is an excellent university.

I get what your saying but lets not be too sanctimonious, we now do some stupid Lottery ticket promo's thats
pretty lame.

 

[LoyalandTrueLion]

Similar to Wadley shushing the crowd down 14 last year

Or Marcus Allen shushing the Michigan sideline last year in the fourth quarter.

As I posted in another thread do as I say....

 

[BBrown]

let me ask the 4 Pitt fans on the PantherPiss-Lair who haven't drunk themselves into a complete holiday stupor

LOL, I should have probably just asked that in general, since many of them spend their time coming up with "catchy" new names so they can post over here.

 

[Cosmos]

Mine was in the 2nd half when they showed a the NW sideline and there was a group of players dancing. WTF? Your losing by 17, with no hopes of your offense even getting a first down and your dancing? SMH.

What it tells me is they had no hope of winning. Just execute the game plan, which they did fairly well.

 

[TenerHallTerror]

What it tells me is they had no hope of winning. Just execute the game plan, which they did fairly well.

their gameplan seemed to simply be stifle Saquon's Heisman hopes.

truth is, Saquon only wants the team to win.

 

[Obliviax]

I never felt threatened by NW, not once during the game. We so dominated on defense and were moving the ball there was nothing to be afraid of. As someone said, NW simply didn't have the horses. I felt that Fitz did what he could do, just like Iowa, keep it close and hope to get lucky. When we went up 17, it was certainly over.

 

[anon_1eeb2b426hv3y]

I think Fitz is mad he didn't get the PSU job. They have gone all out the last few years to beat State. Franklin needs to up the killer instinct and tool Fitz next time we play.

Might want to check your history on that one.

 

[Player2BNamedL8r]

I did not believe Fitzgerald had the proper demeanor with the player after the call, but it came as no surprise because on the play before that one, NW stuffed Saquon for a 7 yd loss. The NW players reacted like they had scored a TD.

I may be in the minority on this one, but I had no problem with the way Fitz handled the player's ejection. Nobody was hurt, nor was there a real intent to hurt. His player made a mistake and Fitz spoke with him 1:1 about it before dismissing him...he knew what he did and it wasn't the time for berating.

Also, no problem with celebrating stuffing the best RB on the planet (including perhaps the NFL) for a loss, especially since they were stuffing him all day. Their defense - and particularly their front 7 - played well.

As for the dancing...I didn't see it (DVRed the game and watched in fast mode), but agree it's out of place on a losing team's bench.

 

[TenerHallTerror]

I may be in the minority on this one, but I had no problem with the way Fitz handled the player's ejection. Nobody was hurt, nor was there a real intent to hurt. His player made a mistake and Fitz spoke with him 1:1 about it before dismissing him...he knew what he did and it wasn't the time for berating.

Also, no problem with celebrating stuffing the best RB on the planet (including perhaps the NFL) for a loss, especially since they were stuffing him all day. Their defense - and particularly their front 7 - played well.

As for the dancing...I didn't see it (DVRed the game and watched in fast mode), but agree it's out of place on a losing team's bench.

my point was their lack of discipline and focus showed on the next play (targeting). I get it, they were digging for some emotion to overcome that ass-handing they had experienced all day. but celebrating wildly when you're down 17 merely over a tackle for a loss . . . wrong place, wrong time, and it showed.

let me ask though, you think Franklin would be smiling at that kid who got ejected? or Joe?

 

[Player2BNamedL8r]

my point was their lack of discipline and focus showed on the next play (targeting). I get it, they were digging for some emotion to overcome that ass-handing they had experienced all day. but celebrating wildly when you're down 17 merely over a tackle for a loss . . . wrong place, wrong time, and it showed.

let me ask though, you think Franklin would be smiling at that kid who got ejected? or Joe?

Good question. Joe may have let the kid have it, but probably would've said nothing at all (saved it for the locker room). Not sure how Franklin would've handled it...I can see him being supportive or more like Joe...I don't remember how he was last year vs meatchicken when our guy was ejected (I know he wasn't happy with the referines).

 

[rudedude]

I get what your saying but lets not be too sanctimonious, we now do some stupid Lottery ticket promo's thats
pretty lame.

I’m not trying to be sanctimonious. That stuff is just plain cheesy. What if we had a race between periods of different bottles of DelGrosso’s tomato sauces or how about do a flip like the Band Major and win a million dollars (if you break your neck doing it, PSU will be more than happy to hand over millions of dollars to you!!)

 

[TenerHallTerror]

Good question. Joe may have let the kid have it, but probably would've said nothing at all (saved it for the locker room). Not sure how Franklin would've handled it...I can see him being supportive or more like Joe...I don't remember how he was last year vs meatchicken when our guy was ejected (I know he wasn't happy with the referines).

I haven't witnessed first hand a Penn State player being ejected under Joe's watch. I have watched guys commit stupid penalties, get sent to the sideline, and get an earful from Joe.

 

[PSUSignore]

I may be in the minority on this one, but I had no problem with the way Fitz handled the player's ejection. Nobody was hurt, nor was there a real intent to hurt. His player made a mistake and Fitz spoke with him 1:1 about it before dismissing him...he knew what he did and it wasn't the time for berating.

Agreed. In fact I came away impressed with how Fitzgerald handled it. I read after the game that he is a big advocate of rules that prevent hits to the head and as such, he basically said he embraced his players to remind them that those rules are there for a good reason and that if the ejections held up after replay, that they should exit the field quickly and to not cause a scene while doing so. Compare that to players you see throwing temper tantrums and flipping off the crowds as they head to the locker room.

I am a big fan of Fitzgerald and hope he is able to turn things at Northwestern around, except when they play PSU of course. Their new facilities should go a long way to help.