Pat Fitzgerald always puts on a show for the media. The Northwestern coach is one of the more charismatic leaders in the Big Ten Conference. He also consistently has interesting things to say about his team and his coaching philosophy. Tuesday proved to be no different. He provided insight on the coming year's team, what he's looking most forward to, and why it's a poor philosophy to try and lose bowl games.
Fitzgerald tells all at Big Ten Media Days
Fans and media members were eagerly looking forward to Fitzgerald's time on Tuesday and he didn't disappoint.
He praised Northwestern's recruiting, which is better than it's ever been, claiming that the facilities and education helped to make that possible. He claimed that the football team was hoping to feel some of the momentum and charm that stemmed from the school's basketball team in the spring. He also cracked a joke at the expense of the Big Ten's newest coach, P.J. Fleck (Minnesota Golden Gophers).
There was a moment of strange levity amidst the Big Ten media mess, though. One intrepid reporter decided to ask if it would've been better for Northwestern to lose their bowl game last year - they won the Pinstripe Bowl. The reporter wanted to delve into the topic of motivation, but Fitzgerald clearly thought it was a silly question, as did most of Twitter.
He calmly responded by saying that he'd much rather his team come out of contests victorious than defeated.
Northwestern faces expectations
For the first time, arguably ever, the Northwestern Wildcats have plenty of expectations in 2017. They have the potential to win back-to-back bowl games for the first time in school history, a goal Fitzgerald is clearly shooting for.
The team has veterans across the offense, from the quarterback position to star running back Justin Jackson. Quarterback Clayton Thorson should be solid, if not better.
There are some major question marks, though. Anthony Walker Jr. is gone, meaning the run defense could be in trouble in a Big Ten that is going to thrive off shoving the ball down defenses on the ground.
They also lack a top flight wide receiver who could make Thorson better than he is and keep defenses honest, instead of crowding the box to take down Jackson. Those are questions Fitzgerald can address another day, though. For now, there's hope that Northwestern will actually be able to sustain the most successful run of football in the history of the program.
