Most Iconic Pictures in Northwestern Sports History: #8

Photo originally found on wnursports.com

This is simply a legendary photo. This was one of the most epic games in Northwestern history. It is often referred to as the "33 game" (I explained why on a podcast, so listen to find out). The look of pure joy on the Northwestern players and the look of defeat on the Ohio State players perfectly sums up how monumental of an upset this was. In the end, this picture captures one of the biggest upsets in Northwestern football history.

Northwestern Football Uniform Combinations: #1

Over the next few weeks, I will rank  Northwestern football's uniform combinations from the 2016 season  from my least favorite to my favorite (going from 12 to 1).

Helmet: White (Black "N")
Jersey: White

Pants: Black

Look great, play great

This uniform combination was AWESOME. The perfect balance of black and white, with a little purple mixed in. My favorite part of this uniform was the addition of the black facemask. It just gave the look a completeness and took this combination to another level. In my opinion, this may be the best uniform combination in Northwestern history. Northwestern wore their best uniform combination of the year in arguably their best performance of the year.

Northwestern Football Uniform Combinations: #2

Over the next few weeks, I will rank  Northwestern football's uniform combinations from the 2016 season  from my least favorite to my favorite (going from 12 to 1).

Helmet: Purple (White "Cat")
Jersey: White

Pants: Purple

Lookin' real good

This uniform is so similar to the last one, so really everything I said in the last post applies to this one. The only difference is that I like the "Cat" logo better than the "N" logo on the helmet.

Northwestern Football Uniform Combinations: #3

Over the next few weeks, I will rank  Northwestern football's uniform combinations from the 2016 season  from my least favorite to my favorite (going from 12 to 1).

Helmet: Purple (White "N")
Jersey: White

Pants: Purple

Lookin' good

I really like the purple and white in this uniform combination. This uniform is basically the inverse of the last one and they both worked really well. The continuity with purple and white on all three elements creates a really clean look.

Northwestern Football Uniform Combinations: #4

Over the next few weeks, I will rank  Northwestern football's uniform combinations from the 2016 season  from my least favorite to my favorite (going from 12 to 1).

Helmet: White (Purple "N")
Jersey: Purple

If only Northwestern played as good as they looked

Pants: White

This game (vs. Western Michigan) was not one of Northwestern's finest performances, to say the least. Their uniforms; however, were at the top of their game. The white combined with purple gave these uniforms an "icy" feel. The fact that these were worn for an afternoon game make it even better because the way the sun reflects off the white helmet and pants is truly awesome.

Northwestern Football Uniform Combinations: #5

Over the next few weeks, I will rank  Northwestern football's uniform combinations from the 2016 season  from my least favorite to my favorite (going from 12 to 1).

Helmet: Purple (White "Cat")
Jersey: Purple

Smooth

Pants: Black

Once again, Northwestern proved purple and black is a great combination. As I've already said, this was one of my favorite helmets that Northwestern wore last season. The pairing of the helmet with the purple and black pants created a combination that was a treat to look at.

Northwestern Football Uniform Combinations: #6

Over the next few weeks, I will rank  Northwestern football's uniform combinations from the 2016 season  from my least favorite to my favorite (going from 12 to 1).

Helmet: Black (Purple "N")
Jersey: Purple

Two games, two wins

Pants: Black

Another solid combination that revolves around black and purple. This is the only uniform combination that Northwestern wore more than once. They wore it for their first win (vs. Duke) and their final win (Pinstripe Bowl vs. Pitt). The presence of both purple and black on all three elements is a real nice touch. Overall, a solid combination that brought Northwestern success whenever they wore it.

Northwestern Football Uniform Combinations: #7

Over the next few weeks, I will rank  Northwestern football's uniform combinations from the 2016 season  from my least favorite to my favorite (going from 12 to 1).

Helmet: Black (Silver "Cat")
Jersey: Black
Pants: Purple

Too much sun

This is one of my favorite uniform combinations that Northwestern wears. I like the combination of black jersey with purple stripes and the purple pants. The only problem I have with this combination is that Northwestern wore it during the day. Just like the last combination I wrote about, the way the lights reflect off the jersey and helmet is awesome. Wearing this combination during a day game just causes the uniform to lose that quality.

Northwestern Football Uniform Combinations: #8

Over the next few weeks, I will rank  Northwestern football's uniform combinations from the 2016 season  from my least favorite to my favorite (going from 12 to 1).

Helmet: Black (Silver "Cat")
Jersey: Black
Pants: Black

Back in Black

This begins the part of the rankings where I like every uniform. This is a uniform that in my opinion, Northwestern can only wear at night. The way the lights reflect off the logo on the helmet and the white numbers is truly a very cool sight. The purple stripes are a nice touch, as well. Overall, this was a strong uniform combination.

Beaver Football Schedule Prediction

Sat, Aug 26	@	CO State      W- close one		1:30 PM
Sat, Sep 2	vs	Portland State  W- easy		1:00 PM
Sat, Sep 9	vs	Minnesota W- 10 pt win		9:00 PM
Sat, Sep 16	@	Washington St  L-  hopefully can make it close and win		4:30 PM
Sat, Sep 30	vs	Washington L- Washington is very good		TBD
Sat, Oct 7	@	USC L- very tough game on the road		TBD
Sat, Oct 14	vs	Colorado W- close win		TBD
Thu, Oct 26	vs	Stanford L- tough but we may pull it out at home		8:00 PM
Sat, Nov 4	@	California W this will be tough on the road. CLOSE GAME!		TBD
Sat, Nov 11	@	Arizona L- very close on the road could go either way		TBD
Sat, Nov 18	vs	Arizona State W- Blowout		TBD
Sat, Nov 25	@	Oregon-  WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW		TBD

BeavCast #2 will be coming out soon it will be a preview for Beavs Football next season.

Beaver Basketball Review: Big G

Big G is a fun team player. Big g seems like he is always having fun. He puts 100% effort every play he is in. Big G had a good season. Averaging about 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 0.2 assists. He puts good points and rebounds for his skill level. He is a player that impacts the game on and off the court. Offseason: Big G had a great season and I am content with his stats. He could be a better scorer and rebounder but his stats were fine.

Beaver Basketball Player Review: Kendal Manuel

Review: Kendal is coming off a broken leg injury. Therefore, he was just a freshman this past season. Kendal had an average season, but considering he was coming off a horrific leg injury I think he did fine. Kendal would have very good games with 10+ points but then he goes out and scores 0-4 points some games. His season high was 20 points, and his low was 0. Kendal never put up whopping assists and rebound numbers. Offseason- Kendal could work on every thing. Next year I would like to see him have 10 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists. This will be hard but Kendal can do it.

What Will Northwestern do at Linebacker in 2017-2018?

Anthony Walker Jr. was arguably one of the best defensive
players in Northwestern history.

"The Franchise" was a steady force in the middle of Northwestern's defense the past three seasons. Now he has taken his talents to Indianapolis and will try to help shore up the Colts' defense.

Joseph Jones was only a one year starter (last season), but he was a very good outside linebacker. His combination of speed and toughness made him ideal to match up with Big Ten offenses. He is now fighting for a roster spot with the Dallas Cowboys, where he signed as a highly touted Undrafted Free Agent.

It will be a challenge for Mike Hankwitz and his defensive staff to replace these big time contributors. They do; however, have a couple experienced building blocks to be the foundation for the linebacker group. These building blocks are Nate Hall and Brett Walsh. This duo has combined to make 17 career starts (12 by Hall, 5 by Walsh). Hall has seen a good amount of playing time in each of his first two seasons at outside linebacker. Walsh saw most of his playing time last season while replacing an injured Jaylen Prater. Hall is a similar build to Walker Jr. and has a similar play style. They are both big and strong, but have the quickness to be effective in coverage and make tackles in the open field. Walsh, on the other hand, is extremely undersized for a Big Ten linebacker— weighing only 215 pounds. His lack of size did not impact his effectiveness, though, as he used his quickness to avoid blockers and make plays.

While it is pretty much guaranteed that Hall and Walsh will be starters at linebacker, it is no guarantee what positions they will play and who will join them. The top contenders to play alongside Hall and Walsh are Warren Long, Nathan Fox, and Paddy Fisher.

Long was a running back up until the start of this offseason and a pretty good one at that. He ran for 329 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2015 as the primary backup to Justin Jackson. A broken hand sidelined him for pretty much the entire 2016 season (He only had one carry for nine yards). Long is now an outside linebacker. The only way he could start is if Hall moves to the middle linebacker spot. This is an interesting thought because Hall is a similar player to Walker Jr., so there is reason to believe he would thrive in the middle. This would allow Long and all his athleticism to see much more action at outside linebacker. Long's knowledge of offensive schemes, along with his vision, quickness, and strength make him an ideal fit at outside linebacker. This option is unlikely, though, because it seems to be too risky to move Hall out of the outside linebacker spot in which he has thrived for the past two seasons and risk him struggling in the middle.

Fox (45) appeared in all 13 games last season

Fox and Fisher are both unknowns. Fox is a redshirt sophomore and Fisher is a redshirt freshman. Fox appeared in all 13 games this past season, while Fisher did not see the field. Fox has recorded 11 career tackles. The only real evidence of these guys' abilities is spring practice. Even that doesn't really help because both of these guys had very strong springs. In the end, I think both of these guys will see time in the middle to start the season, and Hankwitz will wait for one to separate themselves and earn the starting job.

Northwestern has plenty of options at linebacker, but it all depends on how the players meet the challenges of playing linebacker in the Big Ten.

Northwestern Football Uniform Combinations: #9

Over the next few weeks, I will rank  Northwestern football's uniform combinations from the 2016 season  from my least favorite to my favorite (going from 12 to 1).

Helmet: White (Purple "N")
Jersey: White
Pants: White

Eh

This uniform is basically the same as the last one. It was all white, and it was a little bland. The only difference is that I like the "N" logo more than the Wildcat one.

BeavCats Cast #6

- Top 5 Lists

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9qmd59K_u44dEkwMS0yaGw4RHc


(Intro song: "Comin' To Your City" by Big & Rich)

Most Iconic Pictures in Northwestern Sports History: #9

Photo originally found in Northwestern Magazine

This picture pretty much sums up the history of Northwestern Football. Pat Fitzgerald has meant everything to Northwestern Football. Whether as a player or a coach, Fitz's intensity has taken Northwestern to new heights. I thought this picture is a great representation of the constant intensity Fitz has brought to Northwestern football.

Northwestern Football Uniform Combinations: #10

Over the next few weeks, I will rank  Northwestern football's uniform combinations from the 2016 season  from my least favorite to my favorite (going from 12 to 1).

Helmet: White (Purple "Cat")
Jersey: White
Pants: White

Eh

This uniform combination was not bad at all. I typically like when Northwestern wears all white uniforms, and this one was no different. To put it simply, this uniform combination was bland. It was all purple and white, which got a little boring. Coincidentally, Northwestern played pretty bland and boring in this game against Minnesota. Overall, this was a solid uniform combination, but it could have benefited from a third color to change things up.