Minnesota Gophers vs Northwestern Wildcats, 9/23/2023, 6:30pm

Wildcats 37 – Gophers 34 OT, Attendance: 20,148

Weather: Clear, 70; Ticket: $18, Face: $74, Parking: $150 (Stubhub both)

Paradise Lost by Tree

The Northwestern trip was our annual Nine O’clock club weekend. For those not familiar, this is a group of guys that I go to a game with every year. Because we are old, we usually crash on Saturday night by nine o’clock hence the name. It is one of my favorite weekends. We plan it very early and take great pains to make sure we pick a site and date that works with everyone. Despite our efforts, two of the guys, the “Chicago” guys, had to drop out. It was fairly ironic because, a) we picked Northwestern because of its proximity to Chicago for them and b) the one guy was going to host us all and square away the tailgating. To Mike’s credit, he did open his lovely home to us in the same posh neighborhood where the “Home Alone” house resides, not to mention exposing his wife and lovely daughters to four guys that would be in various stages of body odor and intoxication for the entire weekend. I am not sure his basement will every be the same. This group is generally not accustomed to such refined digs nor are they particularly easy on a cream and beige color palate. If you want to read more on the exploits of the Nine O’clock club see reviews of Ole Miss, Michigan, Notre Dame, SMU and Indiana.

Northwestern is in Evanston, Ill. Just outside of Chicago, getting to the campus is easy. I took a direct flight from D.C. and used primarily a combination of public transportation and Uber to get around. Being located so close to Chicago, visiting the Wildcats can easily be combined with a long weekend in the Windy City. We did just that, coming in on Thursday and catching the Pirates – Cubs game that night. We also hit an afternoon game at Wrigley on Friday. I spent the first night in a hotel downtown and then stayed with friends about 10 minutes from the campus for the rest of the weekend. I like Chicago and see it as a big plus of the Northwestern experience.

Obviously, to get to a Cubs game, you need to plan for a relatively early visit, but it worked well for us. Prior to the game, we had beers at the Cubby Bear, a bar just outside of Wrigley Field. There, we were treated to a unique experience. We struck up a conversation with some other Pirates fan, making small talk about the Pirates, etc. We soon discovered that we were relatively from the same area of the country, and being of relatively the same age, we had a fair bit in common. Then, about forty-five minutes into the conversation, they very nonchalantly noted that their son, Kyle Nicholas, had just been called up to the majors and was a reliever with the Pirates. My buddy, Tom, and I were blown away. These folks while obviously very proud of their son but were also very humble about his accomplishment. It was great to celebrate with them and soon we were drinking shots and toasting his success. After a couple of rounds, they then dropped what we considered was another bombshell. Turns out that Kyle’s mom was the sister of Todd Blackledge. Yes, the former PSU star QB and now famous college football announcer. Being big college football fans, we enjoyed that little nugget perhaps even more. Our weekend was already off to a fantastic start

The Wildcats play at Ryan Field. The tailgating lots are small. There are two lots, East and West. Having been told that West is the better lot, I secured a pass there. While very pricey at $150 at least there is a healthy after-market for them. So, tailgating is a viable option for visitors, albeit an expensive one. While the tailgating is not the same as other Big Ten schools, it is not bad either. We were surrounded by friendly fans and had enough room to set up cornhole, sort of. Our games would have to pause for the occasional fans migrating to other tailgates. It, of course, was not a big deal and we had a good time interacting with them. When we talked to fans about traditions, they didn’t have much to offer. It appeared that we would have find that out for ourselves. While I heard it has fallen a bit out of favor, I still think the Northwestern cheer of “That’s alright, that’s okay, you’re going to work for us some day” is absolutely one of the best.

Ryan Field has a nice classic architectural design. I like the curved upper level and the castle like cornerstone sections. Inside the stadium, it is fairly dated. There are seat backs in the middle sections and aluminum bleachers everywhere else. They did appear to sell seat backs, but I didn’t see where. The stadium has one large video board and two ribbons that thankfully provide lots of score updates. It is a medium sized stadium where every seat will give a decent view. We paid about $20 a seat for upper level, 30 yard line, but ended up sitting lower given the light attendance. (The hazing incident Northwestern had earlier this year had definitely reduced enthusiasm for the team). The concessions are very weak with generic food options, no beer, and worst of all, no souvenir cup. The rumor is that Ryan Stadium will be torn down at the end of the season and replaced with a smaller but nicer stadium. Given the crowd attendance, it would not be a bad idea.

We did not see a lot of unique traditions at Northwestern. They do make a claw sign and there is a Wildcat growl over the PA system after every first down. A couple of us noted that the growl may need an update. The Wildcat sounds a bit tired. The fan attire is standard: mostly jeans and t-shirts. I did see some purple and white overalls in the student section. One unique tradition is the Wildcat Dash where the freshman get to lead the student body across the field to their seats. They do this for the home opener of the Big Ten season. It was impressive to see all the students come in at once. I give that tradition a thumbs up. It also appeared that the students stood most of the game. The entrance of the team is not bad, coming out of a tunnel with a fair amount of smoke while the band plays. The band is smallish but sounded good. I did not see much of the their mascot, Willie the Wildcat. It may have been our seats, but I saw more of Goldy the Gopher running around. Minnesota fans were strong in attendance.

Northwestern was an eleven-point underdog for the game and in the first half, it sure looked like Vegas had got it right. After trading possessions, Minnesota fumbled deep on their side of the field. It took the Gophers all of one play to go nine yards and get a touchdown. In the second quarter, Minnesota had a couple more long drives to go up 21-0. Northwestern continued to struggle moving the ball although twice they just missed on deep passes. Finally, with barely two minutes left in the half, they connected on an 80-yard bomb to cut the lead to fourteen. However, Minnesota still managed to hit a long field goal on a drive that only took a minute. While the Gophers seemingly had the game in hand, part of me felt that the Wildcats still had a shot. Despite that, my companions compelled me to leave the game at halftime (more on that later).

The rest of this summary therefore comes from the box score and what I saw in Mike’s basement. Northwestern came out strong, stopping the Gophers and then managing a field goal. The teams then traded punts with Minnesota slowly flipping the field in their favor. They capitalized on the good field position scoring on a 43-yard run. So, at the end of the third quarter, it is Minnesota 31 – Northwestern 10. The Wildcats then go, well, wild. Scoring two touchdowns, mostly through the air, with both a long and short drive.

At this point, it comes to my attention the lunacy that is happening at Ryan Field and we switch to that game in the basement. I am treated to watching the Wildcats construct a perils of Pauline drive resulting in the tying touchdown with two seconds left. Off to overtime we go, where momentum drives Northwestern to victory. I watch in full dismay as the fans rush the field, knowing that I should have been there.

I am going to start this off by recognizing that not everyone has the same level of passion for sports, particularly college football, as I do. And that is okay. I don’t believe in leaving at halftime to beat traffic, escape inclement weather, or simply to do something else. I am not that guy, especially if I am alone. Sure, I have left games at halftime for the above reasons, but it is rare, very rare. Like I can count on one hand rare. The weather for our game was fantastic and we had great seats. The only reason to leave would be if the game was a complete blowout. The score of our game was 24-7 at the half and while close to a blowout, it was the kind of game I would stay for, particularly because the weather was great. Also, Northwestern had already hit one bomb, and had barely missed on two others. I had a sneaky feeling that they could score in a hurry against the Gophers.

Unfortunately, members of our group had other thoughts in mind. One of them came out of the tailgate in an, uh, more cheerful state. The other person in this duo was far more interested in the Ohio State-ND game. He made it clear that he thought the Minnesota – Northwestern game was a joke and the sooner we got back to a big screen TV, the better. Seriously, he was pouting five minutes after the kickoff. Normally, in this situation, I would have simply told them to go ahead and leave, and that I would catch up with them later. That was not an option for this game. I had agreed to be the designated driver for this crew.

When they left at the start of the 2nd quarter, I knew at best, I was going to be summoned for a halftime exit. All I could hope for was a dominant first half that would make me feel secure in my early departure. The Gophers were rolling, but the deep touchdown pass they gave up did give me pause. The Wildcats could climb back into this game. Sure enough, I saw a missed call on my phone with a few minutes left in the half from the early exit’ers. Like a couple of tired toddlers, they immediately called Tom when I missed the call. “We want to go home now.” they whined. I could almost see their feet stomping up and down as I watched Tom struggle to even get a word in edgewise. Knowing an argument would be futile, the remaining three of us packed up and headed to the car as the half ended.

In no time, we were back at the house, watching the Ohio State – Notre Dame game. To be fair, it was a helluva game. I checked the Northwestern score on my phone and breathed a sigh of relief. They had just gone up 31-10 late in the 3rd quarter. Whew, no storybook ending here. Not only that, but I had taken the Gopher minus eleven. Cha-Ching – money in my pocket. Blissfully unaware, I watched the Buckeyes beat Notre Dame in dramatic fashion.

All was right in the world as I started to get ready for bed when Tom called out to me, “Northwestern’s come back!”. Awe, motherf*cker, I thought to myself. Sure enough, we jumped over to the Big Ten network just in time to see them tie the score with seconds left. As mentioned, a wave of regret rolled over me like a thick black fog. Adding insult to injury was that our original plan for the day was to join a tailgate after the game with some of the Northwestern parents and players. Our host knew some of them and had made the connection days earlier. I can only imagine how much fun that celebration would have been. Despite running on empty after three days of gratuitous sports spectating (two Cubs game and the Northwestern game), I was too distraught to go to sleep. Meanwhile, the dynamic duo was oblivious to all of this, having crashed immediately after the Notre Dame finish. As Tom and I watched the west coast games wind down, every Northwestern highlight was like another dagger to my heart.

This much I knew. Sure, I had a great time on this trip, but changes needed to be made – if for nothing more than saving the integrity of somanystadiums.com. More Rece Davis and less Pat McAfee if you will. Because, if you can’t count on us to stay for a dramatic ending who can you count on?

As for Northwestern, plucky grit aside, it is not a destination to seek out. It is generally average in all facets. However, it is not a destination to avoid. The proximity to Chicago alone is enough to warrant a visit if your team is playing the Wildcats or you want mix in some college football with a visit to the Windy City. But whatever you do, don’t give up on Northwestern early, you may regret it. I sure did.