In a familiar place… Attempting to prove progress… Jockeying for any position other than last in the B1G West — these are Northwestern’s dilemmas of the week. When was the last time this column actually rejoiced over the team’s state??
Last week, I opined that the ‘Cats’ win against UTEP elevated them from Hell to purgatory — knocking the stateside monkey off their back and setting them up for the chance to demonstrate progress. If you judge progress by wins, the victory versus the Miners led to no overarching improvement, given the immediate loss to Duke. But I try to remain an optimist when discussing Northwestern’s football team — much to the disdain of some Inside NU’s commenters, often counterintuitive even to my own brain — and I think there are bright spots to be found among the bleak 24-point blowout Duke laid on this past Saturday.