When Pat Fitzgerald addressed the media after a 33-24 loss in Madison last September, he was a bit fidgety. He was slightly more short-tempered than usual, and his typical sarcasm was more frustrated than jovial.
It was only September, but Fitzgerald knew his team had just dropped a vital game his team after leading at halftime. Less than a month into its season, Wisconsin had dealt Northwestern’s division chances a crippling blow.
There’s no Wisconsin monkey on Fitz’s back. He’s beaten the Badgers three times as Northwestern’s head coach (in eight games), the most recent of which came in 2014 and 2015.