Oct. 04--As he walked to the podium for Northwestern's postgame news conference, a $50 bill fell from the royal blue pants of Northwestern safety Godwin Igwebuike.
"I put these pants on and I found $50 in it," Igwebuike said. "The day keeps getting better."
Could there be a more apt parallel to Northwestern football?
No one outside the program expected more than a seven-win season. But the outlook keeps getting better.
A stomping of Stanford brought hope. Drubbing Duke cemented the defense as legit. And what to think now after Northwestern blanked Minnesota 27-0 for its first Big Ten shutout since coach Pat Fitzgerald roamed around in a No. 51 jersey?
Fans, it's time to dream big.
If you're still scarred by what transpired in 2013, when a 4-0 start and ESPN "College GameDay" visit was wrecked by a stunning loss to Ohio State and miserable finish to a 5-7 season, get over it.
If you're a Chicago-area alum who chose Little Jimmy's soccer game over witnessing this potential Big Ten West champion, rethink your future plans.
Even if the 5-0 Wildcats lose to suddenly mighty Michigan on the road Saturday, the winner of Northwestern's Oct. 17 game against Iowa will be the favorite to get to the Big Ten title game.
Barely 30,000 people showed up to Ryan Field on Saturday to take in Northwestern's first Big Ten shutout since a 1995 dismantling of Wisconsin. A few bare-chested students spelled out "LETS GO" and some others began a half-hearted chant of "Undefeated!" in the game's final minute.
This team deserves far more.
This could be the nation's premier defense, having yielded just 35 points -- and three touchdowns -- in its five victories, three against Power Five teams.
Asked about the shutout, Igwebuike replied: "That's what we expect as a defense. Going out and just dominating."
I asked Fitzgerald, the defensive star of the 1995 team that went to the Rose Bowl, how the two defenses compare.
"I have every chapter of that group in '95," he said. "I'm not ready to even put this group in the same category. We have a lot of chapters left to write. But if they continue to progress, I think it has a chance to be much better. It's much more athletic; it's much deeper.
"The challenge is: Will we continue to put weight on the bar, so to speak? As you go up in Big Ten play, it gets heavier and heavier and harder and harder. The potential is there to be something we'll be very proud of."
Fitzgerald normally revels in pointing out his team's flaws. After beating Stanford, he criticized players for their body language. The Duke victory brought on this: "We blocked atrociously on the perimeter. Our wide receivers were awful."
But after being asked Saturday about limiting Minnesota to converting only 4 of 16 third downs, Fitzgerald replied: "If you include the fourth-down (attempts), they were 4 of 20. That's pretty dominant. I know Hank (defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz) and the guys will be pretty mad about the four they got. All we'll talk about (Sunday) will be why we didn't go 20-for-20."
Wow. How's that for confidence?
Northwestern's missing link has been its passing game. The strategy regarding redshirt freshman quarterback Clayton Thorson heading into Saturday seemed to be: Don't blow it, kid. But Thorson was terrific against the Gophers.
It took a rugby-style scrum to tackle him on a 5-yard gain in the second quarter. His read-option keeper gave Northwestern its first touchdown a few minutes later. And on a fourth-and-7 completion to Mike McHugh, he took a big hit just after firing a perfect strike.
"Amazing growth," receiver Christian Jones said. "I think Clayton could be one of the greatest to play here, honestly."
That comment startled Igwebuike, who was sitting next to Jones. The two chuckled.
Hey, if there was ever a day to make grandiose statements and comparisons, this was it.
tgreenstein@tribpub.com
