Oct. 20--The ghosts of Octobers past are haunting Northwestern once again.
The Wildcats, who have been outscored 78-10 in back-to-back losses, are now 7-16 in October beginning with the 2010 season after going 21-3 in August and September in the same span.
In addition to the level of competition typically picking up in October, classes don't begin until late September at Northwestern, which is on the quarter system.
"I'm not making excuses for it; we've got to be better handling our business," Fitzgerald said Monday in the wake of a 40-10 drubbing from Iowa. "I can't tell our guys not to go to class. That's not the way it works around here. So we've got to handle our business."
Fitzgerald met with his Leadership Council of players Monday to discuss issues that may have contributed to the Wildcats' dismal performances against Michigan (38-0) and Iowa after starting 5-0.
"We've got to be better Monday through Thursday; that way we can be more efficient on Saturday," Fitzgerald said. "We've got one more big game this weekend (at Nebraska). Getting out of the month 2-2 would not be ideal, but we'd finish it on a positive note and get to the bye week feeling better about ourselves."
Senior superback Dan Vitale said the Wildcats' October struggles have more to do with the competition than the academic demands.
"Obviously the stats show that we're not very good in October. But that's also when Big Ten play is starting, and that's the hard part of the season," Vitale said. "That's why we all come here, to play Big Ten football. Nobody ever said it was going to be easy, and that's when you kind of get your first taste of it.
"So in my opinion it's a little skewed, but the stats show it. We definitely need to be better in October."
fmitchell@tribpub.com
