And so it ended in the gray cold of November just as it had begun in the soft sunshine of September–with an erratic performance that produced a dispiriting loss to a team that was little better than average.
That was the summary of Northwestern’s season opener with Miami of Ohio, and it was again when the curtain came down Saturday at Illinois.
Again, as it had so often this year, the Wildcats’ defense performed admirably through long stretches, yet suffered a handful of breakdowns that mortally damaged the team’s chances. Again, as it had so often this year, the offense collected yards between the 30s, yet failed miserably when it ventured near the goal line.
Northwestern’s season ended at 3-8 and 1-7 in the Big Ten, and it was a series of sequels that stretched on longer than those that followed “Friday the 13th.” And that is why, as he sat at Memorial Stadium, coach Randy Walker uttered words and offered explanations that echoed so much of what he had said a long 11 weeks ago at Ryan Field.
“I don’t think football teams are developed or made in September or October,” Walker said. “I don’t think that at all.
“I think football teams are made starting now. The 2000 football team starts now. I do think there were some areas of progress. But we aren’t a whole lot different football team this week–in fact, we might not be as good. When you have as many guys get knocked out as we had knocked out, we don’t have the depth where we can stand the kind of losses we faced this year.
“So, quite frankly, we probably aren’t as good a football team as we were. I know we don’t have as many good players lining up for us as we did earlier. That’s why those guys were starters. But the real challenge for a football team is what kind of commitment do you want to make now? We’ve got nine months to establish the 2000 football team. Nine months at getting better at not getting mugged on the slant.
“We can’t run a slant route here without getting shoved into next week somewhere. OK. We’re going to keep running the slant and there are ways to keep that from happening. But that’s a truth in football. You don’t develop a football team in September and October. The 2000 football team begins tomorrow.”
The 1999 team that disbanded late Saturday never did develop, or adjust fully to all the changes it confronted since the abrupt departure of coach Gary Barnett to Colorado. There was the arrival of Walker, and there were demands from him that were so different from Barnett’s. There was the change at quarterback from Nick Kreinbrink to Zak Kustok in Game 5, and the injuries that decimated their wide receivers. There was the switch to an aggressive defense that surrenders a big play if focus wanders, and the need for the offense to come up with big plays in winnable games.
“We were in so many close games, but we never pulled it off,” said linebacker Kevin Bentley. “That could be lack of experience, youth, whatever. But, flat out, we didn’t get it done. But the way I look at it, we’re a veteran team now.”
“I know this,” Walker said. “From this point on, from Nov. 20 on, there are no excuses. There’s no new offense; there’s no new defense. There’s no excuses about a coaching change or coming in midstream to winter workouts and upsetting the apple cart. We’re going to do what we do and they know what it is.
“Yeah, it’s been a difficult year. But I for one refuse to accept anything that resembles this again.”
