I think the meltdown will come either way. But for me, it isn't as much if we lose, but how we lose that may or may not rile me up. I take this game as a lost game that we must win every year, as the Hawks have failed to get it done...let's see...5 times out of the last 6 meetings. Incidentally, that one time we beat them, we did it with our worst team, so maybe we have something there?
I look at this game like how PSU fans likely look at the Penn State-Iowa game. Regardless of skill, talent, record, etc, Northwestern just has our number. Whether it is because our gameplan is predictable, or whether they just have the offense to find ways past our defense, or plain luck, they get it done against us.
It's been 9 years since we've crushed these guys, and since then the largest margin of victory in this game was a 14 point Northwestern victory. While Northwestern's struggles this year give me hope, our performance against Penn State and our general history give me pause. I think this is the year we finally get it done (which is what I thought pre-game last year...and the year before that)... I pray that it is...but at the same time I'm really wary of jNW. ******* Wildcats.
This is a year of anomalies for the Hawks. Perhaps that bodes well for this game. Now let's go get fired up and kick some Purple ***** ***!