Those Persa for Heisman billboards are going to look really funny when Northwestern doesn't make a bowl game this year.

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Fire Phil Emery

Who pee'd in your cheerios?

Pat Fitzgerald, only he refused to call them Cheerios. He kept referring to them as "those pieces of grain cereal down there with the circular shape."

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Fire Phil Emery

??

Fitzgerald has a phobia of proper nouns. "That school in South Bend." "That state school down south." This is not a recent development.

Pat Fitzgerald fun facts: he has faced five teams that have won shares of Big Ten titles over the past five seasons (and somehow missed three others ). His teams have been outscored 262-77 in those games, which makes an average score of 52-15.

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Fire Phil Emery

Thanks for that stat. Anymore to let us know how shitty of a program we have? It's not like you're going to be particularly orignal in crowing my team as "just Northwestern".

Northwestern fans can't have it both ways. If you want people to care about your program, you have to be able to take the shit-throwing as well.

I find the "just Northwestern" stuff to be silly because it's put out by the fans of a program that have lost how many times to Northwestern? Three straight and four of the last five? If you're an Iowa fan, you have to suck it up and take it. If they are just Northwestern, then beat them already and stop complaining about "their Super Bowl" or whatever.

Besides, Northwestern hasn't been "just Northwestern" since Randy Walker. That's kind of been my point in all this. He was the one who built the program. Fitzgerald is just riding the coattails.

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Fire Phil Emery

I have the feeling that when I'm feeling particularly happy about my program, I'll just look to you to knock me down a few pegs. And when I'm feeling down in the dumps, you'll state some positive stats to make me feel better? I'm a big boy. I can handle the criticism. I'm a Northwestern fan after all... we're used to being looked down upon. I like my coach. I like my QB. And I think they can do some good things this year.

The truth is this Heisman campaign is just another step in raising the profile of this program in Chicago. Frankly, I think it is good idea. Is he gonna win the Heisman? Hell no. Is Northwestern Chicago's Big Ten team? With the second lowest number of Big Ten alumni in Chicago (other than Penn State), the answer is also hell no. But you can give up on attracting new fans or you can work with what you have. And I applaud NU for committing some dollars to marketing and to having the common sense to put a face (or faces) to the program in their marketing efforts.

And finally, the only real Big Ten poll for the media is the one done by the cleveland plain dealer. And here is the media prognostication:
Division predictions (first-place votes in parentheses)
* Voting on 6-5-4-3-2-1 point system

LEGENDS
1. Nebraska (19) 139
2. Michigan State (4) 118
3. Iowa 82
4. Michigan (1) 71
5. Northwestern 69
6. Minnesota 25

LEADERS
1. Wisconsin (22) 141
2. Ohio State (1) 113
3. Penn State (1) 95
4. Illinois 76
5. Purdue 52
6. Indiana 27

That says to me that no one is really expecting much out of Northwestern this year. So I'm not sure you should worry too much about the media attention getting our heads too inflated just yet.

In the meantime, just let me enjoy this while we're still tied for first place with everyone else in Division 1 football

Something doesn't seem right about doing that before the season even starts. It kind of turns the thing into a show more than an actual campaign.

It would be cool if Persa were lighting it up on an undefeated Northwestern team in October and billboards went up and the campaign began.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Whew... all the pressure off IU. Looks like an easy cruise to a Big Ten title.

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Yeah... you are right. It's all marketing for the program. Basically, if the ESPN annoucers say "Heisman Candidate, Dan Persa" instead of just "Dan Persa" in their telecast, then they figure the billboards are paying for themselves. I think we all agree he is, at best, a longshot.

I thought this article was somewhat insightful on the topic:
Can a Northwestern QB win the Heisman? It says here.....yes (if everything goes right).
By Chadnudj

At least, that's the impression we're getting from Coach Pat Fitzgerald, and from Northwestern's marketing department. Much like Jim "I am the true owner of Samuel Jackson's wallet from Pulp Fiction" Delany, Northwestern "considers them rolled"..... and by "them," I refer to the Heisman campaign for Dan Persa, launched this with billboard in Chicago and (perhaps even ballsier) Bristol, CT (home of ESPN), 80 selected college football writers receiving 7-lb. purple dumbbells (to honor Persa's #7), and a multi-platform campaign built around the theme "Persa Strong" (or, for those of you on Twitter, #PersaStrong).

Last year, Persa set the B1G record for completion percentage (73.5%) and threw for 2581 yards passing, 15 TDs, and only 4 INTs, leading to a QB rating of 159.0 -- good for 9th nationally last year. He also ran for over 519 yards and 9 TDs....and all of this in just 10 games (in which Northwestern was 7-3). His receiving corps and offensive-line return almost entirely entact, and he put up those numbers without much of a viable running game ­-- something expected to improve this year now that Mike Trumpy and Adonis Smith seem to have taken the lead in running the ball (indeed, both showed some flashes later in the season last year of being at least decent B1G running backs). The Legends division is a toss-up (I could see any of the non-Minnesota teams winning that division this year), Northwestern guys have been finalists before (Darnell Autry finished 4th in 1995, Damien Anderson finished 5th in 2000), and since Heisman candidates almost exclusively come from top-10 type teams, Northwestern has even been ranked high enough at the time of Heisman voting to be considered a national championship contender/near-contender (in 1995, they entered the Rose Bowl ranked #3 in the nation). If things go well.....

That's not to say Persa should be considered a front-runner for the Heisman, or even a presumptive finalist/top 10 candidate. To win a Heisman, EVERYTHING has to go right for you -- your team must win a lot, you have to stay healthy (Persa's returning from a torn Achilles, but from all reports is way ahead of schedule), you have to put up other-worldly numbers, and you have to hope that no one else has a better season. Guys like Andrew Luck, Landry Jones, LaMichael James, Marcus Lattimore, and Trent Richardson all have higher pedigrees and a deserved position as frontrunners at this point. But they all also have those same obstacles/hurdles to clear to win the Heisman -- if their teams don't win, or they get hurt, or their numbers slide, or someone else does better....well, they'll be on the outside too.

If Persa and the Cats can go 10-2/11-1, play for the B1G championship (and not get embarassed there), and make a BCS bowl with Persa putting up huge numbers (he's capable of the numbers part; the rest is dependent on the rest of the team, but given they went 7-3 with Persa last year, there is hope)....well, obviously a lot of "ifs" involved, and some perhaps falling into "Michigan State in 2010 dream season" territory. But it's at least not out of the question to wonder "what if" in Evanston this year in regards to the Downtown Athletic Club. So consider them rolled....

I should also add, that while I'm legitimately geeked about Persa in 2011, last year and this year suggest that QB in the Big Ten has never been stronger -- Tolzien, Pryor, Stanzi, Cousins, Persa, Denard Robinson, Taylor Martinez, Nathan Scheelhaase, Russell Wilson, MarQuis Grey, Vandenberg.....our league is stacked with great and exciting QBs. Compare that to the list of QBs in the SEC this year....where, according to one commenter at OTE, Stephen Garcia might be the best QB in the conference. Yep -- a guy who has played hungover and who is prey to the whimsically quick QB hook of the Ol' Ballcoach Steve Spurrier is the "standard-bearer" at the premier position for the SEC. I think we can all agree how ridiculous that is -- Garcia might not crack the top 10 at QB in our conference. And for that reason, I am excited to see ALL of the B1G QBs play this season -- our QBs will be heads and shoulders above our southern brethren.


EDIT: His odds on Bodog? 95:1

+1 And I eagerly await the Gunner for Heisman campaign to come

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Gunner may have the best football name since Michael Stonebreaker. I think it is safe to assume that he has 4 or 5 years to make that dream happen.

Well, undefeated until they go under the lights in Iowa City.....and then walking into this:




He wets the bed.

Don't be cocky Hawkeye Vince. A few weeks after that Iowa still has to travel to a 75% full Ross-Ade stadium to play in one of the great rivalry games in Big Ten history.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I see what you did there! The rivalry for the ages. The bards will be singing songs about this epic battle for decades to come.

It will be full of people wearing black and gold.

I'm getting ready for the epic rivalry. I have got a party planned with all the fixings. Slide rules, calculators and pocket protectors are optional from the Boilers coming over.

This is pretty funny (or more likely just funny to me).

http://www.effyeahevanwatkins.com/Home/tabid/40/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/242/FYEWcom-Launches-WatkinsTall-Heisman-Campaign-Totally-Independent-Of-Anything-Else-You-Might-Have-Heard-About-Today.aspx



FYEW.com Launches WatkinsTall Heisman Campaign Totally Independent Of Anything Else You Might Have Heard About Today
August 01, 2011 at 7:36 PM

After months of preparation that definitely was not just an evening of haphazard Photoshopping in response to some other campaign, EffYeahEvanWatkins.com today launched "WatkinsTall," an awareness campaign to promote Northwestern quarterback and future #2 overall selection in the 2012 NFL Draft after Todd McShay seriously overhypes some defensive end from the SEC, Evan Watkins.

Watkins entered this season as the presumed starting QB in the eyes of many* but recent news reports out of Big Ten Media Days have the Wildcat coaching staff graciously giving out the "official" role of starter to some crippled midget kid from Pennsylvania as part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation's controversial "Screw It, Let's Get Dangerous" initiative.

There's no word as to when Evan will resume the throne he claimed last season after ripping Dan Persa's Achilles tendon from the bone (with his MIND!). However, in an effort to keep Chicagoland and the college football world appraised of Evan's continued height, the "WatkinsTall" campaign was launched to highlight his Mike Kafka-like stature. You guys remember how tall Kafka was, right? And how he was really great at the end of his NU career? That was awesome. And tall.

In addition to completing over 50% of his pass attempts last year (which is more than we can say for some people), Evan also occasionally attends classes at Northwestern.

The "WatkinsTall" campaign is comprised of three prongs:

• Media Awareness -- Key members of the local and national football media will receive a "WatkinsTall" mailing featuring 18-pound purple medicine balls in honor of No. 18 Evan Watkins' reputation as the...I dunno, ballsiest something something? This is basically a setup for Evan to call these guys and ask if they have 18-pound balls.

• Outdoor Campaign -- Billboards touting Watkins' height have been placed in the highest-trafficked area next to offensive coordinator Mick McCall's house. In addition, we have strategically reached out to one of the most powerful people at ESPN by taping a printout of the billboard design to a brick and throwing it through Craig James' window with a note that says "Mike Leach says this kid sucks just like your son did."

• Electronic and Social Media -- Here on EffYeahEvanWatkins.com we will continue to preach the gospel of Evan, including latest news on the 2012 Draft, mini-camp, what the outside of his apartment complex looks like, etc.

* - Some**
** - A few***
*** - A couple****
**** - Us and Momma Watkins*****
***** - Us

that is a bad list..i like cousins and robinson you can keep the rest

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Who do you like in the other conferences?

luck is the best ...but i like zach collaros on cincy and stephen garcia on south carolina..kellen moore is solid and i like that kid on tennesee who took phil simms kid jobhe is a big kid 6'6" freshman bray

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Stephen Garcia plays drunk, Luck is pretty good, and I'm not sure what you are seeing with the Tennessee kid that makes you think he's better than any of the Big 10 QBs. I'll take accurate over big any day... Tim Couch taught me that lesson long ago. Big Ten may not have the best QBs, but I'd argue from top to bottom, the Big Ten QBs are better than any other BCS conference.

bray reminds me of joe flacco in college but i could be very wrong ..persa is decent ..but he is coming off a serious injury and the way he plays with his feet and pump fakes/throwing on the run..he may very well get hurt again

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You are soooo right. I've heard that there is a strong likelihood he snaps the other achilles (rather than reinjuring the first one). If nothing else, we know he used his feet more often than not to buy extra time to make those passes. He will have lost a step... no doubt. I'm just hoping the offensive line (one of the more experienced lines in the Big 10) will do a better job protecting him this year. If you looked at OC Mick McCall's progression of QB's, you'll see much more pocket presence for Dan like you saw with Kafka in his senior year. Just harder to have that pocket presence when you are barely 6 foot (Kafka had to be 6'4"-ish?)

Overall after Luck and Landry Jones....there are not much better than Kirk Cousins in my mind.

The interesting thing is that (and I'm not baiting a spanky/Irish Boy war) is that Chandler Harnish would probably be the 3rd or 4th best Qb in the Big Ten.

He might be. But I'll bet Scheelhaase has a great year. Another year in Petrino's system will make him one of the elite QB's in his conference methinks.

I think Scheelhaase stays even since they lack a real ass kicker tail back like LeShoure. That guy made things much easier for Nathan and Jason Ford? No way. He's not that good. Last year I think they were like 10th in rushing offense and 110th in passing.

Ford is good. But the new linemen at Illinois will be the problem if there is one.