Cats getting national respect
There are two more weeks until the first official Bowl Championship Series rankings are unveiled.
But thanks to CollegeBCS.com, Northwestern fans can get a sense of the increased stakes for Saturday's visit from nationally ranked Michigan State (2:45 p.m., ESPN2).
Though CollegeBCS.com's rankings aren't a perfect prediction because the Wolfe computer numbers aren't available, Northwestern (5-0) shows up at No. 17 nationally.
That's good for third in the Big Ten behind No. 5 Penn State and No. 12 Ohio State. The Spartans (5-1) check in at No. 20.
Why are the Wildcats so high in the BCS rankings when they're just No. 22 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll and No. 23 in the Harris Interactive poll?
Because the computers, save the erratic Billingsley ratings, love NU. Pat Fitzgerald's bunch ranks among the top eight in the four other available computer polls, including a No. 2 ranking (behind Alabama) in Jeff Sagarin's numbers.
To understand what this means from a program perspective, Northwestern has been ranked 17th or higher (officially or unofficially) just once since the BCS system began.
The Wildcats showed up at No. 15 on Nov. 6, 2000 - two days after they beat Michigan 54-51 at Ryan Field.
Senior running back Tyrell Sutton, giving voice to the entire team's thoughts, would like to believe this initial success convinces his fellow students to back the team.
"We want people to stop wearing Michigan shirts and Ohio State shirts and start bleeding purple," Sutton said.
Senior linebacker Mike Dinard, who has drawn several editorial cartoons for the Daily Northwestern, even submitted one to the student newspaper that lampoons many NU students' preference for other Big Ten schools.
Bye benefits: Northwestern tried not to lose any momentum during its bye week.
The Wildcats took Thursday and Saturday, but got after it pretty good on Friday and Sunday.
Nonetheless, they got enough rest that right tackle Kurt Mattes (knee) and kick returner Stephen Simmons (knee) should be ready for Michigan State while backup lineman Keegan Grant and receiver Andrew Brewer are getting closer.
Oh, and senior running back Tyrell Sutton's hamstring and everything else are fine.
"It came at a good time," Sutton said. "I was sore after the (Iowa) game."
The nice item: Tammy Walker, the widow of former NU coach Randy Walker, accepted a $10,000 check from the American Football Coaches Association that will go to the Randy Walker Fund.
Among other things, the Walker Fund sponsors an intern in Northwestern's football office. This year's aid benefits recruiting assistant Niel Stopczynski.
Tammy Walker also revealed that their daughter, Abbey, gave birth to a healthy boy on Wednesday.
His name? Walker Randolph Boudreau. He checked in at 11 pounds even.
"I haven't seen Walker yet," Pat Fitzgerald joked to Tammy, "but I'm assuming 4 of those pounds are in his right and left calves."
The short but powerful Walker boasted massive calves that would put former Cubs pitcher Mark Prior to shame.