Pat Fitzgerald reacts to Northwestern’s initial ranking for CFP

A lot of eyes were undoubtedly tuned in to Tuesday’s reveal show for the College Football Playoff Rankings on ESPN, but it doesn’t sound like Pat Fitzgerald was among those watching.

During Tuesday’s show, the top four turned out to be Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson, and Ohio State with Northwestern checking in at No. 8 on the list. Ohio State and Northwestern are the only remaining undefeated teams in the B1G and are currently on a collision course for the B1G Championship Game.

After the reveal, Pete Thamel with Yahoo! Sports indicated he reached out to Fitzgerald for his reaction to Northwestern’s ranking. Fitz’s response?

He asked where the Wildcats were ranked:

Texted with Pat Fitzgerald about Northwestern's ranking. He asked me what they were ranked. Then said: "I assume we control our own destiny…1-0 is all we need to focus on." Fair enough.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 25, 2020

While the ranking is an encouraging sign, Fitzgerald is 100% right that there are bigger things to worry about for the Wildcats. Right now, that includes prepping for Michigan State where a dominant performance would be a nice addition to their resume.

Wide receiver Riley Lees, who was presumably aware of the ranking, also reacted to the reveal on social media. His response echoed that of his coach:

Y’all can focus on that. We got work to do

— Riley Lees (@RileyLees) November 25, 2020

It sure sounds like Northwestern is aware of what needs to be done moving forward.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.