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What Pat Fitzgerald said at his weekly press conference
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It would’ve been safe to assume on Sunday that Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald’s Monday press conference would’ve been all about Saturday’s game against Minnesota and the Wildcats’ continued push to win the Big Ten West crown.
Well, that whole narrative changed Monday morning when news leaked that Northwestern’s game against the Gophers was canceled due to Minnesota’s COVID numbers. Because of that, Fitzgerald’s press conference took on a different tone than what was expected.
Regardless of what was going to happen this weekend, there were still going to be questions for Fitzgerald to answer regarding Saturday’s disappointing loss to Michigan State.
Fitz reiterates he's very disappointed from Saturday, says they had every chance to win.
Peter Skoronski the OPOY, big playmaker on offense is Riley Lees. DPOY is Greg Newsome. No big playmakers defensive. STPOY is Peter McIntyre.
— Inside NU (@insidenu) November 30, 2020
Fitz leaving the door open for position competitions and then reviewing the tape from Saturday, said "problematic" multiple times when describing Saturday's play, be it in the trenches, giving up explosive plays and WR drops.
— Inside NU (@insidenu) November 30, 2020
Communication is something that's come up a couple times during this presser, and Fitz says it was the first thing at the line of scrimmage that hindered the run game. And then "our backs have to run through contact."
— Inside NU (@insidenu) November 30, 2020
One scary sight from Saturday’s game was wide receiver Berkeley Holman’s injury. He collided with a Michigan State cornerback and had to be taken off via stretcher but did give a thumb’s up to this at the stadium in East Lansing.
Two days later, Fitzgerald provided us with an update.
Update on Holman: He's improving every day and arrived in Evanston a few hours after the team late Saturday night.
— Inside NU (@insidenu) November 30, 2020
COVID has been a big part of the 2020 season for all teams. This is especially true right now with Fitzgerald’s squad.
Fitz gives his best wishes to the Minnesota program, which has now recorded 47 positive tests (21 players, 26 staff).
— Inside NU (@insidenu) November 30, 2020
Fitz reiterating it's important for guys to remain socially responsible as relating to COVID. Says according to other coaches around the country, most positive cases have resulted from weekend night socializing.
— Inside NU (@insidenu) November 30, 2020
With the Minnesota game off, it appears that Fitzgerald’s focus is on getting better and having his players defeat a different type of opponent: final exams.
"This week we've got to get fundamentally better."
— Inside NU (@insidenu) November 30, 2020
Finals week begins at Northwestern this week, so even though they don't have a game Fitz says the team will focus on going "1-0 in finals."
— Louie Vaccher (@WildcatReport) November 30, 2020