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Pat Fitzgerald says Northwestern has ‘nothing to lose’ against Notre Dame

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Northwestern is playing with house money.

Saturday, the Wildcats will step outside of B1G play to take on No. 3 Notre Dame in Evanston. They’ll be a heavy underdog in the head-to-head matchup, but head coach Pat Fitzgerald believes that gives his team an edge.

The Wildcats have absolutely nothing to lose this weekend. It could result in a third-straight upset over Notre Dame.

“What a great opportunity,” Fitzgerald said at his weekly press conference. “We got nothing to lose. So, our guys, I think, are gonna prepare really well and I think they’re going to be excited for the challenge.”

Northwestern is riding a four-game winning streak and owns the lead in the B1G West. The Wildcats are 5-3 on the season.

On top of that, the Wildcats have knocked off Notre Dame each of the last two meetings. Northwestern defeated Notre Dame in 1995 and an overtime game against the Irish in 2014. Fitzgerald was a player in the 1995 upset win and the head coach in the 2014 victory.

The Irish have not lost a game this season, entering at 8-0.

These are the games in which Northwestern is usually the most dangerous. There’s absolutely nothing to lose and there are no repercussions if the Cats lose, at least when it comes to the B1G race.

Northwestern is going to be an underdog against Notre Dame. But don’t be surprised if this game comes down to the wire.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB