Deonte Gibson, Northwestern Wildcats Football, No. 98

Source: Sippin' On Purple by Rodger Sherman

One down, 98 more to go. (huffs something huffable)

Anyway, this lovely weekend day brings us Deonte Gibson, a 6'3, 240-pound defensive end from the Cleveland area - Lakewood, Ohio, to be exact. He started to show his potential last season as a redshirt freshman, what bigger things does this rising sophomore with a knack for pass-rushing have on deck?

Origin myth

Gibson was one of the more fearsome defensive players on one of the nation's best high school teams. His St. Edward's squad - its in the Cleveland area - was ranked No. 2 in the nation per SuperPreps, and won a state championship. (Gibson is one of three players from St. Ed's on the Wildcats, in a

W. Lacrosse. No. 2 Northwestern Falls in Semifinals to No. 3 North Carolina

Source: Northwestern Official Site

Another memorable Northwestern Women's Lacrosse season came to a close Friday in Philadelphia as the Wildcats fell to third-ranked North Carolina, 11-4, in the NCAA Championship semifinals.

Northwestern women's lacrosse: Wildcats fall to North Carolina in Final Four

Source: Sippin' On Purple by Brandon Liebhaber

If you read my preview, you know I'm not surprised by Northwestern losing this game. North Carolina is a very good team, and the Tar Heels had already beaten NU this season. But I am surprised that NU was beaten soundly by a final of 11-4 in Philadelphia on Friday.

NU couldn't find a rhythm against North Carolina. They scored just once in the first half and couldn't convert on free position opportunities. They received six yellow cards and North Carolina converted four times with a man advantage. Many on Twitter speculated that UNC goalie Megan Ward

The reign is over: Northwestern falls hard to UNC

Source: Lake The Posts by Philip Rossman-Reich

Northwestern’s reign atop the women’s lacrosse world came to a hard fall Friday at Villanova Stadium outside Philadelphia. The Wildcats started out on the right foot but found the goal shut tight. A few early free position shots were saved and the Tar Heels were off to the races.

And the race never seemed to end. Northwestern never quite challenged North Carolina after giving up four of the first five goals in the first half. Things got worse in the second half as the Tar Heels burned off three unanswered goals before scoring four more in a row for an 11-4 defeat, sending the Tar Heels through to the championship game and sending the Wildcats home early from the national championship weekend for the first time since

W. Golf. Wildcats Complete Run at 2013 NCAA Championships

Source: Northwestern Official Site

Northwestern played its final 18 holes of the 2012-13 season Friday, completing the fourth round of the 2013 NCAA Championships at the University of Georgia Golf Course. Competing in just the second NCAA Championships in program history, the Wildcats placed 15th in the 24-team field, improving upon their 24th-place finish during the program's first trip to NCAA's in 2000.

RecruitingNation links: Big Ten edition

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

BuckeyeNation Brad Bournival writes : The Buckeyes are in good shape at most recruiting needs for the 2014 class with one notable exception. NittanyNation Josh Moyer writes : 2016 QB Todd LaRocca sent some film to Penn State, and the Nittany Lions already have responded positively. WolverineNation Tom VanHaaren writes : Jabrill Peppers, the nation’s No. 2 prospect, will announce his decision on Sunday on ESPNU. Here’s a timeline of events in Peppers’ recruitment leading up to his decision.

Video: Ohio State's Ryan Shazier

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier discusses last year's undefeated season, areas where he can improve, and the team's biggest question mark on defense.

Big Ten Friday mailblog

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday weekend. Kevin from Minneapolis writes: Adam, Morgan Burke's comments comparing the difference in the number of varsity sports sponsored by Big Ten and SEC athletic departments translating to on the field performance are rather perplexing, but he is really missing the other half of the argument. If you want to correlate the business side of college football with wins/losses, the focal point has to be on the investment in facilities and the resulting impact on recruiting.

Wrestling. 'Cats Officially Close 2012-13 Season at Banquet, Golf Outing

Source: Northwestern Official Site

Northwestern celebrated the 2012-13 season one last time over two days in May with the team's annual end of the year banquet and golf outing. NU put the wraps on a successful wrestling season that included two Wildcats advancing to the national finals, yet another top-20 finish at the NCAA Championships, another winning dual season and much more.

W. Basketball. Adams Named Head Coach at Howard University

Source: Northwestern Official Site

Northwestern assistant coach Tennille Adams was named the head coach at Howard University, it was announced today. Adams spent the last five seasons at Northwestern as an assistant coach on head coach Joe McKeown's staff.

Video: Most Important Game -- Michigan

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

Michigan's most important game of 2013 -- outside of Ohio State, obviously -- is the Nov. 9 contest against Nebraska.

Northwestern and Defensive Substitutions

Source: Sippin' On Purple by MountainTiger

Mgoblog recently posted a nice piece on the nickel package and how Michigan has adjusted their defense to the modern spread-heavy environment, where 3 or 4 receivers aren't necessarily on the field for a pass. Since it is the offseason and I have nothing better to do, I though I would take a look at a couple of plays from Northwestern's BOWL WIN over Mississippi State that show how Northwestern's defense deals with spread offenses from both the base defense and sub packages.

Northwestern doesn't automatically sub in a defensive back when the offense brings on a third receiver. Look at this photograph from the first quarter, with Mississippi

Huskers DE Avery Moss faces court date

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

Nebraska's defensive line situation is tenuous at best. And now we learn that one of the group's potential contributors is dealing with a legal issue. The Omaha World-Herald's Sam McKewon reports that redshirt freshman defensive end Avery Moss appeared in court on Friday and faces a July 23 trial date on indecency and disturbing the peace charges. Moss stands accused of exposing himself to a female employee at a Nebraska residence hall convenience store twice in a matter of hours on Dec.

NU's 2014 class ranks 12th nationally - Northwestern (Rivals)

Source: Yahoo! NCAAF

Northwestern is entering rarified air with its Class of 2014, which is ranked 12th in the country.

Friday Gillnet

Source: Lake The Posts by Lake The Posts

We’re casting a wide net on all things Wildcats as we roll in to Memorial Day weekend 2013.  Of course, this afternoon at 5pm et/4pm ct the Northwestern women’s lacrosse team faces North Carolina on the Villanova campus in the 2013 Final Four on ESPN3.com.  Should the ‘Cats avenge an earlier season loss to the Tarheels, they’ll advance to the national title game AGAIN against either Maryland or Syracuse.  NU is looking to go a ridiculous 9-0 in NCAA national semifinal games as they go for their eight national title in nine years. Our man Slades2 teed-up this game like no one else, just yesterday.  

More Big Ten kickoff times revealed

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

The Big Ten announced several homecoming kickoff times on Thursday. Now we have a few more, as well as the kickoff time for the third installment of the Heroes Game. The following games will all be on the ESPN/ABC family of networks (all times ET): Sept. 28: Iowa at Minnesota, 3:30 p.m., ABC Oct. 5: Minnesota at Michigan, 3:30 p.m., ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 Oct. 19: Iowa at Ohio State, 3:30 p.m., ABC, ESPN, or ESPN2 Nov. 29: Iowa at Nebraska, Noon, ABC Despite an ugly 4-8 season last year, Iowa will still be getting plenty of national TV exposure this season.

Big Ten lunchtime links

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

Have a great and safe Memorial Day weekend, everybody. Ohio State landed the third linebacker in its 2014 class in Akron's Dante Booker. Former Buckeye Ray Small apologized for his missteps. Brady Hoke doesn't know where Michigan's "Not in Ohio" footballs came from. Dave Brandon is not a fan of parity-based scheduling. Fitz Toussaint is fired up to regain his starting tailback job. Mark Hollis recalls the process of hiring Mark Dantonio at Michigan State.

Ex-Buckeye Small apologizes for mistakes

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

Former Ohio State wide receiver Ray Small is coming clean again. Don't worry, Buckeyes fans, Small isn't sharing more stories of selling memorabilia and getting sweetheart deals from local car dealerships, as he did in an interview with The Lantern in May 2011, days before Jim Tressel resigned as Ohio State's head coach. Instead, the troubled former Buckeye, who had off-field issues throughout his career from 2006-09, decided to apologize to his former coaches and fans through a YouTube video.

Northwestern, and a history of revenge

Source: Lake The Posts by Philip Rossman-Reich

If there is one thing Northwestern lacrosse has consistently proved during its national championship run under Kelly Amonte Hiller: Do not make her or her team angry and do not give her a second chance to break you down.

Losses come so rarely for Northwestern — the two NU suffered this year seems obscene and foreign — that when they do happen, it is a rare gift. Something very difficult for teams to do multiple times in a season. Florida last season was the first team to defeat Northwestern twice in a season for the first time in the Kelly Amonte Hiller era. Northwestern has come back to beat teams in the NCAA or ALC tournament that it had previously lost to five times including defeating North Carolina in the semifinals in

Ex-Buckeye Small apologies for mistakes

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

Former Ohio State wide receiver Ray Small is coming clean again. Don't worry, Buckeyes fans, Small isn't sharing more stories of selling memorabilia and getting sweetheart deals from local car dealerships, as he did in an interview with The Lantern in May 2011, days before Jim Tressel resigned as Ohio State's head coach. Instead, the troubled former Buckeye, who had off-field issues throughout his career from 2006-09, decided to apologize to his former coaches and fans through a YouTube video.

Tracking the Ticker - Northwestern [$$] (Rivals)

Source: Yahoo! NCAAF

Most indispensable players: Northwestern

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

Now that spring practice is over, we're examining the most indispensable players on each Big Ten team for the 2013 season. By indispensable, we don't necessarily mean best. We mean the players who would be hardest to replace between now and the start of the season if they got hurt or suspended or vaporized. That could be because of their value to the team, or because of a lack of depth at their position. We'll pick two players from each team, usually offense and defense, but not always.

Chance Carter, Northwestern Wildcats football, No. 99

Source: Sippin' On Purple by Rodger Sherman

It's that time of year again! We're under 100 days until football season, and that means each day we'll be profiling a Northwestern player as we get closer towards, you know, football!

Are many of these going to be pointless descriptions of players who won't have an effect on Northwestern? Perhaps. Will I put jokes in all of them? Probably. If you don't like the jokes, that's my fault, but this is more an exercise in passing away the long summer than it is one in relevance, and if you don't like exercises in passing away the long summer, go elsewhere, ya big dummie!

Today, we have Chance Carter, a 6'3, 270-pound defensive tackle playing in his backyard. Get to know him better!

Origin myth

Carter is a native

A closer look at B1G returning starters

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

The number of starters a team returns in no way guarantees of success or failure when the season rolls around, but the metric undoubtedly carries weight this time of year. Preseason predictions are an inexact science, based heavily on whether a team has, say, 19 returning starters versus 11 or 12. Although there are many examples of bad teams who return a lot of starters and remain bad teams, the general belief among coaches is that more experience leads to fewer mistakes and more wins.

W. Golf. Szokol Paces NU at Third Round of NCAA Championships

Source: Northwestern Official Site

Northwestern completed the remainder of the second round and third round of the 2013 NCAA Championships Thursday at the University of Georgia Golf Course. After inclement weather forced an early end to Wednesday's second round, freshman Suchaya Tangkamolprasert (Bangkok, Thailand/Bromsgrove International) finished her final hole of the round early Thursday morning and the 'Cats teed off the third round about an hour later.

W. Tennis. Season Comes to an End for Hamilton and Mushrefova

Source: Northwestern Official Site

Northwestern's doubles team of Linda Abu Mushrefova and Nida Hamilton saw their season come to a closes as they were eliminated from the 2013 NCAA Women's Tennis Doubles Championship Thursday.

RecruitingNation links: Big Ten edition

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

BuckeyeNation Austin Ward writes : Here are the player power rankings after spring practice. Brad Bournival writes : Dante Booker, a four-star LB out of Akron, joins the 2014 Buckeyes class, picking OSU over a surging Notre Dame. Bournival writes : Here are the top five uncommitted CB targets who have OSU offers. NittanyNation Josh Moyer writes : Here are the player power rankings after spring practice. Moyer writes : Here are the top 10 defensive players the Nittany Lions will face this season.

Big Ten Thursday mailbag

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

Good job filling up the mailbag during a slow time in college football. Let's do the question-and-answer session. Andy from Lincoln, Neb., writes: Do you think the Big Ten's weak crossover schedule in 2014 could potentially prevent a one-loss team, such as Michigan, Wisconsin, or Nebraska, from being a part of the four-team College Football Playoff? I could see Michigan losing to Ohio State in 2014, not making the Big Ten championship and being left out of the CFP.

Video: If the season started tomorrow

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

If the season started tomorrow look for Ohio State to be an even bigger favorite to win the conference title.

First Look 2013: Iowa Hawkeyes

Source: Lake The Posts by Lake The Posts

Today, we continue our weekly First Look 2013 series where we preview a different football opponent for the upcoming season. Adam Jacobi, one of the more noted college football bloggers in the country, weighs in today from BlackHeartGoldPants.  BHGP, as it is more commonly known, is one of the more comical, cunning and acerbic sports blogs out there.  They’ve been a sparring partner of LTP for many years and very much know how to get Wildcat fans’ hackles up by simply writing one letter – “j” – as in “jNorthwestern”, which they use for shorthand for “just Northwestern”. To really piss us off they often go with jNW. The tone has changed in recent years

Video: Most Important Game -- Iowa

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

Looking at Iowa's most important game in 2013: at Iowa State.

General News. Northwestern Names April Sports Performance Athletes of the Month

Source: Northwestern Official Site

Northwestern's April Sports Performance Athletes of the Month are sophomores Tina Umanskiy of fencing and Dave Sobolewski of men's basketball, Assistant A.D. for Sports Performance Jason Pullara announced.

W. Fencing. Northwestern Names April Sports Performance Athletes of the Month

Source: Northwestern Official Site

Northwestern's April Sports Performance Athletes of the Month are sophomores Tina Umanskiy of fencing and Dave Sobolewski of men's basketball, Assistant A.D. for Sports Performance Jason Pullara announced.

M. Basketball. Northwestern Names April Sports Performance Athletes of the Month

Source: Northwestern Official Site

Northwestern's April Sports Performance Athletes of the Month are sophomores Tina Umanskiy of fencing and Dave Sobolewski of men's basketball, Assistant A.D. for Sports Performance Jason Pullara announced.

Northwestern faces Final Four challenge against North Carolina

Source: Sippin' On Purple by Brandon Liebhaber

For the last nine years, Northwestern has made the NCAA women's lacrosse national championship game. Casual fans have come to expect that NU will at least make it to the final, and they have good reason. But the 'Cats face a really tough test in North Carolina on Friday with a trip to the NCAA final at stake.

Northwestern is 19-2 on the season. One of their losses came to Florida, a team that was eliminated by Syracuse in the quarterfinals. Their other loss came to North Carolina on February 22. That doesn't mean that NU will lose to the Tar Heels again, but NU isn't a shoe-in for a spot in the final. I wouldn't call the 'Cats an underdog as

Burke: B1G, SEC have different models

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

The Big Ten is rich. The SEC is rich. The two leagues are head and shoulders above the rest in terms of popularity and power. So why is the SEC so far ahead on the football field? The question has been dissected over and over throughout the SEC's run of seven consecutive football national championships. You've heard about demographic changes and how there are more elite football recruits living closer to SEC campuses than Big Ten campuses. You've heard about speed.

The Gator Bowl rings are in!

Source: Lake The Posts by Philip Rossman-Reich

Oh what an exciting day it is for Northwestern football today.

The Wildcats’ first Bowl Championship rings since 1948 arrived in the mail and were distributed to players and coaches Wednesday. Kain Colter posted a photo of his stylish ring on Instagram. Like Northwestern’s Big Ten championship rings of recent years, the front is pretty simply the Northwestern “N” logo on a purple background. On one side, as Colter shows, is the player’s name, the year and the Gator Bowl trophy. On the other side it says “10 wins” and has the player’s number and position. Or at least Colter’s does.

If there is any way to put finality on the

Big Ten homecoming kick times announced

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

College football begins in fewer than 100 days, and now we have some more kickoff times announced for Big Ten games. The league has announced times for several 2013 homecoming contests around the league. Here are the new announced homecoming kickoffs (all times ET): Illinois: Oct. 26 vs. Michigan State, 3:30 p.m. Indiana: Nov. 2 vs. Minnesota, 3:30 p.m. Iowa: Oct. 5 vs. Michigan State, Noon Michigan State: Oct. 12 vs. Indiana, Noon Nebraska: Oct.

Softball. Marisa Bast Earns Capital One Academic All-America Honor

Source: Northwestern Official Site

Northwestern junior Marisa Bast has been named a Capital One Academic All-America second-team selection, announced today (May 23) by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Big Ten lunch links

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

I love it here: manicured lawns, planned activities, early dinners. What more does a kid need? A must read: the second part of Mgoblog's look at a week in the life of Michigan offensive coordinator Al Borges. Here's Part I. It seems unlikely the Wolverines will add a QB transfer. Michigan coach Brady Hoke talks turnovers (limiting them, that is). Some interesting thoughts from Purdue AD Morgan Burke on the Big Ten vs. SEC, the College Football Playoff and other national issues.

Watching French people tweet about John Shurna

Source: Sippin' On Purple by Rodger Sherman

Do you have it? French basketball playoff fever! Or as they say in France, "la grippe du basket playoff française, pamplemousse ascenseur Amélie."

Anyway, its the semifinals of the Ligue National de Basket, and in it, John Shurna's SIG Basket from Strasbourg are playing against Juice Thompson's ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne. It's a three game series, apparently, and the first game was Tuesday, the second game is today. Before the first game, John and Juice met up:

John and Juice reunited prior to Tuesday's game. @juicethompson22twitpic.com/csgf3e

— NU Men's Basketball

Spartans WR Juwan Caesar to transfer

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

Michigan State's search for difference makers at wide receiver won't include Juwan Caesar. He has asked for, and received, his release and intends to transfer, the team announced Thursday. Caesar, a 6-foot-4, 212-pound sophomore, didn't play a down for Michigan State. He redshirted in 2011 after sustaining a foot injury and didn't play last season, moving from wideout to tight end in Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl practices. There's no word on where Caesar could transfer, although he's from Miami and could seek a destination closer to home.

Former Lions QB heading to South Florida

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

Former Penn State quarterback Steven Bench is heading back to the South. South Florida, that is. Bench announced Thursday that he's transferring to South Florida, selecting the Bulls ahead of Mississippi State. He will be eligible to play immediately because of the loosened transfer policies the NCAA gave Penn State players after imposing major sanctions against the program last summer. After backing up Matt McGloin in 2012, Bench competed in spring practice with junior-college transfer Tyler Ferguson.

Most indispensable players: Purdue

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

Now that spring practice is over, we're examining the most indispensable players on each Big Ten team for the 2013 season. By indispensable, we don't necessarily mean best. We mean the players who would be hardest to replace between now and the start of the season if they got hurt or suspended or forced to listen to William Hung songs until their ears exploded. That could be because of their value to the team, or because of a lack of depth at their position.

W. Swimming. Sarkisian Named Team USA Head Coach for World University Games

Source: Northwestern Official Site

Northwestern head diving coach Alik Sarkisian has been named the head coach and team leader for USA Diving at the 2013 World University Games July 6-17 in Kazan, Russia.

M. Swimming. Sarkisian Named Team USA Head Coach for World University Games

Source: Northwestern Official Site

Northwestern head diving coach Alik Sarkisian has been named the head coach and team leader for USA Diving at the 2013 World University Games July 6-17 in Kazan, Russia.

More B1G, Pac-12 bowl pairings a plus

Source: Big Ten Football Blog

Jim Delany chose his words carefully when the Big Ten-Pac-12 scheduling alliance went kaput in July, but the Big Ten commissioner was ticked off. He had gotten all his schools on board for a scheduling pact, which had been openly touted as an alternative to further expansion, that looked like a win for both sides, for TV, and especially for the fans. Ultimately, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott couldn't deliver the same united front, and the agreement blew up.

Final Four Preview

Source: Lake The Posts by slides2

First, a bit of history: the match-ups of this year’s Final Four, Maryland vs. Syracuse and Northwestern vs. North Carolina, exactly replicate the pairings of the 2010 Final Four, when this year’s seniors were freshmen. Adding to the resemblance is the fact that, as in 2010, NU is coming off a regular-season loss to UNC. I don’t want to push this too far, because 2010 ended unhappily, but it’s something to think about.

And before we look more closely at the participants, a quick valedictory for the team that is missing: Florida. The Gators, in their fourth year of existence as a varsity squad, hold a 4-3 overall record

NU connects with Westerfield - Northwestern [$$] (Rivals)

Source: Yahoo! NCAAF

W. Golf. Lee's Eagle Highlights NU's Second Round at NCAA Championships

Source: Northwestern Official Site

Inclement weather in Georgia caused delays during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Championships and lightning forced an early end to Wednesday's competition. Despite the conditions, Northwestern still had a number of highlights during the second round as sophomore Hana Lee (Hacienda Heights, Calif./Wilson) scored her first career eagle and four of the five Wildcat competitors went under par, 1-over or 2-over for the round.