[terry]

Northwestern has GOT to win this game.  This is starting to look eerily like last season where they started strong and finished with a whimper.  Three losses in a row is going to put those ghosts into the team's head.

I've always kind of liked Northwestern. My wife's parents and my parents all have various Northwestern degrees. But in the big picture, a strong Northwestern program is bad for Stanford. They compete with us in recruiting for the Stanford-type academically-oriented kids. Among the Big 10 schools, Northwestern and Michigan probably are the biggest recruiting competition for us. In the long run, we would be better off if Northwestern were to be mediocre.

Of course, this year, Northwestern plays into our strength of schedule and the perception of our program, so I guess that's a countervailing consideration.

[terry]

Northwestern has GOT to win this game.  This is starting to look eerily like last season where they started strong and finished with a whimper.  Three losses in a row is going to put those ghosts into the team's head.

I've always kind of liked Northwestern. My wife's parents and my parents all have various Northwestern degrees. But in the big picture, a strong Northwestern program is bad for Stanford. They compete with us in recruiting for the Stanford-type academically-oriented kids. Among the Big 10 schools, Northwestern and Michigan probably are the biggest recruiting competition for us. In the long run, we would be better off if Northwestern were to be mediocre.

Of course, this year, Northwestern plays into our strength of schedule and the perception of our program, so I guess that's a countervailing consideration.