WHO WOULD OF THUNK IT!?!

Oops, know that I’m a journalist (or at least claim to be one,) maybe I should use better English. “Who would have thought it possible?” would have been a better lede.

Was that really the not-so-mighty Northwestern Wildcats roaring into Michigan Stadium and coming away with an impressive 19-13 victory? The Wildcats are Mildcats no more.

Is it possible that Northwestern is actually underrated? A better ranking of 14th and 17th, by the Associated Press and Coaches Polls respectively, usually befalls a team that beats Notre Dame and Michigan in the same season on its way to a 3-1 mark.

What makes this accomplishment even more mind-boggling is that they beat Notre Dame and Michigan on the road. These two places will never be confused with the “Friendly Confines.” If Florida State would have accomplished this feat they would have already been voted national champion before the season is half over.

The loss against Miami of Ohio is hard to overlook, but the real reason Northwestern doesn’t get much respect is because, well, they are Northwestern.

Before this season, the last time the Wildcats won at Michigan was 1959. Ara Parseghian was the Northwestern coach and the Wildcats were voted national champions. Notre Dame stole Parseghian the next year and Northwestern had to wait 36 years to exact its revenge.

Why has Northwestern come out of the bottom of the cellar to crack the top 15? Three words : defense, defense, defense. This is encouraging news because Northwestern had one of the worst defenses in Division I the past couple of seasons.

The Northwestern bunch is a team devoid of stars. Quick, name one member of the Wildcat football squad. Observant Cyclone fans will notice that Northwestern tailback Darnell Autry was second to Troy Davis in rushing yards for Div. I football earlier in the season. Autry is currently in fourth place.

Many of Northwestern’s future opponents in the Big Ten have already looked past the Wildcats on their schedules. This is a mistake, because if any team east of the Missouri River has any ambitions of visiting Pasedena on New Year’s Day they must go through Northwestern first.

While much attention has been given to Northwestern’s miraculous turnaround, few people have taken note of Miami of Florida’s recent nose-dive.

Not only is Miami off to a dismal 1-3 start (with scores such as 31-8 and 41-17) but look who the only team the Hurricanes have beaten this season — none other than the mighty Florida A&M Rattlers. No, I did not know their nickname, of course I had to look it up.

“How good is Florida A&M?” do you ask. Powerhouses Hofstra and Murray State are rated ahead of Florida A&M for Christ’s sake!

I bet all those Hurricane fans who complained about Dennis Erickson wish they had never chased him out of town.

In a perfect world Northwestern would face Miami in the last game of the season. Even though the Wildcats are up 45-7 late in the fourth quarter, they throw a 60-yard touchdown pass, shades of former Miami coach Jimmy Johnson against Notre Dame.

No, that would never happen, Northwestern has too much class.

Bill Kopatich is a 25-year-old sophomore in journalism from Des Moines.