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Bob Asmussen's chat with the Scout.com reporter David Vranicar, who covers Northwestern.

Is this Pat Fitzgerald's best coaching job?

The thing that I'm most impressed with is that the team hasn't ever gotten down. Even when they could have. The Wildcats lost on a last-second field goal in Week 3 to Syracuse, and then got shredded the next week at home by Minnesota. So four weeks in the Wildcats were sitting at 2-2 with wins over lowly Towson and still-winless Eastern Michigan. And the EMU win was at home and via the Cats' own last-second field goal. So there wasn't a ton to be excited about after the first four weeks: two losses and an oh-so-underwhelming win against Eastern Michigan. But then NU went to Purdue and won a gut-wrencher. The Cats fumbled on the first play of the game and eventually trailed 21-3, but they came back to win 27-21. Now, ideally that game wouldn't have mandated a game-saving goal-line stand in the closing seconds – not after Purdue turned it over an astounding six times. But road wins are big, especially coming off back-to-back losses. (Purdue would down Ohio State a fews weeks later, so that win looks pretty good in hindsight.) After a predictable and sloppy win against Miami (Ohio), the Cats then went to East Lansing and dropped one to the Spartans. Once again, things could have gotten ugly, and Fitz again deserves a great deal of credit. The next week, the Wildcats trailed 28-3 at home to Indiana. A 4-3 record, coming off a loss, trailing by 25: not a good situation. But a wild comeback against the Hoosiers and last week's win at Iowa – sandwiched around a loss to Penn State – has changed perception 180 degrees. If the Cats had caved against Indiana, lost to Penn State and then gone to Iowa and lost, then they'd be 4-6. Instead, the Cats had a rousing win against UI and then pulled the mini-stunner in Iowa City last week. And those are two games that you could argue NU shouldn't have won, not with a 25-point hole and not with the amount of fairy dust Iowa has been toting around all season. Who knows how things will play out the next few weeks, but Fitz definitely deserves credit for keeping things going in the right direction. Twice the Cats stared 17-plus-point deficits coming off of losses, so there was ample opportunity for heads to hang. But it never happened. Let's wait and see what happens the next few weeks before we call it Fitz's best coaching job ever. Suffice it to say – with a bowl likely and with a handful of three-star recruits coming in next season – that Fitz earned last summer's contract extension.

Looks like Notre Dame position might open. Any chance Fitzgerald goes there?

This is a really interesting question. My initial response is, no way. I know that may sound silly to some, but hear me out. Fitz went to NU, he got the aforementioned extension, he is popular, he is seemingly happy and he ends most of his interviews with an endearing (if a bit hokey) "Go Cats!" He really, honestly, truly seems to bleed purple. It's genuine. Also, I don't think it's at all out of the question to say that, nowadays, the Notre Dame job isn't that much better than the NU job. Seriously. The teams have been on equal footing the last few years. ND is 26-21 since 2006 and regressing since a 10-3 season in '06. NU is 25-22 and definitely going in an upward direction. Shrink that sample size to the previous three seasons, and ND is 16-18 and NU is 21-16. So speaking purely in terms of football, Notre Dame can't scoff at Northwestern anymore – and don't scoff at that statement. It seems the only major difference between the two schools is that Notre Dame's coach is absolutely guaranteed to be ridiculed and second-guessed to no end. At the same time, I understand that this might sound foolhardy. Notre Dame, after all, is Notre Dame. Touchdown Jesus and sellout crowds and gold helmets and all of that. I get it. But I do think Fitz is unique. I think he truly loves Evanston, loves Northwestern and realizes that he can build something really special here. Again, I know that Notre Dame carries a lot of cachet. And I may eat these words someday – maybe someday soon. I just honestly don't see Fitz leaving, even though he is sure to have suitors before long.

How do you think the Wildcats will use their quarterbacks against Illinois?

Depends on how healthy a dinged-up Mike Kafka is. Kafka has been pretty darn good this season. He's a true dual-threat guy – he owns the single-game Big Ten rushing record for QBs – who still completes 66 percent of his passes. He is prone to mistakes – he's got a bit of fumblitis – but he's still been darn good. The two-QB system worked pretty well last week in the upset of Iowa, but it's not like NU lit up the scoreboard. The defense scored seven of those 17 points, so the two-QB thing wasn't a Godsend. You will see "back-up" Dan Persa, I promise that. He may not play as much as he did last week, though.

What do you think about the Land of Lincoln Trophy?

I love cheesy trophies and titles and seeing the winning team grab something after the game and celebrate with their fans – be it a drum of ax or whatever. I'm a fan. Plus the design is cool – just a big old top-hat. Awesome.

Zeke Markshausen?

Marskausen epitomizes NU's receivers: Not much athleticism, but really solid, really smart. It's cliche, but "He's a football player," as they say – one of those guys that loves the game and plays it that way. He has had a curious career: Didn't play as a freshman, walked-on as a sophomore but didn't see action, had just one catch all of last season as a junior (in Week 1, no less). But Fitz gave him a scholarship in the off-season, and now he's NU's most prolific receiver. He's definitely not a big-play threat; in five of the team's 10 games, he's averaged less than 10 yards per catch, and he has a season long of 30 yards, one of just two catches that went for more than 22 yards. But he's absolutely perfect for NU's dink-and-dump offense. He'll get his catches this week, I've no doubt. Just not any big plays.

What sport is more popular on campus, football or women's lacrosse?

Ha! Well, the women's lacrosse team is better than the football team. Actually, the women's lacrosse team is – and I mean this quite literally – the best college team of any sport in the nation. Five straight national titles, four straight player-of-the-year awards – who does that? They're a juggernaut. That being said, football is still more popular.

Give us a prediction for Saturday's game with an explanation.

I'll preface this by saying that I'm horrible with predictions. If you're a gambler, you may want to run out and bet the house AGAINST whatever I say. OK, disclaimer aside ... I'll say NU 20, Illinois 17. Northwestern's defense is really good, and defensive end Corey Wootton seems to finally be healthy following off-season knee surgery and early-season ankle woes. So I don't see Illinois getting 30 like is has been recently. Northwestern's offense hasn't been as prolific this season as I anticipated, but I don't think the Illinois D is that great either. I guess whatever happens, I think it'll definitely be close. Northwestern's games are generally close; five of the 10 have been decided by seven or less, plus both teams will be pumped. Again, though, I'm not an authority on predictions. Both teams seem to be peeking right now – interestingly, these two teams are tied for the second-longest winning streak in the conference behind OSU – and this should be a close game. A close NU win, to be exact.