Postscript, Northwestern

One of my favorite angles when betting on college football games is weather. Windy? Bet the under. Rainy? Under. Snowy? I don't even have to say it.

One of my least-favorite aspects when watching my favorite team play? Weather.

There’s a majesty to it, certainly. The conditions at Gies Memorial Stadium on Saturday were generating national attention, not just among Illinois and Northwestern followers. And if I was one of those national onlookers, I’d have agreed; games played in terrible conditions are endlessly entertaining.

They’re just … not really football. They are, of course, but not the same as two teams lining up across from one another and seeing which one is the better team on that day. Weather is the great equalizer, reducing the game to a contest of “which team can do these two or three things better in these conditions.” It’s great in a vacuum, but not great when there are real stakes.