There will be another dimension added to the mix for Saturday’s Northwestern-Ohio State game. Former Wildcats coach Gary Barnett will be an analyst for Sports USA Radio’s call of the game.

The Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein writes:

Gary Barnett can’t help it. When he refers to Northwestern, he says “we.”

“I do that incessantly and everyone always says something about it,” Barnett told the Tribune. “It’s just out of instinct. From my angle, it will always be my school, our school.”

Indeed, this game will be intensely personal for Barnett. He was the coach who changed things forever for Northwestern. In 1995, his Wildcats went from perennial doormats to shocking the country by winning the Big Ten title and going to the Rose Bowl. Among his players was a young linebacker named Pat Fitzgerald, now the coach.

Barnett eventually jilted the school after the 1998 season. After initially saying he would stay, he departed to become the head coach at Colorado.

There were some hard feelings among Northwestern fans about the way Barnett handled the situation. However, time has a way of washing away the negative stuff. There’s little question about his immense impact in Evanston. Barnett will receive a warm welcome Saturday, especially from the current Northwestern coach.

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