PODCAST · sports
West Lot Pirates
by West Lot Pirates
A unique take on Northwestern Athletics with thoughts ranging from the visceral to the statistical. Sam, John and Erik will break down NU football, recruiting, basketball and more.
Episodes
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Episode 650: Northwestern 45-Ball St. 14
It was a beautiful early fall afternoon at Ryan Field as the Cats kept rolling with a 45-14 drubbing of Ball St. Now Northwestern finds itself in the Top 25 and hits the road to East Lansing to take on MSU and all the off-the-field drama that comes with it.
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Episode 649: Northwestern 34-Penn St. 13
Words just can't do proper justice to the majesty of the opening of New Ryan Field. The stadium was incredible, the crowd was electric and the team was utterly dominant in their 34-13 drubbing of Penn St.
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Episode 648: Indiana 29-Northwestern 23
What a wild game in Bloomington as the Cats gave Indiana everything they could handle. Now, Northwestern welcomes in Penn State as the curtain is raised on the palace that is New Ryan Field.
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Episode 647: Northwestern 41-Colorado 7
Welcome to the Library! The Cats closed out their time on the lakefront in style as they absolutely demolished Colorado. Now the schedule difficulty ramps way up as Northwestern begins conference play on the road in Bloomington as they take on the defending National Champion Indiana Hoosiers.
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Episode 646: Last Time on the Lake
As the Cats get set to cut the ribbon on New Ryan Field, we have quite the curtain call on the 2+ year stint at Martin Stadium as Deion Sanders brings his Colorado Buffaloes to the lake.
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Episode 645: Northwestern 34-South Dakota St. 18
Woah baby! What a way to start the season! There is so much to talk about coming out of this game from the resurgent offense from Aiden Chiles and the 3 Headed monster at running back to the outstanding play of the defensive backfield checking in with 13 passes broken up. Tonight we'll get into…
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Episode 644: Week 1 Preview
GAME WEEK!!!! After 8 months of talking, projecting, analyzing and theorizing, we are finally ready to kickoff the 2026 Northwestern Football season! This Saturday night, under the lights on the lake, the Cats face off against FCS powerhouse South Dakota St. LET'S GOOOOOO!!!
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2026 Summer Previews: Northwestern
After our scouting previews of 20 different teams, at last we come to the one we're all here to see. Tonight, we break down the 2026 Northwestern Wildcats, diving deep into the Offense, Defense and Specials. This is a season which will see titanic changes to the program, from opening a new…
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2026 Summer Previews: Ohio State, Minnesota and Illinois
Tonight, we wrap up our Summer Previews with a look at Ohio State, Minnesota and Illinois. Sure the trip to Columbus will be difficult, but, much like last year, the final two games against the Gophers and Illini may very well tell the story of the entire Northwestern season.
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2026 Summer Previews: Rutgers, Oregon and Iowa
Tonight, we continue our journey through the Northwestern schedule. As we get into the back half of October with the seasons changing, our schedule kicks into the next gear. Rutgers will come to Evanston, only to be followed by a Halloween journey to Oregon. Finally we flip the calendar to…
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2026 Summer Previews: Indiana, Penn State and Michigan State
As we were looking at the Northwestern schedule and planning out our summer previews, this is the episode which we knew would be a spicy one. Starting off with the defending champs, talking about the first game at the New Ryan Field and then Michigan St. where the emotions and drama will be…
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2026 Summer Previews: South Dakota State, Colorado and Ball State
After previewing the Big Ten foes we don't see this year, it's time to dig into the Northwestern schedule. What a doozy off the top as we face FCS powerhouse South Dakota St. Then it'll be Prime Time on the lake as Colorado comes to town. Finally, we look at our Homecoming game against Ball State.
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2026 Summer Previews: USC, Washington, UCLA and Wisconsin
We continue our Summer Previews with the other 4 Big Ten teams that the Cats do not play this season. Tonight has a significant PAC-12 feel as we look at USC, Washington and UCLA before we round things out with Wisconsin.
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2026 Summer Previews: Michigan, Maryland, Purdue and Nebraska
Welcome to the West Lot Pirates Season Premier where we begin to get ready for the 2026 College Football season! As always, we begin our previews by taking a quick look at all of the Big Ten teams NOT on Northwestern's schedule this year. Tonight, we look at Michigan, Maryland, Purdue and Nebraska.
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Episode 643: National Championship and Dave Eanet
We have so much to cover in tonight's episode. For starters, NU Lacrosse just won their 9th Championship under Kelly Amonte Hiller with a thrilling 14-11 victory over North Carolina in front of 8,500 fans mostly clad in purple. As if that wasn't enough, Mr. Cat himself, Dave Eanet joins us as we...
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Episode 642: Final Four and a new President
With an OT win over a swarming Colorado squad, NU Lacrosse advances to yet another Final 4. This time however, we're playing on our own field. Also, NU has a new President with the announcement that Mung Chiang will be taking the reins July 1st.
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Episode 641: Home Cooking
Northwestern Lacrosse has the unique opportunity to potentially play every game of the NCAA tournament at Martin Stadium on the lakefront. With their huge win over James Madison, the Cats look to avenge their early season loss to Colorado in the Quarterfinals with the chance to go back to the…
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Episode 640: 4x Big Ten Champs and NFL Draft Recap
Lacrosse has now won 4 consecutive Big Ten Conference Tournament Championships to go along with their 4 consecutive Regular Season Championships with a tremendous OT win over Maryland. Now we wait to see what their path will look like as they attempt to make yet another deep run in the NCAA...
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Episode 639: Kevin Fishbain
We are mere days away from the NFL Draft and there are several Cats who should hear their names called throughout the weekend. To get ready, we welcome in Kevin Fishbain from The Athletic to get us up to speed and talk about his phenomenal podcast Breaking In with Kevin Fishbain.
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Episode 638: Activate the Portal
With March Madness in our rearview mirror, the offseason of College Basketball is upon us. As the Transfer Portal opened on Tuesday, the Wildcats find themselves in a situation we have not experienced before. Eight players have entered their names into the portal and Chris Collins now finds…
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Episode 637: Gotta Go!
In our latest episode, we recap Lacrosse's fantastic road trip to North Carolina and their subsequent home win against Johns Hopkins. We also continue to be baffled by the ridiculous travel-related premature ending of the softball game against Oregon.
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Episode 636: Bracketology with Scott Sepich
With the NCAA Basketball Tournament drawing nigh, we welcome back Scott Sepich, our resident Bracketologist for his 16th season of bracket analysis.
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Episode 635: Nicky Buckets Swan Song
Nick Martinelli finished up his Northwestern career at Welsh-Ryan with a pair of thrilling games: a last second buzzer beater against Oregon and yet another barn burner against Purdue. Tonight, we look back at the end of the hoops regular season and we check in on the rest of the spring teams.
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Episode 634: Whiparound
Tonight, we check in on NU Hoops as the Men's team extended their winning streak against Indiana to 6, the Lacrosse team as they took out their frustration after their loss to Colorado, Softball as they continue to develop whilst taking on a meat grinder of a non-conference schedule and Baseball…
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Episode 633: Changing Seasons
As the Spring seasons for Lacrosse, Softball and Baseball (yes, we know it's February) get underway, we look at the opening weekend's games which had some good and some rough outcomes.
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Episode 632: 2026 Football Schedule
The calendar may read January, but it's time to look ahead to the 2026 college football season, specifically, the release of the Big Ten schedule. Tonight we look at the Cats' schedule while also noting that NEXT week we find out the home venue locations. Might we see another game or two on the...
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Episode 631: A New National Champion
With Indiana's historic win over Miami in the National Championship Game, that brings us to the end of the 2025 College Football Season. In tonight's episode, we discuss the Hoosiers and their season and how that could completely change the way we think about College Football.
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Episode 630: Transfer PortalPalooza
Transfer portal season is here and boy, it's busy. In addition to continuing building out the offensive coaching staff under Chip Kelly, we have a flurry of faces transferring in and heading out. Tonight, we go through some of the early highlights of transfer season including our new QB, Aidan...
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Episode 629: Northwestern 34-Central Michigan 7 and Chip Kelly
Well now! Happy Holidays indeed! The Cats went out to Detroit in the GameAbove Sports Bowl and laid it on Central Michigan with a dominant performance from the Defense. But we weren't done with the holiday surprises. Northwestern did something that we never thought would happen. They took a big...
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Episode 628: GameAbove Sports Bowl Preview vs. Central Michigan
For our podcast's 15th birthday, we do what we did in our very first episode, preview the Northwestern Bowl Game. On paper, CMU looks like a middle of the road MAC team, but as we all know, the game is not played on paper. We look forward to our Boxing Day matchup with CMU and look back at the...
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Episode 627: It's Bowling Season!
As we enter the back half of December, we find ourselves in the midst of Bowl Season. Tonight, we look ahead to the GameAbove Sports Bowl in Detroit where the Cats will be taking on Central Michigan. We also catch up on the rest of the Big Ten's bowl/playoff matchups and take stock of the...
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Episode 626: Illinois 20-Northwestern 13
It would be easy to chalk this game up to just being a rivalry game in the snow, but there was a lot more going on than just that in Northwestern's 7 point loss to Illinois. Now with the regular season finished, we look ahead to our upcoming Bowl Game as we begin to think about a crucial 2026...
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Episode 625: Northwestern 38-Minnesota 35 and a Field Hockey National Championship
What a weekend! Field Hockey finished their journey to repeat as National Champions with 2 incredible wins in both the Final 4 game against North Carolina and the title game against Princeton. Football finally broke the curse of Wrigley Field, getting their first ever win at the Friendly Confines...
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Episode 624: Michigan 24-Northwestern 22
The Wrigley Curse continued for the Cats as they lost to Michigan in an absolute gut-punch of a game. Northwestern made a valiant comeback and took the lead only to see Michigan drive down the field with time running out to kick the game winner. Now we look ahead to the final game at Wrigley for...
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Episode 623: USC 38-Northwestern 17
It was a tale of two halves this past Friday in LA. The first half saw two teams trading punches back and forth. But one freak play turned the game on its head and USC pulled away in the second half. We look back at this game while also celebrating a hot start to the Men's Basketball season and...
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Episode 622: It's Basketball Season!
The Northwestern Men's Basketball season tipped off this week with a huge win over Mercyhurst. With so many new faces on the squad, we take a look at the who's who on the team. Also, with Friday's trip to LA looming, what will the football team do to slow down the high octane offense of USC.
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Episode 621: Nebraska 28-Northwestern 21
It was a game much like most of the other Nebraska/Northwestern tilts in that it went back and forth and came down to the last possession. While it always stings to lose to the Huskers, the Cats still find themselves at 5-3 going into their second bye week.
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Episode 620: Northwestern 19-Purdue 0
It could have easily been a big letdown spot coming off the huge win at Penn State last week, but the Cats came out on a mission, shutting out Purdue in front of the 1995 Rose Bowl team in the final game at Martin Stadium. Now, sitting at 5-2 on the season, the Cats make their way to Lincoln to…
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Episode 619: Northwestern 22-Penn St. 21
There are moments that define a program. The Rose Bowl season at Notre Dame, 54-51 vs Michigan, Victory Right against Minnesota, Noah Herron walk-off win against Ohio St. and so many more. It would not be hyperbole to look back at this weekend's win at Penn St. and include it in this list. The…
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Episode 618: Northwestern 42-Louisiana-Monroe 7
Now this is what we're talking about! Northwestern finally put together an offensive performance that we have been looking for as they trounced ULM. Now, the Cats now find themselves not only at 3-2, but also looking ahead to a game against Penn State this weekend that all of a sudden looks a…
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Episode 617: Northwestern 17-UCLA 14
We have been saying for some time that this game against the Bruins would be very telling in what to expect from this Northwestern squad this year. While the Cats did play a clean game and many players looked great, there were some major concerns in the strategy and game plan philosophy that we…
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Episode 616: Bye Week Big Ten Check-in
With the Cats off this week preparing for a dreadful UCLA squad with their interim coach, we took this opportunity to take stock of the rest of the conference through the lens of our preseason thoughts. Who is looking better than we thought at the start of the season? Who is worse?
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Episode 615: Oregon 34-Northwestern 14
Northwestern enters their first Bye Week with many questions still unanswered. On one hand, the Cats looked pretty decent against a monster Oregon team. On the other hand, the Offense still remains maddeningly inconsistent and mistake-prone. Today we take stock as we look ahead a week and a half…
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Episode 614: Northwestern 42-Western Illinois 7
It was a lovely night for some Friday Night Lights and Northwestern did what they needed to do: lay down the wood on their FCS foe. Unfortunately, they also lost Cam Porter for the season with a leg injury. Now, with #4 Oregon looming Saturday morning, what will the Cats need to do and what…
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Episode 613: Field Hockey Preview with Yanyan Li
As Northwestern's Field Hockey squad embarks on their journey to defend their National Championship, John sat down with InsideNU's Editor-in-Chief Yanyan Li to break down the 2025 team.
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Episode 612: Tulane 23-Northwestern 3
That was certainly not the start to the 2025 season that anyone had anticipated. The Cats gave up 5 turnovers and the offense looked listless throughout the game. Tonight, we take a look back and try to figure out what NU will need to do to right the ship.
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Episode 611: Northwestern Preview and Game Week!
You've heard us talk about the rest, now join us as we talk about the best! That's right, this is the moment you've all been waiting for: our in-depth preview of the 2025 Northwestern Wildcats. We'll dive deep into the defense, the offense, the special teams and much, much more.
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2025 Summer Previews: Illinois
We wrap up our Summer Preview slate just as we do every year, with the battle for the Top Hat and Illinois. The Illini are coming off their best season in a while as they continue to embody the Bret Bielema system. But last year they seemed to come out on the right side of almost every close game...
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2025 Summer Previews: Minnesota
Northwestern wraps up the 2025 home (Wrigley) schedule as we welcome in the Gophers. In what may be the last game in Wrigley for the foreseeable future, PJ Fleck and the Flecktones come in looking to build on recent success. Will they have enough to make some noise at the top of the conference?
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2025 Summer Previews: Michigan
Two years removed from their National Championship, Michigan looks to ride their stellar D and hope that their revamped offense can propel them back to the top of the conference.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does West Lot Pirates have?
West Lot Pirates currently has 459 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is West Lot Pirates about?
A unique take on Northwestern Athletics with thoughts ranging from the visceral to the statistical. Sam, John and Erik will break down NU football, recruiting, basketball and more.
How often does West Lot Pirates release new episodes?
West Lot Pirates publishes regularly with 459 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to West Lot Pirates?
You can listen to West Lot Pirates on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts West Lot Pirates?
West Lot Pirates is created and hosted by West Lot Pirates.
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