Life is pretty good for Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald.

Last year, he guided the Wildcats to an Alamo Bowl appearance. In the offseason, he's been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and received a contract extension that will keep him in Evanston through 2015.

What will the 34-year-old coach do for an encore?

Depending on your viewpoint, Northwestern just might keep surprising people throughout the Big Ten. In today's Big Ten preview, our own Michael Rothstein writes that he likes the Wildcats as his surprise team in the conference.

VIDEO: PAT FITZGERALD'S COLLEGE HALL OF FAME INDUCTION

Rothstein's optimism may come as a surprise, considering that Northwestern must replace pretty much all of its key skill-position players. But that task hardly seems insurmountable, according to Fitzgerald, who thinks its tougher to replace linemen. He's finding it easier to replace both with more talented recruits, an upgrade he attributes to the presence of the Big Ten Network.

The revamping of the offense begins at quarterback with the installation of Mike Kafka, who is hardly a newcomer. You may remember Kafka from his record-setting performance against Minnesota, in which he ran for 217 yards, a high mark for Big Ten QBs.

But can he stay healthy? That's the big question for AnnArbor.com football reporter Dave Birkett, who notes that the Wildcats have a history of injuries that keep key players off the field. Either way, Birkett and Rothstein both agree that Northwestern is a bowl team in today's edition of "For Argument's Sake."

And finally: With teams across the country shoring up their schedules for 2010 and beyond, Fitzgerald shares his scheduling philosophy, which basically comes down to finding a Mid-American Conference team and another that he considers on par academically with Northwestern.