Same thing happens whenever they play one of the "name" teams in the Big Ten like OSU, Michigan, Wisconsin etc. Northwestern has good athletics for all the disadvanatages they have compared to the rest of the Big Ten athletically. Im a big believer in Pat Fitzgerald that guy knows how to coach

They do have a smaller alum base. I'm not sure current enrollment, but it used to be in the range of 8000 undergrads, much smaller than most Big Ten schools. They also have a long tradition of not being good working against them, though they have have numerous good coaches over the years. They are the proof that being in a major city does not guarantee local interest - in fact, they get lost in all the other sports alternatives. Lastly, it hurts them that they don't bear the name of a state. It's easier for a non-alum from Illinois to support U. of Illinois than some school called "Northwestern" that doesn't even sound like it would be in Chicago. Even directional Illinois teams would be easier to support.

Plus, I've read (as alluded to by "The ReadO-H-I-O") that most if not all of the other Big10 schools have larger alumni chapters IN THE CHICAGO area than Northwestern.