[NU Sports] I hate Hawaii

Mon Nov 6 14:47:30 CST 2006

I was at the Indiana game in '81 - I was mad initially, but a little later I started to appreciate what Green did, and (I assume) why he did it.  The Program had to start thinking in terms of 'winning games', not merely playing to tie or to avoid a loss.  This was the heady feeling we had back then in the beginning of the Single/Green era.  Probably also why I still have a soft spot for Green, and felt a little sorry for him when he erupted after this year's Bears game.

The blowouts and record-breaking losses weren't so bothersome - we were bad, they were good, we were moving in a good direction, at least.  I felt then that Strotz seemed to be enjoying the 'Stop State at 28' and the goalposts being carried past his mansion a little bit too much - almost like it was vindicating his view of what the University was supposed to be.  I still remember the Daily front page photo with Strotz smiling broadly as the students carried the goalposts.

A great question would be what did Strotz REALLY think of football back then ?  What did he think its place was in the University (coming as he did from the U of C) ?  Did he trigger the shake-up in 1980 because he was ashamed of Pont/Venturi, or ashamed at the charges levelled by the athletes ?  And what would he have made of the programs revival under Barnett and Walker ?  Alas, questions not asked, so we'll never know, I guess.

My 5 most painful:

Iowa 2000
PSU 2001  (Indiana 2001 and Bowling Green 2001 were also painful)
UCLA 2005
Hawaii 2004 (still have nightmares of Timmy Chang)
MSU 2006  (no nightmares yet of a bewildered/giddy John L Smith)

Miami 1995 hurt a little at the time, and hurt alot more two months later.

Rose Bowl loss was a great game, we later found out J Rob had cheated (what a surprise).

Citrus loss wasn't too painful - we have since seen how great Peyton Manning is.

I didn't even mind the Alamo loss - Nebraska may have been the best team to have played 'that far down' in the Bowl pecking order.

Chuck Herron   Tech '85

-----Original Message-----
From: Willie.Weinbaum at espn.com
To: bwdolphin146 at yahoo.com; nwu-sports at tssi.com
Sent: Mon, 6 Nov 2006 5:19 AM
Subject: RE: [NU Sports] I hate Hawaii

Worth considering:

--for toughest loss: to Indiana, 21-20, in Dennis Green's debut in 1981, when 
Cats eschewed a game-tying extra point to go for two with under six minutes 
left.  The loss at Dyche was followed by 10 more that season, including...

--for most significant loss: 11/7/81 at Dyche to MSU for national 1-A record 
29th straight, 61-14, followed by tearing down goalpost & parading by Pres. 
Strotz's house on way to depositing in Lake Michigan (early season loss at 
Arkansas after a very close first half, with knee injury to promising 
runningback Marc Hujik, was pivotal moment in season that became another 
disaster & led to breaking record held by UVA & KSU of 28 straight losses).

--many, many wipeouts and hardly any close games in the 1-42-1 era of 1978-81 
(worst four years of any 1-A team ever - - my undergraduate years, which made 
the glory that followed '95-on especially delicious), with three years of Rick 
Venturi (a 20-16 heartbreaker at Purdue was closest to a conf win) & one year 
with Green as head coach (before he posted victories in '82)

Wins from '78-'82 easy to remember:

--27-22 over Wyoming 9/15/79 for only win of Venturi era and only win of '78-81 
(note that Venturi's debut was a 0-0 tie at Illinois in '78).

--Green-led '82 wins over NIU to end record-setting losing streak at 34, over 
Minnesota to end seemingly interminable Big Ten losing streak and at MSU to end 
even longer Big Ten road losing streak.  Green earned coach of year honors that 
year.

Before my time, but would think that Rose Bowl triumph of '49 was school's 
biggest win ever, with many wonderful thrillers of '95-on closely behind & 
perhaps some contenders from the Parseghian era.

Every great game and even the excitement of eventual losses of modern era are 
greatly appreciated by those of us who passionately followed the team during the 
"hopeless cause" era.

 -----Original Message-----
From:   Brad Wilson [mailto:bwdolphin146 at yahoo.com]
Sent:   Monday, November 06, 2006 05:39 AM Eastern Standard Time
To: nwu-sports at tssi.com
Subject:    [NU Sports] I hate Hawaii

Oooh, forgot about that one in 2004. That'd be right
up there, especially the way NU was jobbed by the
refs. 

Those Wake losses were annoying, too, but non-con
games have to a little more dreadful (see above) or in
a bowl to be ranked.

After everyone checked in, my top 5 (since 1984, when
I started being an NU fan):

1) Penn State 2001
2) Alamo Bowl
3) Iowa 2000
4) Hawaii 2004
5) MSU 2006

But, in the spirit of being positive, what was the
best win of late? 

I'd say Michigan 2000, but Ohio State 2004, Wisconsin
1995, Notre Dame 1995, Wisconsin 2005, Michigan 1996,
Wisconsin 2000, Illinois 1996, Michigan State 2005,
Illinois 2000, Iowa 2005, MSU 2001, MSU 1997, and Penn
State 1995 would be right up there. Must be missing
one  goodie from 2003, though ... aren't I?

Brad Wilson

"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that 
accusation is not proof, and that conviction depends upon evidence and due 
process of law.

"We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an 
age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember 
that we are not descended from fearful men, not from men who feared to write, to 
speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were for the moment unpopular." 
-- Edward R. Murrow, 1954.

"Quis ipsos custodes custodiet?" -- Juvenal

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