[NU Sports] The finality of it all

[Jonathan Hodges]

Yes, it was all but official after Florida Atlantic beat Troy on Saturday
(meaning that if a second "at large" bowl spot did open up then Troy, by
virtue of their winning record, would have been in over any 6-6 team; FAU
nabbed the Sun Belt's lone guaranteed bid with their conference championship
- TCU already locked up their bowl spot by virtue of their winning record
and the MWC's backup arrangement with the Texas Bowl), but it did hurt to
see NU officially left at home.

Regarding the "what ifs" from this year - I'm done thinking about it.  The
fact is that NU went 4-4 in games that were decided in the 4th quarter or
later this year - giving the 'Cats that 6-6 final record.  Yes, there were
those 4 losses (including Duke) but there were also those 4 wins - including
Indiana, MSU, and Nevada (all bowl bound teams).

A 6-6 record this year met the lower tier of expectations (by myself, at
least) and largely met or exceeded the mainstream media's typical low
expectations.  Plus, this was year 2 under Fitz who is still a relatively
young and inexperienced coach.  Year 3, 2008, will be the real test - NU has
the talent and returning players to make some noise.  And I'm already
looking forward to it now that 2007 is officially done.

Go 'Cats!!!
Jonathan

On Dec 2, 2007 10:30 PM, <WildElk2 at aol.com> wrote:

> Sure, we all knew we weren't going any place, but now that it's  official,
> it
> hurts (although not like the late night punch in the stomach at  Hawaii in
> 2004 debacle).  I was looking at the Big 10 standings, and I  wonder if
> beating
> Duke would have mattered?  When Indiana beat Purdue, and  Michigan St.
> beat
> Penn St., they would have both jumped ahead of us in the  pecking order.
>  We'd
> really be pissed if we went 7-5 and stayed  home. Now if we're playing the
> what
> if game: let's let the loss to Duke  stand.  If we beat Iowa or Michigan
> (I'm
> not counting Purdue, as they put  it to us in the 4th Q.) , games that we
> gave away and finish 7-5, do we go to a  bowl?
>  At 6-6, I think most of us know, what with our easiest schedule in  ages,
> we didn't deserve a bowl.  No big wins, unlike the 2003 season in  which
> we
> finished 6-6 and corralled Wisconsin (16-7 was it?).
>   I'm not sure how to look at this season.  I talk out of  both sides of
> my
> mouth.  With Bacher the starter all season, we had a  passing game that
> kept
> defenses guessing.  That alone merits  improvement.  But 6 wins against a
> mediocre schedule; I wonder if we're any  better than the 2-3 we posted to
> end 2006
> with Bacher?  Sure, that included  a miracle win by MSU; so say we win
> that
> game like we should;  Was 2007  better than a 3-2 record Bacher piloted in
> 2006?
>   I'm still surprised how weak our defensive front  seven was.  Whether it
> was a bad game or not,  Brad W. from our  list commented how poor our
> tackling
> was vs. Illinois; in our 12th game.   We looked like a bad high school
> team at
> times.  The idea is to take 2  and 3 star recruits and get them better
> after
> two or three years.  That has  happened on offense; but not on defense.
>  2004
> was the last year we had a  good defense, save the book end losses vs. TCU
> and
> Hawaii.
>   On offense, we moved the ball, but when it was crunch time, we
>  struggled.
>  Still, our "big" problem is on defense. (Note: our special  teams were
> better; we went from an F in 2006 to a C this season)
>   After 6 years, it's time for a change.  Whether it's a  recruiting
> issue,
> or technique, Colby has got to go.  Giving a person  6 years to get
> results in
> D-! football doesn't happen anymore.  I'm glad NU  is patient, but as much
> as
> I believe Colby was safe after the 2005 season in  which our defense was
> porous, it hasn't got much better.
>   Oh well. A long off-season begins.
>
>               GO  CATS!!!               Eric
>
>
>
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-- 
Jonathan W. Hodges
1237 Emerson St Apt 2
Evanston, IL  60201-3577
(847) 736-2449
jonathanwhodges at gmail.com