[NU Sports] 12th game blues

[Brad Wilson]

> I agree - I never said what we were doing was wrong.

And I concur, with the slight caveat that I'd prefer
to avoid the I-AA teams by playing teams such as Army,
Temple, Tulane, etc. Maybe Syracuse, Pitt, Missouri
once in a while. 

there's absolutely no incentive for
> a
> Big Ten team to schedule a challenging n-c slate.

Quite so -- unless you believe that by playing one
decent non-con game you help prepare your team for the
Big 10 challenges ahead. In 1995, I would have to say
it helped NU to have played -- and beaten -- Notre
Dame  in the opener.

A fellow NU fan (Chris Bailey, known to some here) is
a big believer in the
tough-non-league-games-make-for-good
preparation-for-league games theory. I am somewhat
skeptical -- me thinks if you win those games, it
helps, but losing 68-3 to Texas in the opener is not
what the doctor ordered -- but this NU season will
tell the tale: Northeastern, Nevada and Duke followed
by ...  OSU and Michigan. We'll find out.

> Penn State doesn't really need that extra cupcake
> ...
> but there's no incentive for them to reach out
> either
> when they can get 7 or 8 home games and all that $$$
> every year.

They say they have to have at least 7 home games. PSU
does, generally, have one decent game (I know they
have an Alabama series coming up).

> In USC's case, the ND series is one they can't get
> out
> of, and the other challenging scheduling may come
> from
> the lack of respect the Pac 10 is given. 

Perhaps .. but again Mr. Bailey would say those games
with Nebraska and Arkansas toughened USC up for Cal,
UCLA and Oregon. 

> I was merely pointing out the laughability of
> anything
> the governing board says on college football -

That is surely true.

bw


"Happy are those who see beauty in the modest spots where others see nothing." -- Camille Pissaro

"Quis ipsos custodes custodiet?" -- Juvenal


       
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