[NU Sports] Updated Bowl Predictions

[Jonathan Hodges]

Even after this weekend, there is still a lot of football to be played.  NU
needs 7 wins to get to a bowl, and even then things could be dicey if the
likes of MSU and Indiana manage to make it to that same win mark.  Purdue
looked good at home against Iowa today, so NU will have to play a really
solid game this week if it wants to win 4 straight for the first time since
1996 and reach bowl eligibility.

Jonathan

On 10/20/07, SjT (Stephen J. Truog) <sjtruog at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > Notwithstanding that we are 1 win away from
> > eligibility and 2 wins away from real consideration,
> > we still get no respect from at least
>
> ... or from ESPN. During the PSU-Indiana game, they
> had the Big Ten standings up and seemed "shocked" that
> NU was a win from bowl eligibility.
>
> But Indiana's gonna be a heck of a team to beat for us
> - mobile QB and stud WR really play into our defensive
> weaknesses. I think most of the Big Ten will be hoping
> Mr. Hardy decides to play on Sundays next year. If I
> had to guess at the bowl picture at this point, I'd
> say ...
>
> BCS TITLE GAME: LSU (12-1) vs. Oklahoma (12-1)
> - No one makes it through unscathed, and OU has the
> easiest path of the one-loss teams while LSU emerges
> as the winner of the best league to play at home. It
> helps that both will have a title game to make one
> last case in what should be a wild finish at the
> polls.
>
> ROSE BOWL: Ohio State (11-1) vs. Oregon (11-1)
> - The Buckeyes lose at PSU but still win the league
> and get to play in Pasadena against the winner of the
> USC at Oregon - not a bad consolation prize
>
> SUGAR BOWL: Florida (10-3) vs. Hawaii (12-0)
> - With their make-up pick for losing LSU, the Sugar
> selects another SEC team and winds up stuck with
> Hawaii. If the Warriors lose, look for Texas here?
>
> ORANGE BOWL: Virginia Tech (12-1) vs. West Virginia
> (11-1)
> - When the excitement dies down, these two are the
> best teams in the ACC and Big East and they face each
> other in what used to be an annual rivalry. Too bad no
> one outside of Appalachia cares much.
>
> FIESTA BOWL: Southern Cal (10-2) vs. Penn State (10-2)
> - If Oregon wins the Pac 10, the Fiesta gets the
> winner of SC-Cal ... only question is where they go
> with the other pick. They could keep Big XII ties with
> Texas, but a streaking 10-win PSU team brings a lot of
> fans.
>
> That leaves the rest ...
>
> CITRUS BOWL: Michigan (8-4) vs. Georgia
> - The Wolverines trip up vs. the Bucks and somewhere
> else (tonight or more likely at Wisconsin) to slip a
> bit here, but still a big draw (and the fact that
> Bucky was here last year) gets them selected for
> Orlando against whoever emerges from the wild SEC
> race.
>
> OUTBACK BOWL: Wisconsin (9-3) vs. South Carolina
> - Could be the Vols, could be Kentucky ... who knows
> with this Crazy SEC race. But the Badgers will take
> another New Year's visit to Florida after a midseason
> slump.
>
> ALAMO BOWL: Illinois (8-4) vs. Texas Tech
> - Ugly colors for TV, but a pretty game for those who
> enjoy offense.
>
> CHAMPS BOWL: Indiana (7-5) vs. Wake Forest
> - Good March Madness matchup ... we'll see how it
> fares as a bowl. IU gets the spot over Purdue as
> they'll finally take home the bucket this year.
>
> INSIGHT BOWL: Purdue (8-4) vs. Kansas State
> - Will the Wildcats get revenge for that 1998 Alamo
> Bowl upset?
>
> MOTOR CITY BOWL: Northwestern (7-5) vs. Miami (OH)
> - Two wins might not even be enough for the Cats ...
> if MSU beats Purdue, the Boilers, Sparty and Cats
> could all wind up 7-5 and MSU would go here. But if
> Purdue wins at home, the Motor City Bowl -- much to
> their dismay -- has to take a 7-5 NU team over 6-6
> MSU.
>
> OUT: Michigan State 6-6, Iowa 5-7, Minnesota 1-11
>
> So we could have nine bowl-eligible teams for seven
> bowls ... we really need to get that extra BCS berth.
>
> Of course, if NU and MSU can both beat the Boilers,
> Purdue could be the one at 6-6 on the outside while
> MSU gets to go to Detroit and NU comes to Phoenix
> (making everyone outside of West Lafayette happy) ...
> so our game next week is a big one.
>
> LET'S GO CATS!!!
> -SjT
>
> * * * * * * * * *
> STEPHEN J. TRUOG
> sjtruog at yahoo.com
> GO CATS!!!
>
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-- 
Jonathan W. Hodges
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