[NU Sports] A bowl too far?

[Abrahamson, Alan (NBC Universal)]

 My two cents:
 I want to go to the Rose Bowl and win.
 If that's not possible, I want to go to the highest-ranking bowl we can
get to, and win.
 If we don't win, it's a bummer. But better to get to a top-tier bowl
than not.
 I acknowledge and respect Jim's opinion below. Mine is different.
 My take is that we -- all of us -- get over the mindset of the bad old
years that drilled into us, understandably enough, that any Wildcat
victory is a colossal turn of fortune. This 2008 Northwestern team is
flawed but still very good. If it doesn't beat itself with penalties and
turnovers, this team can win every game.  
 Football savants might now stand up and say, a-ha, Alan, you are being
completely obvious -- penalties and turnovers are always killers. True
enough. But that's especially so in analyzing the 2008 Wildcats. Their
margin for error is so slim. But their talent and execution levels are
also a step above what we have seen over the past several years.
 To emphasize the obvious, at least obvious to all of us: expect
victory. The opponent doesn't matter. The only team capable of defeating
these Wildcats is -- these Wildcats.
 

 

--


From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com [mailto:nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com]
On Behalf Of Jim Leonard
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2008 2:55 PM
To: nwu-sports at tssi.com
Subject: [NU Sports] A bowl too far?

Fellow Wildcat Faithful,

It was fun to get back to Evanston for another Homecoming this weekend.
The trip to Carmen's alone was worth it, but singing 'Moo Moo Purdue' in
victory with my fellow NUMBAlums was a thrill. 

So, I realize that the win over Purdon't has many of us thinking big in
terms of bowl placement, but I am cautious. It's always nice to go to a
January 1st bowl in a warm destination, but I really worry that we win
our way into a mismatch (like the dreaded Alamo reenactment with
Nebraska or the '97 Citrus Bowl). 

I certainly want the Cats to win all remaining games, but a lopsided
bowl loss is not what this program needs right now. What we need is to
go to a bowl and WIN. If that means trip to Detroit to beat a MAC team
then so be it. I worry that a 9-3 record gets us a mismatch against an
SEC school in Tampa or Orlando. 

Until we get the bowl loss monkey off our back, I would rather beat an
evenly matched (or weaker) opponent in the "Gold Bond Ultimate Healing
Bowl" ** than get whipped by a top-tier team trying to make a statement.

Victory & Honor,
JIm


** It happens to be on my desk at work right now

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