[NU Sports] Hoosier Hell ...

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

I remember in 2001, the most frustrating game of that very frustrating year was the game in Bloomington. So many times inside the 20, so many missed chances and it looked like the team quit.

This year, we didn't quit. But we did exactly the same thing Purdue did last week - we took IU lightly. We came out on fire, but couldn't convert inside the 20 and after that, the offense was dazed and confused all day, out of rhythm. The D hung in there as long as possible, but this one was all on the offense. Even before Tyrell and CJ got hurt, we should have had 30+ points, but missed chances inside the red zone killed us.

We are a team that can never take anyone lightly. We've proven we can play with the big boys, but we've never proven that we can just show up and win games against inferior opponents. We're not that type of team.

Very frustrating loss - and if the injuries turn out to be serious, it could be a devastating one as well. This one hurts.

Around the league ...

* WISCONSIN got their act together for a MUCH needed win against the Illini. This may or may not be good news for NU depending later today and tonight. If we get two BCS teams, I think 6-6 gets any league team into a bowl this year as Purdue, IU and Michigan are probably out. But if the Wolverines upset today or we only get one team, a 6-6 Badger team edges us out every time.

* MINNESOTA may have been looking ahead to next week like us, but if so, they were tough enough to win. We're going to have to come out like we want it next week, because the Gophers sure have that mentality this year and with Michigan, Iowa and NU left at home, they could well be thinking THEY will be the other BCS team with an 11-1 mark and other teams ahead of them losing.

Right now, the league bowl look ...

They're in
----------
* PSU - win tonight and Miami is looking pretty good
* OSU - win tonight or even hang close and BCS may still call
* MSU - probably headed to Florida unless they collapse
* MINNY - Avoided their first road trap today, survive game at Madison and defend the home turf and 11-1/ROSES are a definite possibility

Probables
---------
* IOWA - tough road tests left, but should still get at least six
* WISCONSIN - after MSU road test next week, the rest of sked looks good
* ILLINOIS - sweating it, but two toughest tests left are at home
* NORTHWESTERN - obviously CJ and Tyrell's injuries will have a lot to say, but the Minny and Illini games will be huge for positioning

Long shots
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* MICHIGAN - If they fall to Sparty today, gotta win out -- including road tests at Minny, Purdue and OSU - ouch!
* INDIANA - Have to win 3 of 4, with PSU, Wisky and at Purdue left
* PURDUE - Have to run the table, including @ MSU and @ Iowa

Like I said, I think the Big Ten has two BCS spots unless something weird happens, so if we have 8 eligible, all 8 go this year. However, NU's loss today really hurts positioning and they don't want to leave it to chance with only six wins.

GO CATS!!! WAKE UP NEXT WEEK!!!
-SjT

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STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!!