[NU Sports] The .500 Club

[Jonathan Hodges]

At this point the best case for NU (8-4 record, 2 Big Ten teams in BCS
bowls) is the Champs Sports Bowl (Orlando).  It's pretty clear that the top
4 teams in the conference are OSU, PSU, Iowa, and Wisconsin - all that's up
for grabs is a second potential BCS berth, which will depend more on what
other teams do down the stretch (as long as there are no upsets for those
4).

The key for NU will be getting a 7th win, which would essentially guarantee
NU a spot in one of the following bowls: Champs, Alamo, or Insight.

There is still a lot up in the air right now with no Big Ten teams yet
eliminated from bowl contention.  Basically every game down the stretch in
the conference will have a big impact on where teams end up, and even then
it will mostly be up to the bowls on who they chose for their spots.

Note that ESPN's Rittenberg (an NU alum) noted in his bowl projections today
that bowls are allowed to select 6-6 teams before 7-5 teams as long as the
7-5 teams still have a conference-affiliated bowl to go to.  And the Insight
and Detroit bowls have no rules except that all teams with winning records
must go to a bowl above .500 teams.

We'll know more after next week's games.

Jonathan

On Sun, Nov 8, 2009 at 11:43 AM, <hakirsch at aol.com> wrote:

> Where do we go with an 8-4 miracle ?
> Harry------Original Message------From: DPENDERG at aol.comSender:
> nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.comTo: nwu-sports at tssi.comSubject: Re: [NU Sports]
> The .500 ClubSent: Nov 8, 2009 9:05 AM
>  I think all of the "what ifs" will be moot if we beat Illinois  -- as we
> should -- and finish at least 7-5.  Is the Iowa game an  announcement that
> the previously under-performing Cats have found themselves  and established
> momentum for the rest of the season?  Frankly, I don't  know.  The defense
> certainly stepped up along with the offensive line, a  clearly weak point
> until Saturday.  But a solid W in Champaign will  convince the naysayers
> that the win over Iowa was not a "fluke" but was the  emergence of a strong
> Big Ten team that merits recognition in post-season  play.  We do not want a
> lackluster, winnable game  like Indiana last year to shadow our bowl
> prospects.  Go Cats!     In a message dated 11/8/2009 10:23:42 A.M. Eastern
> Standard Time,  jleonard518 at yahoo.com writes:
> Fellow  Wildcat Faithful,
> It's a huge help to our bowl hopes that we are the  first to get the 6th
> win. Opening the Big Ten standings on ESPN.com and seeing  Northwestern in
> the upper half of the list NEVER gets old. Here's how the 6-6  logjam looks
> with two games to go:
> Northwestern (6-4):     Lose @ Illinois, lose to Wisconsin
> -------------------- finish 6-6Michigan  State (5-5): Lose @ Purdue, Beat
> Penn State --------------------- finish  6-6Minnesota (5-5):        Beat
> South Dakota State,  lose @Iowa -------------- finish 6-6Michigan (5-5):
>   Win @ Wisconsin, Lose to tOSU --------------------- finish  6-6Purdue
> (4-6):             Beat MSU,  Win @ Indiana -------------------------------
> finish 6-6
> Indiana (4-6):  Lose @ Penn State, Lose to Purdue ---------------------
> finish 4-8Illinois  (3-6): Beat Northwestern, Lose @ Cincinnati, Lose to
> Fresno State  --------------------- finish 4-8
> So, we could still have five 6-6  teams. - More realistically, I expect the
> Cats to beat Illinois and finish  at least 7-5. - I would also expect that
> either MSU or Purdue fails to  make it. I could see the Boiler Spoiler
> winning their last two, but MSU won't  beat Penn State.- Michigan is in a
> really tough spot. They could well lose  the last two and finish 5-7.
> So next week, if MSU wins, Penn State  wins, and Michigan loses, we'll be
> 95% certain to have Michigan, Purdue,  Illinois, and Indiana sitting home.
> That would lock a 6-6 NU team into  Detroit. But, we could easily play up to
> 8-4. GO  CATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> Victory &  Honor,Jim
>
>
>
>
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