[NU Sports] Bowl Musings
Beamsley, Jeff
Jeff.Beamsley at covisint.com
Wed Oct 14 17:01:26 CDT 2009
It's all about the run. We have to stop theirs and execute ours.
Win on the ground and hold onto the ball is our formula for success
against sparty.
Jeff
Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 14, 2009, at 10:10 AM, "Evans Schoeman"
<eschoeman at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> I hate to ask, but where does Notre Dame fit into the BCS picture?
> The fact that they moved into the rankings on a bye week does not
> bode well. If they play USC tough on Saturday, even with a loss,
> that might not be a killer for their BCS hopes. (Sorry, Lou, I
> don't think that they will get into the NC game).
>
> The rest of their season is not the cakewalk that it looked to be at
> the beginning of the year, as Pitt, UConn, and even Stanford could
> test them. A 9-3 record is not out of the question and could set
> them up for a BCS bid, which would take away one of the conference
> at-large spots.
>
> Our game Saturday will be huge in setting the rest of the season
> up. Four years ago we went into E. Lansing as heavy underdogs and
> gave up a long touchdown pass right at the start of the game. From
> there on it was all Cats, as we hammered Sparty in every way.
> Hopefully, history will repeat itself this year and take some of the
> pressure off this team.
>
>
>
>
>
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> From: Jonathan Hodges <jonathanwhodges at gmail.com>
> To: cherron604 at aol.com
> Cc: nwu-sports at tssi.com
> Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 11:50:02 AM
> Subject: Re: [NU Sports] Bowl Musings
>
> Here's my current Big Ten bowl projections, but there's obviously a
> LOT of
> football left to be played:
>
> *Rose Bowl:* Ohio State
> *BCS At-Large:* Iowa
> *Capital One:* Penn State
> *Outback:* Wisconsin
> *Champs Sports:* Michigan
> *Alamo: *Michigan State
> *Insight: *Northwestern
> *Pizza:* Minnesota
>
> *Ineligible:* Indiana, Purdue, Illinois.
>
> The key to getting 8 Big Ten teams in bowls is not really what the
> teams at
> the top of the conference do (as long as there are a couple of teams
> with 10
> wins, which is quite possible between OSU/PSU/Iowa), but what other
> conferences do.
>
> Out of the 10 BCS bowl slots, there are 6 guaranteed slots to the
> BCS-conference champions, 1 likely that will go to a "mid-major,"
> which
> leaves 3 at-large spots. The question is: which conferences will
> send 2
> representatives to the BCS (remembering that there is a 2 team/
> conference
> cap)?
>
> The SEC looks like a lock to send two. That leaves two spots.
>
> The ACC teams are already knocking each other off, and the Big East
> doesn't
> look like they'll have multiple teams near the top, so I'll
> eliminate them
> from the discussion for now (though the ACC with Miami and VT could
> get back
> into it).
>
> So, it's between the Big Ten, Big XII, and Pac-10 for the final two
> spots.
>
> Big XII: A lot depends on what happens in the Texas-Oklahoma game (a
> third
> loss for Oklahoma would make it very difficult for them to get in),
> but
> there are those teams on the north (Nebraska, Kansas) that could
> make for a
> second team. But, it's hard to tell right now.
>
> Pac-10: Hard to tell there, as well, with Oregon surging and USC
> already
> having lost its usual conference away game even as a huge favorite.
>
> Big Ten: Looks to be in the best shape, but there are still OSU/PSU
> and
> OSU/Iowa bouts in November. You never know what will happen.
>
>
> So, the picture isn't very clear right now. IF the Big Ten can get
> a second
> team in the top 14, they will likely face some stiff competition,
> but when
> it comes down to fans traveling and spending money, the Big Ten
> usually
> fares well (the conference has sent 2 teams to the BCS more than any
> other
> conference). Based on that I assumed the Big Ten would send two
> teams.
>
> For NU, a lot of bowl hopes hinge on this MSU game. Indiana and
> Illinois
> are win-able games (not gimmes, though), meaning that the MSU game
> could be
> the difference between 6 and 7 wins. Just look at 2007 when NU was
> left
> home at 6-6 (so was Iowa for that matter) since bowl rules required
> 7-5 or
> better teams be selected before 6-6 teams. 7 wins virtually
> guarantees a
> bowl bid. The rest of NU's second half games against PSU, Iowa, and
> Wisconsin look very tough right now, so NU likely needs to win the
> MSU game
> to get to 7 wins.
>
> Hopefully, if NU can get to 7, I think they can get into the Insight
> if
> other teams falter down the stretch and end up 6-6 (like Minnesota,
> who
> still has to face Iowa, PSU, and OSU - and all on the road).
>
> Go 'Cats!
> Jonathan
>
> On Wed, Oct 14, 2009 at 11:04 AM, <cherron604 at aol.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> Do we have a shot at a warm weather bowl ?
>>
>>
>>
>> I ran the most current Sagarin numbers through the schedule, to try
>> and
>> answer a couple of questions. First, can we get two teams in the
>> BCS ?
>>
>>
>>
>> My rough guess would be 'yes', but a lot depends on two very big
>> games.
>> First, we need to keep Iowa unbeaten this week when they travel to
>> Wisconsin. Then second, we probably need Iowa to lose to Ohio
>> State in
>> Columbus on November 14. Unless the Rose Bowl was feeling very
>> sentimental,
>> and took a 2-loss OSU, Wisconsin or PSU to keep up that 'Big Ten
>> Tradition'.
>> Wisconsin might end up highest rated of those three (even though
>> unrated
>> now ?) since their 2nd loss would've been the longest time ago,
>> October 17
>> (thereby keeping Iowa undefeated). And that raises another
>> question - would
>> an unbeaten Iowa be passed over for the National Championship game,
>> thereby
>> falling into the Rose Bowl ? And would all of the other BCS bowls
>> pass on
>> OSU, Wisconsin and PSU with 2 losses ? Do two 11-1 teams position
>> the
>> conference better for two BCS berths than a 12-0 team and several
>> 10-2 teams
>> ?
>>
>>
>>
>> It would appear that we have 4 Bowl 'locks', Iowa, Ohio State,
>> Wisconsin
>> and Penn State, and 2 bowl 'very likely' teams, Minnesota and
>> Michigan.
>> Minnesota needs 2, and has Illinois and San Diego State at home
>> (as well as
>> a possible win against MSU at home). Michigan needs 2, and has home
>> games
>> against Delaware State and Purdue, as well as a road game at
>> Illinois.
>>
>>
>>
>> There would seem to be 3 bubble teams, and we seem to be in that
>> class.
>> Michigan State seems to have the best path - they need 3, and
>> have Western
>> Michigan and the Cats at home (though we have won the last 2 in
>> Lansing),
>> and Purdue on the road. We need 2, and have Indiana at home and
>> Illinois at
>> Champaign (according to today's Sagarin Ratings, we would be 1/2
>> point
>> underdogs in Champaign, but I am hoping that at 1-8 when we play,
>> the team
>> will already have given up on Zook (some are already accusing the
>> team of
>> that now)). Ironically, Indiana needs 3 wins for bowl eligibility,
>> and they
>> have Illinois and Purdue at home, but their best chance for win #6
>> among the
>> remaining games is their game at Evanston (we are only point-and-a-
>> half
>> favorites, according to Sagarin), so it appears that the only way
>> they go is
>> to beat us, thereby keeping us home.
>>
>>
>>
>> So we 'should' probably qualify 8 teams. If we get 2 in the BCS,
>> then
>> number 8 (either us or Indiana) probably gets Detroit. If we only
>> get one
>> in the BCS, then Detroit probably gets their wish with a Spartan
>> home game.
>>
>>
>>
>> Certainly we have to steal one of our three late games (at Lansing,
>> host
>> Penn State and host Wisconsin, all probably 10-14 point spreads),
>> as well as
>> hold serve against IU and the Illini, as well as hope for 2 in the
>> BCS, to
>> hope for anything better than Detroit (and even that is not a
>> guarantee).
>>
>>
>>
>> The Syracuse and Minnesota fiascos are looming larger and larger in
>> this
>> season...
>>
>>
>>
>> Chuck Herron Tech '85
>>
>>
>>
>>
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