[NU Sports] Afternoon report & bowl outlook ...

Mon Oct 19 15:33:20 CDT 2009

Aren't the phrases "packing Dyche this weekend" and 'Indiana" mutually exclusive ?  Will we crack 20,000 for Homecoming ?  We will get crowds for the remaining 2 games, but they will be 90% Nittany fans and 90% Badger fans.  I dread crowds like that.  I'm guessing that a lot of our fans will avoid those games, giving their tickets to visiting fans.  There is no game less enjoyable than being in the minority at a home game...

Chuck Herron   Tech '85

-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Zeller <scottzel at gmail.com>
To: hakirsch at aol.com
Cc: nwu-sports at tssi.com; nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com
Sent: Sat, Oct 17, 2009 11:21 pm
Subject: Re: [NU Sports] Afternoon report & bowl outlook ...

There are several more bowl games available now than there were when we went
-6 last time and were left out because of a crowded house. A great deal of
-6 teams go to bowls now, many as wild cards; I'm sure a Big Ten team would
e attractive to a bowl with an opening among the available 6-6 teams. Put
t simply, I believe if we get to 6-6 we are in somewhere (something tells
e if not in a BT contract spot, then the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco!)
However, my fear is we don't even get to 6-6. Our remaining schedule is
ighty tough and we have to go 2-3 against it to even get to .500. None of
hose games is against Towson.
Finally packing Dyche this weekend for homecoming might encourage the team
o beat Indiana and may finally give them some confidence and momentum.
ere's hoping.
Scott Zeller, MD
n Sat, Oct 17, 2009 at 7:12 PM, <hakirsch at aol.com> wrote:
> I would bet against us going to a bowl game this year. We are mediocre at
 best and while we maywind up bowl eligible I'm not sure we would even get
 picked if we are

 Harry
 Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

 -----Original Message-----
 From: "SjT \(Stephen J. Truog\)" <sjtruog at yahoo.com>
 Date: Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:57:17
 To: <nwu-sports at tssi.com>
 Subject: [NU Sports] Afternoon report & bowl outlook ...

 Well, not much of a contest in Happy Valley - thankfully the other two big
 games on in the Swamp and the Evil Empire vs. Spoiled Children game are
 pretty good. Plus the always-fun Pac 10 game.

 So with the game tonight not having any real bowl implications except
 perhaps who gets to hold on to the sliver of hope longer, let's see how
 todays's big game in Madison and big upset in West Lafayette changed the
 outlook ...

 THE LOCKS

 IOWA: The biggest game on Iowa's schedule may be in mid-November at the
 Shoe, but for bowl purposes, it might be the game in Happy Valley the week
 before with PSU and OSU - should the Lions win, the Hawks can lose in
 Columbus and still hold the tiebreak for Pasadena. Right now, they're BCS
 bound unless they have a very bad day, and usually that only happens to
 Ferentz' teams in the first half of the season.

 PENN STATE: They're getting healthy and the offense (against mediocre foes,
 albeit) is looking better. If they survive their road trips to the state of
 Michigan and hold serve at home against OSU's lifeless offense, they could
 also be BCS bound with an 11-1 mark.

 OHIO STATE: Despite their horrible offense (the big question is whether
 it's that Pryor is overrated or limited by his coaches), they have the
 defense to be in every game left and could play big-time spoiler for both
 PSU and Iowa in November, meaning they still control their fate. More
 likely, though, it's looking like Florida.

 WISCONSIN: The Badgers should be favored to win every game left on the
 schedule and hence are looking good for a 10-win season and a New Year's Day
 bowl game. But since they don't get a crack at PSU and lost to the Hawkeyes
 and Buckeyes already, they need help for anything above Florida.

 MICHIGAN: They should to seven wins fine and with their "resurgence" and
 big name will be a popular bowl pick -- maybe even jumping up to Tampa --
 but there are too many big names left to compete for the title. However,
 with PSU and OSU visiting the Big House, they could also be a major spoiler
 if the offense is on fire.

 THE BUBBLE TEAMS

 MICHIGAN STATE: Technically they still control their fate with Iowa and PSU
 visiting and no OSU, but more likely they're going to be sweating it out to
 get six or more wins because of those early close losses.  The key game for
 bowl position is in two weeks at Minnesota.

 MINNESOTA: The Gophers have two nearly impossible road games left (@
 Columbus and @ Iowa City), but if they take care of business at home against
 Illinois, San Diego State and a big battle with Sparty, they'll have seven
 wins and go bowling again.

 NORTHWESTERN: The Cats have a decent shot at six, a longshot at seven and
 absolutely no room for error. They must beat Indiana and Illinois to get to
 six wins and then hope to steal one at home against PSU or Wisky or on the
 road in Iowa City ... or else hope we double dip into the BCS.

 THE LONGSHOTS

 PURDUE: They've been close all year and are coming alive now, but those
 early losses are going to come back and bite them. They need to steal one at
 Camp Randall or Ann Arbor and then win out against the Illini, Hoosiers and
 Sparty to have any hope.

 INDIANA: The Hoosiers have the best shot of the three at the bottom because
 of their 3-3 mark, but like NU they have no room for error. They must beat
 Illinois and Purdue at home and win at Northwestern to get to six and then
 steal one at Iowa, at Penn State or vs. Wisconsin ... or hope for a BCS
 double dip.

 ILLINOIS: The Illini seemingly have too much talent to run the table
 winless in the league, so the rest of the Big Ten teams are hoping that they
 come alive at Cincy instead of ruining their bowl chances. If they can win
 their next two tonight at IU and next week at Purdue to get to 3-4 before
 Michigan visits Champaign, they may be able to sneak back in, though, by
 beating the Wolverines, Wildcats and Fresno State.

 So that would break down something like this ...

 B(C)S GAMES

 "TITLE" GAME: Florida vs. Texas - The Horns survived their biggest test
 today and I'm not falling for the tease on the Gators slipping today (they
 just got some help from the refs to make sure it's not Ole Miss all over
 again) - and even if they do lose, they canw in out and make it to the title
 game by beating Alabama, which they will.

 ROSE: Iowa vs. Southern Cal - Great defensive battle as 11-1 Iowa beats PSU
 in the tiebreak (and avoids a rematch) ... or 12-0 Iowa fights for respect
 after being left out of the title game.

 ORANGE: Penn State vs. Virginia Tech - As I discussed yesterday, the Orange
 has to take the ACC champ and can't just take the Big East champ against
 hometown Miami, so in order to sell seats, invite those RVs from Nittany
 Nation to visit South Florida for the winter.

 SUGAR: Alabama vs. Cincinnati - The folks in New Orleans have to hate this
 BCS order thing, as they get stuck with the worst game on paper yet again
 (though last year Utah pulled the upset ... in a blowout game).

 FIESTA: Boise State vs. Oregon - Here's the tough call of the lot. I was
 all set to have Nebraska here, until they laid an egg against Texas Tech.
 Miami doesn't travel well and old standby OSU might be there if they beat
 Iowa, but the Orange lobbies hard for PSU instead ... so they go with a Pac
 10 team and give the Ducks a rematch with the Broncos in Phoenix.

 CITRUS: Ohio State vs. LSU - I think the Buckeyes lose to both Iowa and
 PSU, but win a thriller vs. Michigan to stay in Orlando over a team they
 beat (Wisky) with one more win overall ... should be a great game of two
 national title-level defenses let down by mediocre offenses.

 OUTBACK: Wisconsin vs. Tennessee - Two brash, young, unlikable coaches.

 CHAMPS: Michigan vs. Florida State - I'm not sure, but I think Orlando gets
 to pick ahead of San Antonio this year, so they set up this big-name game of
 programs headed in opposite directions.

 ALAMO: Minnesota vs. Nebraska - The Huskers could rebound to move up, and
 the Big Ten team depends on who wins that game in Minneapolis in two weeks.

 INSIGHT: Michigan State vs. Kansas - Would be better if this were a
 football/basketball doubleheader.

 MOTOR CITY: Northwestern/Illinois/Indiana vs. Central Michigan - We'll see
 if any Big Ten team gets to that No. 8 slot ... if they do, it won't be much
 fun in Detroit against a hot quarterback.

 We'll see how long it takes before this guesstimate breaks down.:) I'd feel
 a lot better about the Big Ten getting two B(C)S teams if the Trojans would
 be able to hang on to a 20-point 4th quarter lead against the Friggin Irish!

 GO CATS!!!
 -SjT

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

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