[NU Sports] Penn State and Bowl hopes

[Mike Nolan]

> We may become "bowl-eligible" principally because we schedule wimp 
> pre-season opponents like Towson, Eastern Michigan, Miami of Ohio, and 
> Syracuse.  Even then, only once in the last fifteen years have we beaten all 
> four of our wimp non-conference opponents and often struggle even when we do 
> win.  Quite a contrast from my senior year ('67) when we played number-one 
> ranked Miami (and won) and highly ranked Missouri, and the year following we 
> took on O. J. Simpson's USC team.  A weak pre-season schedule doesn't make 
> NU unusual, but it doesn't make us a quality program either.  

Scheduling is one of the hardest tasks at many schools.  According to
multiple sources in Lincoln, Nebraska has turned Northwestern down more 
than once in the last 10 years, in part because Nebraska doesn't want a 
home-home series, and in part because Northwestern can be the kind of 
hungry team that can come in, pull off an upset, and put the season in 
the dumper.  (That's probably affecting the Cats' ability to schedule 
other teams as well, it's one of the penalties for becoming a team that 
isn't a guaranteed cupcake.)  

But I agree with the long-standing comments from Stephen and others,
the BCS has NOT given teams a reason to schedule games they could lose.

BTW, I hear that Iowa would like to drop both Iowa State and Northern Iowa
from upcoming schedules, but the Iowa politicians would have a hissy fit.
--
Mike Nolan