[NU Sports] Steve, NU is part of Goliath

[Jonathan Hodges]

I won't dive too far into this debate, but in 2007, both NU and Iowa were
bowl eligible at 6-6 and neither made a bowl game (due to the rule that
teams with winning records must be selected first both within the conference
for those bowl spots and nationally for at-large spots).

--
Jonathan
On Oct 25, 2010 1:34 AM, "SjT (Stephen J. Truog)" <sjtruog at yahoo.com> wrote:
>> ... which is why I don't associate NU
>> with TCU and Boise and Utah and their
>
> Perhaps one day, but we'll always be David to me ... which is probably why
I cheer for the underdog in those 25 bowls where no Big Ten teams are
playing. Some people can't understand why I would cheer for Big Ten teams in
bowls, I can't understand why people wouldn't cheer for the underdog. Oh
well, different strokes ...
>
>> NU may be the David in the Big Ten but as a Big Ten member
>> is undeniably
>> part of Goliath. Developments in college football that
>
> Aaah, but even within the Goliath Cartel, there are Davids. MSU and Mizzou
are finding that out now. They're not Goliath either. Normally a team that
is 8-0 or 7-0 in the Big Ten or Big XII is a shoo-in for the B(C)S title
game. But Sparty and Mizzou need help. If NU had won its last two games and
been 7-0, do you really think we'd be in the top 10 of the B(C)S even?
>
> We're still a David.
>
>> exclusivity of the Rose Bowl has been a huge boost for the
>> Big Ten, which is
>> precisely why the Mack Browns of the world wanted so
>
> I agree completely - which is another reason I loathe the B(C)S. It's the
worst of both worlds - we don't get any satisfaction on the field and the
bowl tradition that half this list seems to still think exists hasn't since
1998. The tearing down of the Rose Bowl's tradition is not the fault of
Boise, TCU or Utah - it's a B(C)S thing. They were sick of seeing half empty
Orange Bowl games and blowout Sugar Bowl games because someone has to take
the ACC and Big East teams. So they tried to bring the Rose Bowl down to
their level.
>
>> Because NU is in the Big Ten the Cats can go 6-6 and
>> (almost always) be
>> assured of a bowl. That's because Jim Delany, acting as
>
> Ah, but we had six wins a few years back and didn't get in. Even amid the
Goliath league, we are Davids. Would a 6-6 Michigan or Iowa have been left
out? I think not.
>
>> As for why I don't give Boise and its ilk "credit", my
>> argument has long
>> been based on a simple premise. Sure, on any given day,
>
> But that's the whole point - we will never find out under the current
"worst of both worlds" system. You can't avoid scheduling them and then
finangle the system to keep them out and then say "play someone." Make them
prove the 4-0 mark of Utah/Boise isn't a fluke by having them win 2 or 3
games in a row to win the championship.
>
> We'll get a bit of an answer next year, but not because of the B(C)S - and
I don't think it will be too long before Utah shows they can survive the Pac
10 week in and week out as well.
>
>> The only way to prove me wrong is for Boise to join a BCS
>> league and try its
>
> Or let them play for a championship.
>
>> As for Boise's big wins this year, the ACC win was a
>> neutral site, not on
>
> C'mon, you saw the game. DC is a short drive from Blacksburg and 95% of
that 90,000 crowd was wearing Turkey colors. That was as neutral a site as
our game in Cleveland against Ohio State.
>
>> the road, and came against a team that lost to James
>> Madison the next week;
>
> Yet one that is leading their ACC division and may well earn the league's
automatic berth into the B(C)S.
>
>> the PAC-10 win was over an average Oregon State team that
>> lost to a
>> Washington team that looked awful Saturday night against
>
> An Oregon State team that is second in the Pac 10 now (where the
transitive property has not applied in a couple decades - that league is
wild week in and week out) and still controls their B(C)S destiny with the
Ducks visiting them at the end of the year.
>
>> I don't "hate" Boise; I just question its resume.
>
> Which is fine - but it's time for the cartel to put up or shut up and let
these schools play for the title, or at least play them in September.
>
>> As for the bowls, well, I enjoy almost all of them and it's
>> fun to see the
>
> Really? Can you recount last year's Eagle Bank Bowl, Sun Bowl, Pizza Bowl,
New Mexico Bowl, Poinsettia Bowl, Liberty Bowl or Texas Bowl? Really? Can
anyone even name the winners of those bowls without looking it up?
>
>> the highlight of their athletic career. I, unlike Steve,
>> don't need to see
>> an ultimate winner all the time in everything and I want a
>
> So then cancel March Madness and let's just have a bunch of Maui
Invitationals so everyone can end the year feeling good. It's pretty silly
to think that college athletes compete to be the best in every sport except
football - do they lack that drive? Do they have that fragile of feelings?
>
>> CFB fan, but I find that most of the people who want a
>> playoff in CFB are
>> only very casual CFB fans and are NFL fanatics, and want
>> CFB to look more
>> like the NFL. I suspect most college football fans like the
>> bowls just fine.
>
> The traditional bowls? Sure. January 1 used to be incredible with all of
the big games, big matchups and, yes, the debate over who deserved to be #1
in the final poll. But you don't have that now. Those days are gone.
>
> And I really don't see the NFL fanatics as the ones who want a playoff -
maybe it can be broken down by age, but there are plenty of college football
fanatics who realize that when the playoff comes, we will be banging our
heads against a table for not doing it sooner. There's just not many logical
arguments left against it - there will still be plenty of excitement,
controversy and meaning to every game - and there will be a less sucky
finish.
>
> Furthermore, I would be willing to bet that if you took a survey of the
players, most of them would like a shot on the field. I think most fans
would love that as well. Anyone who has competed at anything knows that you
want to know how you stack up against the best. It's why you play the game.
>
> But anyway, going back to the subject, I think you'll find that NU is not
goliath. We may try and fool ourselves into thinking that we are the big
boys just like we fool ourselves that the bowls still are full of tradition
... but we're still a David. And I love being a David! :)
>
> GO CATS!!!
> -SjT
>
>
>
>
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