[NU Sports] 6-6 gridlock

[Beamsley, Jeff]

Couldn't agree more about keeping the focus on Minny.
 
Sparty will show up soon enough.  
 
Win against Minny and we have an opportunity to run the table in November, which will certainly call attention to what this program has accomplished this year.
 
Lose focus against Minny and we are still a program trying figure out who we are.
 
Jeff

________________________________

From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com on behalf of Mike Nolan
Sent: Mon 11/14/2011 11:18 AM
To: jleonard518 at yahoo.com
Cc: Northwestern Wildcats
Subject: Re: [NU Sports] 6-6 gridlock



> Fellow Wildcat Faithful,
>
> I don't know what this means for bowl prospects, but it looks like the Big
> Ten will have multiple 6-6 teams, as many as five.

I have seen similar analysis of the SEC.  It is likely that it will also
have several schools at 6-6, and one bowl prognosticator has suggested
that they might not be able to fill all their bowl committtments.

Kentucky and Tennessee are both at 4-6 and they play each other after
Thanksgiving.  The loser is out of bowl contention.  Kentucky also
has Georgia next week, so that may be it for them.  Vanderbilt is 5-5 and
must win one more game, like the Cats.  They finish the season against
Tennessee and Wake Forest (one of three 5-5 schools in the ACC.)

5-5 Florida should become bowl eligible next week when they play Furman,
and then they have Florida State, so 6-6 seems likely for them.

5-5 Mississippi State still has Ole Miss on the schedule and Arkansas,
so 6-6 is probably the best they will do, too. 

In the Big Twelve, there are four teams who still need to get to 6:
Mizzou, Texas A&M, Iowa State and Texas Tech.

Mizzou and Texas Tech play each other next week, the winner is
bowl elgible.  Mizzou also has Kansas to play, while Texas
Tech has Baylor left.

A&M still has Kansas on the schedule, too, plus the final game in the
Texas rivalry (for a while, at least.) Both A&M and Kansas have
been blowing leads like crazy, that could be an interesting game.
(More than a few Husker fans wanted Turner Gill instead of Bo Pelini,
that doesn't look like it would have been a good choice, so hiring
the former star alum isn't always the best move.)

Iowa State still has to play Okie State, Oklahoma and Kansas State.
They may have the toughest closing schedule of any team in the
country. 

The Cats need to take it one game at a time.  First secure the win
against Minny to get to bowl eligibility, then they can focus on some
long overdue payback against Sparty and a move up the bowl charts. 
--
Mike Nolan

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