Is trump planning to eradicate bugs? I should have voted. Meh, he didn't need mine
Again, probably more Rant Board material, but... he's dangerously anti-science/intellectualism (at least to the extent his campaign is to be believed).
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Is trump planning to eradicate bugs? I should have voted. Meh, he didn't need mine
Again, probably more Rant Board material, but... he's dangerously anti-science/intellectualism (at least to the extent his campaign is to be believed).
I know my opinion that the Head Coach isn't the reason we are average won't be popular with all Tailgating crew but even they could see part of the obstacles said HC deals with when competing with the big State U's.
What good is a negative attitude?
Ok, suggest all you want.I would suggest that he *is* the reason we are average. And that, further, the alternative to average looks a lot closer to Illinois or Purdue than it does to Wisconsin or Nebraska.
I would suggest that he *is* the reason we are average. And that, further, the alternative to average looks a lot closer to Illinois or Purdue than it does to Wisconsin or Nebraska.
Bees! In Georgia! In late November!Is trump planning to eradicate bugs? I should have voted. Meh, he didn't need mine
As long as he promises to make NU sports great again,
I'm not arguing that NU COULDN'T relax their standards more while preserving their academic reputation. I actually think Fitz should be given much more latitude because of the team's consistently excellent academic performance and should be given more room to operate, with standards tightening again only if the team's performance slips meaningfully.
I'm explaining a key difference between those schools and NU. Every school does things a little differently.
You seem to forget that recruits are also students, not just mercenaries designed to increase the school's visibility. This is what makes NU different.You and others keep posing this as an either/or proposition: either maintain your academic reputation or win more at sports by lowering your athletic admission standards.
This is and always has been a false dichotomy. It's shocking to me that supposedly " smart people" from NU continue to perpetuate this lie.
In fact, if NU lowers its football and basketball admission standards and wins more games, applications to NU will increase by A LOT, and NU's selectivity will actually increase. Every single study on this topic shows that. And one of their evidentiary points is NU itself after 1995, where applications jumped 20%+ and NU started to become the NU that many of us couldn't get into today.
If you're going to present a dischtomy regarding lowering admissions standards, at least present an accurate one.
Not looking to blast your opinion Ed, but the premise of many of your points relate to the availability of talent for recruiting in the local of the team.
Your first three teams Wiscy, Nebby, and Iowa are THE only game in town. People in these states come out in droves to support the product. Their stadiums are full with THEIR colors. Most attending these games never went to the school! Think Chicago and being born into being a Bears fan.
Is it easier to recruit when you have a raucous full house in Iowa when you are hosting Michigan? Whisky hosting OSU while everyone in the state flys their Red flag. Nebby when they roll out the Hesiman and National Title history while bringing out 20,000 to each road game. No one in their right mind will argue these 3 states produce a bevy of talent, but you would have to have your eyes closed if you can't see the appeal of the football environment as opposed to NU, Illinois, Purdue or even Minny.
It's the chicken and the egg. Good teams typically bring in more fans and more talent. The fact that they have basically the entire state blowing horns for ole State U and an alumni base quadruple NU's is a major difference and distinct advantage.
As far as the quality of head coaches. Chryst has clearly done the job and his team's have been well prepared throughout his tenure. He is dull as a butter knife, but his job is to win games and run a clean program. He does that and has to be considered the top coach in the West IMO. Riley and Frentz have had ups and downs. Read the posters on their board and you'll see their fan base is less than enamored with either of them. I personally have seen some questionable game day coaching out of both. Sound familiar to Evanston. No way I take these two over our HC especially considering their age and IMO very average results over an extended period. Minny, C'mon now! Claeys handled us this year, how is he annointed as better based on 1.5 years of coaching. This guy will come down to earth soon enough.
Fitz is not the problem. I always ask who would you replace him with and usually get the unrealistic top names and the great unknowns. PJ Fleck is the latest name and I say, no way!
You and others keep posing this as an either/or proposition: either maintain your academic reputation or win more at sports by lowering your athletic admission standards.
This is and always has been a false dichotomy. It's shocking to me that supposedly " smart people" from NU continue to perpetuate this lie.
In fact, if NU lowers its football and basketball admission standards and wins more games, applications to NU will increase by A LOT, and NU's selectivity will actually increase. Every single study on this topic shows that. And one of their evidentiary points is NU itself after 1995, where applications jumped 20%+ and NU started to become the NU that many of us couldn't get into today.
If you're going to present a dischtomy regarding lowering admissions standards, at least present an accurate one.
This is just plain ridiculous. Chryst wasn't exactly a big success at Pitt. Came to an established winning program and has done well with a great defense that the last coach left. His offense is like watching paint dry. Half of Minnesota's players couldn't get into NU and Claeys had a nice soft schedule this year. And the jury is still out on Lovie as far as college coaching is concerned. A 3-9 first season with some blowout losses at home (34-10 to WMU!) don't instill a lot of confidence (Fitz's worst record was 4-8 coming off the death of his predecessor two months before the season opener).would not take Ferentz or Riley over PF since they are near 65, but Claeys, Chryst and even Lovie would better options. I see in the other thread that PF is ranked low in our divisions by some. I think they are right.
Did you actually read my post, or were you just looking for an opening to go on a rant?
You seem to forget that recruits are also students, not just mercenaries designed to increase the school's visibility. This is what makes NU different.
Yours is a very cynical view, on this and on everything.
(Of course, you do know this.)
Once again, you're ignoring the substance when it doesn't suit you. Of course, I read your post. Would you like me to repeat your argument back to you again? Here it is again:
First you said that you weren't arguing that NU couldn't relax their standards more while preserving their academic reputation. You then went on to say that NU could relax their standards and preserve their academic reputation because Fitz has been particularly good on the player graduation side. In other words, you argued that NU football could be an exception to the rule that it's a "one or the other" proposition.
But your argument (i.e., that Fitz is an exception to the rule) hinges on the rule being valid in the first place. Otherwise, he's an exception to nothing and you have no point at all.
And, that is in fact the case. The "rule" is invalid because whether it's ND or Duke or Wisconsin or BC or SMU or Georgetown or University of Miami or even NU itself after '95 or any of a host of others, with athletic success comes more applications and greater selectivity and academic reputation. The "rule" simply isn't the rule.
So yes, I read your post. You either accepted the premise that it's a one or the other proposition or you were making no point at all and speaking gibberish. Pick your poison.
I'll try to remember in the future that you're not particularly good with logic...maybe I can even help you avoid illogic like this is the future...
In what way does allowing a greater pool of student/athletes receive an NU degree constitute cynicism? Please explain.
We should hire Nick Saban. Alabama was pretty mediocre until Nick Saban showed up. He got that program turned around. They're football winners! The highest goal of any world class university.Do you think NU will win a BT football title in the next 5 years with another coach? I don't.
You seem to forget that recruits are also students, not just mercenaries designed to increase the school's visibility. This is what makes NU different.
Yours is a very cynical view, on this and on everything.
(Of course, you do know this.)
It's both.Fitz's goal isn't to win Big Ten championships. It's to prepare young men for life. He's doing a darn good job and winning a lot of games along the way.
I will be happy if my kids and grandkids perform to their potential. If I expect them all to be Einstein, I'll probably be a little frustrated. Here are the BIG teams and the number of championships since 1960: Ohio State, 24; Michigan, 22; Michigan State, 8; Wisconsin, 7; Iowa, 6; Illinois, 4; Northwestern, 3; Penn State, 3, Minnesota, 2; Purdue, 2; Indiana 1. Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers (recent members, no championships). Obviously, it's been Ohio State, Michigan and pretty much everyone else. Of the schools not named Ohio State or Michigan, which do you think is at a significant recruiting disadvantage versus Northwestern?
4 Championships for NU? I remember the 3 that Barnett led or recruited. Don't recall a 4th.
Follow the punctuation....
Illinois, 4; Northwestern, 3;
You have proposed the following:
NU should raise its academic profile on the backs of students who they do not expect to succeed at the university based on their high school academic profile.
That's cynical.
Fitz's goal isn't to win Big Ten championships. It's to prepare young men for life.
This is just plain ridiculous. Chryst wasn't exactly a big success at Pitt. Came to an established winning program and has done well with a great defense that the last coach left. His offense is like watching paint dry. Half of Minnesota's players couldn't get into NU and Claeys had a nice soft schedule this year. And the jury is still out on Lovie as far as college coaching is concerned. A 3-9 first season with some blowout losses at home (34-10 to WMU!) don't instill a lot of confidence (Fitz's worst record was 4-8 coming off the death of his predecessor two months before the season opener).
4 Championships for NU? I remember the 3 that Barnett led or recruited. Don't recall a 4th.
Do you also recall that Barnett had as many winLESS B1G seasons as he did winNING seasons (two each)? Or that he had two winning records to go with five losing records (whether measured overall or conference records)?
Sure you did.No, as you wrote it, it's just a lie.
Try again. Or don't. I proposed no such thing.
1998 was the worst.Nobody ever remembers that. I am not trying to discredit his tremendous accomplishment, but we had some awful years under his leadership and two of them were after he won here!
Barney is a career sub 500 coach. Granted Lombardi would have trouble given NU's situation at that time, but let's be balanced here.
Somebody suggested Barney would have us winning a B1G title in 5 years. Certainly not impossible, but very unlikely and I could just as easily see it going the other way ( because we already did).
If that is the case we should drop out of D1 athletics.
It is the case. So lead the charge out, all-star.
This is not the 1940s. There is no such thing as a "student-athlete" in FBS football. College football is a multi-billion-dollar industry, and universities describe their football players as students so they can avoid paying them. Some schools, like NU, actually enforce academic requirements for football players. Some do not. But all of them are in the business of winning.
Northwestern is in the process of spending over two hundred million dollars to build a football practice facility. Explain how that is necessary to "prepare young men for life."
Again?
From 2000, NU is 5-5 against Wisconsin, 8-6 against Minnesota and 7-8 against Iowa (and the first three losses in that series were in the early 2000s when we had the Colby defense and Ferentz had some of his best teams). In other words, the Cats are better than .500 against these clubs in this century. Yet, to read this board, you'd think they were blowing out Northwestern every year.
Austin Carr (and a large proportion of the NU team, past and present) says "hey!"
Fitz's goal isn't to win Big Ten championships. It's to prepare young men for life. He's doing a darn good job and winning a lot of games along the way.
We have won national championships in both BB and FB, I think? No?
We have one pre-tournament national title in men's basketball (1931) but we have no national titles in football. The football team has never finished a season ranked higher than 7th in the AP poll.