EIU line
- Thread starter nycat33
- Start date
Most of the FBS vs FCS games are unlisted. They are too unpredictable and setting the line is too much of a crap shoot.
Cats opened at 21.5, last I saw was 23. I think Illinois is favored by 17 or so over Western Illinois.
FWIW: EIU lost 33-5 to WIU, but they outgained them.
Looking at the EIU drive chart, looks like that was the result of some early turnovers... including one at the WIU 3 after a 10:54 drive on EIU's first possession, which was then followed by an INT. EIU didn't get much going on offense until its last drive, when I presume WIU either had their subs in and/or called off the dogs.
I will be sorely disappointed if we don't handle EIU easily with Thorson getting the chance to air the ball out a bit before exiting at halftime. EIU has a handful of recognizable names that have transferred in from FBS teams (Jalen Whitlow from Kentucky, Anthony Standifer from Ole Miss, Devin Church from Illinois, etc.), but they're still a pretty undersized team who had trouble with a decidedly average WIU program.
I wouldn't touch the NU game Fitz's propensity to call off the dogs early but I like Western getting 17 this weekend against the Illinois. Western is a pretty good team and I could totally see the meatheads at Illinois coming in overconfident based on their easy game this past weekend. This has trap game written all over it for the Illini.
There is no line in Las Vegas yet. I would have jumped all over NU -21! This is a total trap game if ever there was one. Big win...weak team the next week...tough road game with cerebral implications the following week. However, as I posted before the start of the year, this team greatly reminds me of the 95 team. I believe that while they had problems in their second week against Miami of Ohio that Fitz has learned the lesson here. His tone at yesterday's presser said as much.i think our defense will dominate Eastern and our offense will run all over them. Then our back ups come in and they have something to really prove. Roberts,nagel and Anderson are hungry and want time. Meanwhile our defensive back ups are nothing to sneeze at either. I think the team would really like a shut out and they just may get it this weekend.
Since the Stanford game is being compared to ND in 1995 (Fitz obviously remembers the Miami of Ohio game well) it seems highly likely he will have them motivated to roll over EIU
Here in Tucson (I moved here 3 years ago) "Wildcat for Life" license plate holders (for U of AZ) are ubiquitous and annoying. Maybe I will buy one and paint it purple. BTW I believe the AZ Wildcats are overrated..they gave up 500+ yards to Univ of Texas San Antonio last week !
It would, however, be great if in the future Northwestern would play either the FB or BB Arizona Wildcats in Tucson..I will be first in line to buy tickets. Better yet maybe the BB teams will play each other in the NCAA tournament sometime in the next few years !
Here in Tucson (I moved here 3 years ago) "Wildcat for Life" license plate holders (for U of AZ) are ubiquitous and annoying. Maybe I will buy one and paint it purple. BTW I believe the AZ Wildcats are overrated..they gave up 500+ yards to Univ of Texas San Antonio last week !
It would, however, be great if in the future Northwestern would play either the FB or BB Arizona Wildcats in Tucson..I will be first in line to buy tickets. Better yet maybe the BB teams will play each other in the NCAA tournament sometime in the next few years !
The 1995 Miami game is not an example of coming out flat!! The Cats were up BIG in that game, leading by 21 in the fourth quarter, and pulled all the starters. Randy Walker didn't get the memo to quit playing and Miami chipped away as the Cats fell apart. The biggest issue was that the center, Paul Janus, got hurt in the first quarter, and DT Larry Curry had to snap for kicks. His bad snaps led to 2 Miami TDs, and one missed NU FG in the 4th quarter. So to say that the Cats weren't ready to play after beating ND is just plain wrong.
NJ...Yes I remember the game very well. Correct they didn't come out flat as they dominated the first half. But the fell apart in the fourth quarter and didn't do much the third quarter either. My point is in relation to EIU is that a 21 point lead is not insurmountable and in regards to a losing momentum and having the team do a death spiral, I think Fitz will remember a game like that. I also think that the depth of this team may be a little deeper than the 95 team and the back ups here particularly in the offensive and defensive back fields are better, which plays into holding or even building on a big lead when the back ups come in.
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