Grade the Season
- Thread starter BigNUFan51
- Start date
"Emphatic and satisfying finish...." Not to mention, the team did not roll over and smoke a cigarette upon completion. Solid B.
Last edited:
'C's and 'B-'?! You guys are crazy. I have been following this team for 29 years now, starting with my freshman year in 1988. Probably puts me in the middle of the pack on this board longevity-wise.
Point is, there has only been one season that has ended with me feeling as good as I do right now, and that was 2012. I am still not over Schnur's pass over Hartl's head in the 4th quarter of the Rose Bowl, Demos' gaffes, both in the 2008 Alamo Bowl (punting it right to Macklin with a minute left in the first half) and the 2009 Outback Bowl, or the defensive lapses against McCall's Bowling Green offense. My 'feels' aside, I would grade our Big Ten Championships in 1995, 1996 and 2000 as better seasons, even though the bowl loss in each left me feeling sick, and aside from the Rose Bowl where we played well, called into question for me how good our seasons and those teams really were.
If you want to grade out how good the team is, okay. Yes, this team is B-ish, with the 1995, 1996, and a few other teams, clearly being superior. But as far as a season goes, we won a championship this year folks. Something only five teams in my close to 30 years of fanship have accomplished. 1995, 1996, 2000, 2012 and now 2016. Speaking as a fan, NOT as a former player as I think their perspectives are very different, I think winning your bowl game is like acing your final after maybe f'ing up on some quizzes during the semester. Who cares? You improved, overcame and proved it when it really mattered. Similarly, if you killed it all year during class, and completely failed your final (1996, 2000, 2005, 2016) what does it matter that you beat some FCS or bottom dwelling BCS schools during the year to amass a strong overall record? You shit the bed when it truly mattered, when you were tested based upon what those wins had 'earned' you.
I don't understand how winning a bowl game on a national stage against a favored opponent can be nullified or diminished by losing a game four months earlier that few saw and fewer cared about. Give me ending on a high and a victory in a nationally televised bowl, and I'll take 6-7 win years over 8-9 win seasons that ended with a thud every time.
Point is, there has only been one season that has ended with me feeling as good as I do right now, and that was 2012. I am still not over Schnur's pass over Hartl's head in the 4th quarter of the Rose Bowl, Demos' gaffes, both in the 2008 Alamo Bowl (punting it right to Macklin with a minute left in the first half) and the 2009 Outback Bowl, or the defensive lapses against McCall's Bowling Green offense. My 'feels' aside, I would grade our Big Ten Championships in 1995, 1996 and 2000 as better seasons, even though the bowl loss in each left me feeling sick, and aside from the Rose Bowl where we played well, called into question for me how good our seasons and those teams really were.
If you want to grade out how good the team is, okay. Yes, this team is B-ish, with the 1995, 1996, and a few other teams, clearly being superior. But as far as a season goes, we won a championship this year folks. Something only five teams in my close to 30 years of fanship have accomplished. 1995, 1996, 2000, 2012 and now 2016. Speaking as a fan, NOT as a former player as I think their perspectives are very different, I think winning your bowl game is like acing your final after maybe f'ing up on some quizzes during the semester. Who cares? You improved, overcame and proved it when it really mattered. Similarly, if you killed it all year during class, and completely failed your final (1996, 2000, 2005, 2016) what does it matter that you beat some FCS or bottom dwelling BCS schools during the year to amass a strong overall record? You shit the bed when it truly mattered, when you were tested based upon what those wins had 'earned' you.
I don't understand how winning a bowl game on a national stage against a favored opponent can be nullified or diminished by losing a game four months earlier that few saw and fewer cared about. Give me ending on a high and a victory in a nationally televised bowl, and I'll take 6-7 win years over 8-9 win seasons that ended with a thud every time.
Last edited:
Think you've got the wrong guy. I'm hardly a polyanna, but I'm also far from Woody/Stupor and the rest of the cockroaches who only come out when they can feed on the decaying remains of a loss.
My feel meter is much the same. Win a bowl game every year and people would think you had a good program. There is something about riding a win, especially a good one, either for a week or an off season that sits right.
You convinced me - I like the perspective. I initially said C+ I think. I would go B to B+ because of where we ended up, beating an OOC Power 5 ranked in the final CFP standings. We are stuck on ISU and where this bowl was in pecking order.
C+. The coaches get appropriate blame for the 1-3 start and unacceptable ISU loss, but appropriate credit for turning it into a 7-6 season with very competitive losses to OSU and Wisconsin, road wins over Iowa and MSU, and a solid Bowl win over Pitt.
And, I post during games, but not very much after losses (or wins, for that matter), but I read religiously the posts of the handful of posters here who know what they are talking about. Or, those who are entertaining. Or the rare few who are both.
Rutgers is 6-3 in bowl games since 2005, including a 5 bowl win streak - just saying.
C
ISU loss tanked grade. Pinstripe Bowl win raised grade.
Would like to see what grades some of the missing mavens would give.
ISU loss tanked grade. Pinstripe Bowl win raised grade.
Would like to see what grades some of the missing mavens would give.
This is a poor analogy. Describing the regular season as "some quizzes during the semester" and the Pinstripe Bowl as a final exam completely reverses the importance of the two. Bowl wins are nice, but they're exhibition games. The 1996 team didn't "beat some FCS or bottom-dwelling BCS schools," it went 7-1 in conference play.
Re: the thread topic, I give the season a B-.
Dude, we're not grading the bowl performance. We are grading the entire body of work.
ISU 9 NU 6.
That's an automatic one letter grade drop.
No exceptions.
For argument's sake, if NU had beaten ISU in a close game like 14-9, then I would probably grade it a C, which would raise the GPA for the season to a 2.85. So the season still grades out to a C+ if you factor in the whole body of work.
WMU, L 21-22. Grade: D
ISU, L 7-9. Grade: F***
Duke, W 24-13. Grade: B
Neb, L 13-24. Grade: C
@ Ioa, W 38-31. Grade: A
@ MSU, W 54-40. Grade: A
Indy, W 24-14. Grade: A
@ dOSU, L 20-24. Grade: B
Wisky, L 7-21. Grade: C
@ Purdoo, W 45-17. Grade: A
@ MinnyGangBang, L 12-29. Grade: D
Illini, W 42-21. Grade: B
Pinstripe Bowl vs. Pitt, W 31-24. Grade: A
If you drop the lowest grade, it's a B. Fair enough if it's early. We did win the 2nd bowl game in my lifetime, and I'm retired.
ISU, L 7-9. Grade: F***
Duke, W 24-13. Grade: B
Neb, L 13-24. Grade: C
@ Ioa, W 38-31. Grade: A
@ MSU, W 54-40. Grade: A
Indy, W 24-14. Grade: A
@ dOSU, L 20-24. Grade: B
Wisky, L 7-21. Grade: C
@ Purdoo, W 45-17. Grade: A
@ MinnyGangBang, L 12-29. Grade: D
Illini, W 42-21. Grade: B
Pinstripe Bowl vs. Pitt, W 31-24. Grade: A
If you drop the lowest grade, it's a B. Fair enough if it's early. We did win the 2nd bowl game in my lifetime, and I'm retired.
