Northwestern #10 in the Final AP Rankings

[nycat33]

Northwestern finishes the year in the top 10 for the first time since 1995.
Big Ten Teams:
#2 OSU
#10 NU
#12 Indiana
#16 Iowa
https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll

 

[TheC]

Wow.... this combined with some high profile NFL draftees in April and this may be a huge moment in NU FB.

 

[freewillie07]

More or less what we expected, but still nice to get into that 10th slot even after Ohio State got thrashed.

Really great momentum heading into a year with a lot of question marks.

Congrats to the players, Fitz and everyone involved in the program.

 

[Alvious]

And in August we'll be unranked and picked to finish 6th or 7th in the division.

 

[zeek55]

Great finish for us, should also be #10 in the Coaches to match that.

Honestly hard to argue with any of these rankings post-bowl games.

Either way, absolutely phenomenal season for us: top 10 finish with Citrus Bowl win and West division title. Amazing ride and managed to stay healthy despite the ongoing pandemic.

 

[SmellyCat]

And in August we'll be unranked and picked to finish 6th or 7th in the division.

Behind Nebraska.

 

[zeek55]

And in August we'll be unranked and picked to finish 6th or 7th in the division.

Yeah it sucks but given Ramsey going, it gives them an excuse to just put us in the 25-35 range, just outside the top 25.

Same thing happened with CT's injury robbing us of preseason rankings during his final year.

 

[freewillie07]

And in August we'll be unranked and picked to finish 6th or 7th in the division.

Well, last year's Citrus Bowl winner went on to win the CFP, so...

 

[HawkCat]

This should help in recruiting, as we now can offer a Top 10 football program at a Top 10 national university in the latest U.S. News & World Report academic rankings. That is a rare combination indeed.

 

[Darren72]

And in August we'll be unranked and picked to finish 6th or 7th in the division.

Stewart Mandal released his early 2021 rankings and NU is....nowhere. At least commenter Alan G. says that Iowa will lose to NU. Stewart has OSU, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Indiana in the top 16.

 

[FanatiCat]

This should help in recruiting, as we now can offer a Top 10 football program at a Top 10 national university in the latest U.S. News & World Report academic rankings. That is a rare combination indeed.

If we made a point scale with AP Football Poll + USNews undergrad ranking, it would go like this (quick survey, hopefully my #s were correct):

1. Northwestern (10+9=19)
2. ND (5+19=24)
3. Florida (13+30=43)
4. Southern Cal (21+24=45)
5. UNC (18+28=46)
6. Georgia (7+47=54)
7. Ohio St (2+53=55)
8. Texas (19+42=61)
9. Texas A&M (4+66=70)
10. Miami (22+49=71)
11. Clemson (3+74=77)
12. Indiana (12+76=88)
13. BYU (11+80=91)
14. Iowa (16+88=104)
15. Iowa St (9+118=127)
16. Oklahoma (6+133=139)
17. Alabama (144)
18. Cincinnati (8+143=151)

 

[zeek55]

We've finished ranked 4 of the last 6 years without the benefit of a preseason ranking.

It is a bit annoying that we haven't really gotten the preseason respect, but each of the seasons does sort of have a reason associated with it.

That's one of the nice things about the CFP waiting to start their rankings until you've got 60% or so of the season played. We earned that top 10 ranking in the first CFP ranking this year on the basis of games played. But obviously TV needs ranking to juice ratings for match ups.

Fact is, you really need player stability to get preseason rankings unless you're a program that's being ranked just because of historical achievement...

We've haven't really had important player stability. i.e. If Ramsey was coming back, I'd be confident we'd start the season around #20.

 

[FanatiCat]

That's one of the nice things about the CFP waiting to start their rankings until you've got 60% or so of the season played. But obviously TV needs ranking to juice ratings for match ups.

Fact is, you really need player stability to get preseason rankings unless you're a program that's being ranked just because of historical achievement...

Unfortunately the CFP rankings are still heavily influenced by the polls, which are influenced by preseason rankings even halfway into the season.

We will be dropped like a rock in preseason polls because 1) Northwestern and 2) informed voters know we’re losing Hank, half our D, and Ramsey which were by far the biggest reasons for our success. We will need to prove ourselves with a new QB, new DC and new LBs.

 

[Titanium999]

Northwestern finishes the year in the top 10 for the first time since 1995.
Big Ten Teams:
#2 OSU
#10 NU
#12 Indiana
#16 Iowa
https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll

Amazing! Congratulations

 

[Titanium999]

Behind Nebraska.

Illinois too! Lol

 

[philconnors12345]

#10 in the Coaches Poll as well:

NCAA College Football Coaches Poll for January 12, 2021 | USA Today Sports

Full results in the Football Coaches Poll for January 12, 2021. See who NCAA college football head coaches chose in their Top 25.

www.usatoday.com

 

[pawildcat]

Yeah it sucks but given Ramsey going, it gives them an excuse to just put us in the 25-35 range, just outside the top 25.

Same thing happened with CT's injury robbing us of preseason rankings during his final year.

Well, we're also losing a couple of pretty doggoned good linebackers, some senior linemen, and most of our top receivers. If I were an outsider looking at the NU program, I'd expect some regression.

 

[MRCat95]

Well, we're also losing a couple of pretty doggoned good linebackers, some senior linemen, and most of our top receivers. If I were an outsider looking at the NU program, I'd expect some regression.

The reason preseason forecasts are so challenging is that it's more about the young (unproven) guys coming up than it is the so called "proven" guys that are returning. Even teams that seem to return a lot of the their starting lineups often regress if that next generation is not ready to step up. This has been particularly true for NU it seems as some of the most disappointing seasons (2001, 2013, 2019) have seemed to come when a large percentage of veterans were returning and many of the best seasons (2000, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2020) seemed to come with a lot of new starters.

 

[hdhntr1]

Northwestern finishes the year in the top 10 for the first time since 1995.
Big Ten Teams:
#2 OSU
#10 NU
#12 Indiana
#16 Iowa
https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll

About what we expected

 

[hdhntr1]

Wow.... this combined with some high profile NFL draftees in April and this may be a huge moment in NU FB.

Will this be the best NU represented draft in history? Sure seems like a lot with potential to be drafted. More than I can recall

 

[hdhntr1]

Unfortunately the CFP rankings are still heavily influenced by the polls, which are influenced by preseason rankings even halfway into the season.

We will be dropped like a rock in preseason polls because 1) Northwestern and 2) informed voters know we’re losing Hank, half our D, and Ramsey which were by far the biggest reasons for our success. We will need to prove ourselves with a new QB, new DC and new LBs.

Don't forget, top two WRs, TE, backup RBs and OL.

 

[Hungry Jack]

Will this be the best NU represented draft in history? Sure seems like a lot with potential to be drafted. More than I can recall

Think so. Paddy and Newsome should be mid-round picks in addition to Slater going very high. Brown might get drafted, but it's more likely he, Pace. and RCB are UDFAs.

 

[NJCat]

Think so. Paddy and Newsome should be mid-round picks in addition to Slater going very high. Brown might get drafted, but it's more likely he, Pace. and RCB are UDFAs.

I saw a mock draft today that had Newsome going late second round.....to the Packers.

NFL Mock Draft, Rounds 1-2: DeVonta Smith picked early

Four QBs have been selected in the top 10 only once. Plus, could Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith link up with Tua Tagovailoa once again?

theathletic.com

 

[SmellyCat]

The reason preseason forecasts are so challenging is that it's more about the young (unproven) guys coming up than it is the so called "proven" guys that are returning.

Exactly. I mean a big part of why this year's team was (much) better than last year's was Brandon Joseph, and who could have foreseen the guy was an All-American? If you did the usual preseason thing, you'd see 3-9, some good players returning, a presumably better QB, and maybe a healthier RB in Bowser, and the subtraction of some other key players and maybe think 4-8 or 5-7 in a normal year.

 

[pawildcat]

The reason preseason forecasts are so challenging is that it's more about the young (unproven) guys coming up than it is the so called "proven" guys that are returning. Even teams that seem to return a lot of the their starting lineups often regress if that next generation is not ready to step up. This has been particularly true for NU it seems as some of the most disappointing seasons (2001, 2013, 2019) have seemed to come when a large percentage of veterans were returning and many of the best seasons (2000, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2020) seemed to come with a lot of new starters.

Well, good points. But I never like to go into a season with uncertainly at QB. A lot will hinge on how well the o-line comes together and whether we can replace Fisher and Gallagher at LB without much of a hitch. With the emergence of Porter at RB and the transfer at WR coming in from Kansas, I feel a little better about those areas. I hope we can grab a couple more transfers.

As you say, preseason forecasting is always tough. Unfortunately, about the only certain thing seems to be that three of a select group of about 5-6 teams will make the playoff every year.

 

[kreggk]

The reason preseason forecasts are so challenging is that it's more about the young (unproven) guys coming up than it is the so called "proven" guys that are returning. Even teams that seem to return a lot of the their starting lineups often regress if that next generation is not ready to step up. This has been particularly true for NU it seems as some of the most disappointing seasons (2001, 2013, 2019) have seemed to come when a large percentage of veterans were returning and many of the best seasons (2000, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2020) seemed to come with a lot of new starters.

I believe Phil Steele bases his forecast on returning starters (among other things).

 

[BleedingPurple15]

Stewart Mandal released his early 2021 rankings and NU is....nowhere. At least commenter Alan G. says that Iowa will lose to NU. Stewart has OSU, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Indiana in the top 16.

Mandel's response in the comments: "They're going to have about 8 starters coming back. No Hankwitz. And most importantly, no heir apparent to Ramsey. I don't think they'll stink, but it will be a rebuilding year."

 

[jensberg]

Reasonable

 

[JoeWildcat]

Great finish for us, should also be #10 in the Coaches to match that.

Honestly hard to argue with any of these rankings post-bowl games.

Either way, absolutely phenomenal season for us: top 10 finish with Citrus Bowl win and West division title. Amazing ride and managed to stay healthy despite the ongoing pandemic.

USA Today had us ranked 8th in their final rankings, well ahead of Iowa and Indiana.

 

[Cat In The Cradle]

Great accomplishment and recognition of one of the best NU seasons of all time . . . all done after a disaster of 2019.

Just for fun, I wonder how many spots Michigan State cost us.

 

[zeek55]

Great accomplishment and recognition of one of the best NU seasons of all time . . . all done after a disaster of 2019.

Just for fun, I wonder how many spots Michigan State cost us.

We would have finished #7 if we'd have beaten Michigan State and then won an NY6 bowl (probably Fiesta vs Oregon). So you could say the Michigan State game cost 3 spots, not all that costly because we performed well in the Ohio State game and especially in the bowl game, so we got back most of what we lost. Here's how it would have played out starting the week of the Michigan State game rankings:

We likely would have moved ahead of Cincinnati (which didn't play for a while so they got passed by Iowa State), and Florida fell as a result of a loss to a mediocre LSU squad.

Basically, we would have ended up at #6 in the CFP rankings before the Big Ten championship game if we were 7-0. That means we'd have been #4 if we'd have beaten Ohio State and gotten a playoff spot.

Losing to Ohio State in a close game means we'd probably have fallen just one spot to #7, just behind Oklahoma which jumped to #6 after beating Iowa State and winning the Big 12.

That means we'd have probably gotten the Fiesta Bowl bid instead of Iowa State to set up a "Rose Bowl at Fiesta Bowl" like we've seen in past years. Fiesta Bowl likes to create a Rose Bowl Big Ten/Pac-12 matchup when available with Northwestern vs Oregon.

If we'd have won that, we'd have kept our #7 ranking since Oklahoma at #6 beat Florida by a big margin and Texas A&M beat UNC to stay at #5.

(Even if we'd have stayed ahead of Oklahoma in pre-bowl rankings, they'd have probably jumped us with a big blowout of top 10 Florida).

So you could say the Michigan State game cost us 3 spots. All in all, not actually that costly due to the Auburn blowout and close game with Ohio State along with Ohio State blasting Clemson to prove we were legit.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Great accomplishment and recognition of one of the best NU seasons of all time . . . all done after a disaster of 2019.

Just for fun, I wonder how many spots Michigan State cost us.

I think 5 spots. If we win our bowl (and I assume we do), I think we end up #5, especially after leading dOSU at half time and holding dOSU to less points that Bama scored on us.

 

[zeek55]

I think 5 spots. If we win our bowl (and I assume we do), I think we end up #5, especially after leading dOSU at half time and holding dOSU to less points that Bama scored on us.

I think what would have prevented that is even if we'd have beaten Michigan State and gotten a NY6 bowl, it would still have been against an unranked team, in that case Oregon at Fiesta Bowl. Fiesta Bowl likes taking a Big Ten/Pac-12 matchup if it's available when the Rose Bowl is in the CFP.

Hard to justify jumping Texas A&M/Notre Dame for #5 in that case. A&M beat a top 20 UNC with their only loss to Alabama. There was no scenario to jump those two teams. ND's only losses were to Alabama and Clemson. We weren't jumping them.

Even Oklahoma likely still jumps us to #6 due to their Florida blowout since Florida was top 10.

So #7 seems way more likely. All in all, it wasn't quite as costly as it could have been due to Fiesta Bowl also getting an unranked team like Citrus Bowl.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Great accomplishment and recognition of one of the best NU seasons of all time . . . all done after a disaster of 2019.

Just for fun, I wonder how many spots Michigan State cost us.

I think 5 spots. If we win our bowl (and I assume we do), I think we end up #5, especially after leading dOSU at half time and holding dOSU to less points that Bama scored on us.

I think what would have prevented that is even if we'd have beaten Michigan State and gotten a NY6 bowl, it would still have been against an unranked team, in that case Oregon at Fiesta Bowl. Fiesta Bowl likes taking a Big Ten/Pac-12 matchup if it's available when the Rose Bowl is in the CFP.

Hard to justify jumping Texas A&M/Notre Dame for #5 in that case. A&M beat a top 20 UNC with their only loss to Alabama. There was no scenario to jump those two teams. ND's only losses were to Alabama and Clemson. We weren't jumping them.

Even Oklahoma likely still jumps us to #6 due to their Florida blowout since Florida was top 10.

So #7 seems way more likely. All in all, it wasn't quite as costly as it could have been due to Fiesta Bowl also getting an unranked team like Citrus Bowl.

I don't think we jump TAMU, but I think with a respectable loss to dOSU, we jump a two loss ND that was smashed in the semi-final. Nor do we fall behind a 2 loss OU team. But, who knows, you might be right.

 

[zeek55]

I think 5 spots. If we win our bowl (and I assume we do), I think we end up #5, especially after leading dOSU at half time and holding dOSU to less points that Bama scored on us.


I don't think we jump TAMU, but I think with a respectable loss to dOSU, we jump a two loss ND that was smashed in the semi-final. Nor do we fall behind a 2 loss OU team. But, who knows, you might be right.

Yeah, it's all academic at this point, and the lack of Rose Bowl availability due to CFP takes away much of the sting.

If the Rose Bowl had been available, then yeah the Michigan State game would go down as a missed opportunity near the 2000 Iowa game that cost us the outright Big Ten title and Rose Bowl bid.

As it is, we ended up in Citrus and proved ourself the 2nd best team in the conference with #10 rankings in both polls.

Hard to view that as a major missed opportunity like 2000 was given alternative was likely Fiesta Bowl vs an unranked Oregon team.

 

[DaCat]

Yeah, it's all academic at this point, and the lack of Rose Bowl availability due to CFP takes away much of the sting.

If the Rose Bowl had been available, then yeah the Michigan State game would go down as a missed opportunity near the 2000 Iowa game that cost us the outright Big Ten title and Rose Bowl bid.

As it is, we ended up in Citrus and proved ourself the 2nd best team in the conference with #10 rankings in both polls.

Hard to view that as a major missed opportunity like 2000 was given alternative was likely Fiesta Bowl vs an unranked Oregon team.

The 2020 season will go down as one Fitz's best ever. But the loss at MSU costing us 3-5 spots in the rankings is secondary to the cost to our image. If we had finished the regular season undefeated, we would be in every conversation for the CFP, realistic or not. Losing to MSU made that a non-starter. We recovered somewhat with our stellar performance against dOSU and our beatdown of Auburn, but it does feel like a big missed opportunity.

 

[Deeringfish]

The 2020 season will go down as one Fitz's best ever. But the loss at MSU costing us 3-5 spots in the rankings is secondary to the cost to our image. If we had finished the regular season undefeated, we would be in every conversation for the CFP, realistic or not. Losing to MSU made that a non-starter. We recovered somewhat with our stellar performance against dOSU and our beatdown of Auburn, but it does feel like a big missed opportunity.

We are all assuming that we beat MSU and win our Bowl game. But it is possible that we beat MSU, get to a slightly better bowl game and lose. In that case we would have lost our last two games and that would have knocked us down to probably 20th.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

We are all assuming that we beat MSU and win our Bowl game. But it is possible that we beat MSU, get to a slightly better bowl game and lose. In that case we would have lost our last two games and that would have knocked us down to probably 20th.

NU would have pounded Oregon this year.

 

[zeek55]

The 2020 season will go down as one Fitz's best ever. But the loss at MSU costing us 3-5 spots in the rankings is secondary to the cost to our image. If we had finished the regular season undefeated, we would be in every conversation for the CFP, realistic or not. Losing to MSU made that a non-starter. We recovered somewhat with our stellar performance against dOSU and our beatdown of Auburn, but it does feel like a big missed opportunity.

Yeah I mean an extra two or three weeks right outside the top 4 would have been nice for sure. Imagining the Big Ten championship game as #4 Ohio State vs #6 Northwestern is kind of crazy to think about...

But knowing how it all played out, safe to say this season played out far better than say 2000.

We got the top Big Ten bowl bid instead of falling to the 3rd one, and we got a big win instead of a lopsided loss.

We are all assuming that we beat MSU and win our Bowl game. But it is possible that we beat MSU, get to a slightly better bowl game and lose. In that case we would have lost our last two games and that would have knocked us down to probably 20th.

Yeah only reason why it's worth contemplating is the Pac-12 sent a very mediocre Oregon squad to Fiesta as its champion.

They'd have to be somewhere on the list of worst ever BCS/NY6 teams.

We'd have probably taken Iowa State's spot in Fiesta if we had beaten Michigan State since Fiesta likes creating a Big Ten/Pac-12 matchup when Rose is in CFP. We probably would have been 7-8 point favorites.

It's not a big loss either way in my books given we got Citrus and won. Citrus is just below non-CFP/non-Rose NY6 so it's not like a major difference.