PU is dreadful but I'll take any win. Maybe get all our guys back for Wrigley.
So...beat ILL for APR bowl?
- Thread starter phatcat
- Start date
Getting to a bowl game will be challenging but it would be a huge accomplishment for this team and very beneficial for the continued development of our young players. Illinois is a lot tougher than you think. Could just as easily get our 5th win against Michigan.
A win over Illinois and bowl meets the bar for success with this team, so I’m down
Agree that Michigan may be easier (but unlikely), although Illinois lost at home to Minnesota today.
There are 82 postseason slots available and 34 teams have thus far qualified for them. Last year there were 3 open bowl slots. The priority order for filling them:
1. 6-6 teams with a win over an FCS school that did not meet scholarship requirements (none)
2. 6-7 teams that lost their conference title game (likely impossible this year, maybe in the Sun Belt?)
3. 6-7 teams that played 13 regular season games (Nevada is the only one playing 13 and they are 3-6 right now)
4. FCS teams with at least 6-6 records in their final year of transition to FBS (Kennesaw State is the only such team and they have already lost 7)
5. 5-7 teams ranked by APR
And so here are the APR rankings for 2024:
1. Ohio State (already bowl eligible)
2. Alabama (already bowl eligible)
T3. NU (4-5) and North Carolina (currently 4-4)
So if we finish 5-7 the only teams that could possibly take bowl slots ahead of us are Nevada and UNC. In short, if we win another game, we will likely go bowling.
1. 6-6 teams with a win over an FCS school that did not meet scholarship requirements (none)
2. 6-7 teams that lost their conference title game (likely impossible this year, maybe in the Sun Belt?)
3. 6-7 teams that played 13 regular season games (Nevada is the only one playing 13 and they are 3-6 right now)
4. FCS teams with at least 6-6 records in their final year of transition to FBS (Kennesaw State is the only such team and they have already lost 7)
5. 5-7 teams ranked by APR
And so here are the APR rankings for 2024:
1. Ohio State (already bowl eligible)
2. Alabama (already bowl eligible)
T3. NU (4-5) and North Carolina (currently 4-4)
So if we finish 5-7 the only teams that could possibly take bowl slots ahead of us are Nevada and UNC. In short, if we win another game, we will likely go bowling.
We won’t but I would absolutely punt next week in terms of resting anyone who is either currently injured or “playing hurt” (Porter, Henning, Thompson) and put all your chips in the middle for at Michigan and vs Illinois.
We had the third hardest schedule in the country going into the year. And I think it’s technically gotten even harder on paper with Indiana and Wisconsin’s success (even if Miami OH hasn’t been as good).
The goal was always 6-6. 5-7 wouldn’t be too bad and shows to recruits, fans, media that even in a clear rebuilding year our “floor” is bowl eligibility.
We had the third hardest schedule in the country going into the year. And I think it’s technically gotten even harder on paper with Indiana and Wisconsin’s success (even if Miami OH hasn’t been as good).
The goal was always 6-6. 5-7 wouldn’t be too bad and shows to recruits, fans, media that even in a clear rebuilding year our “floor” is bowl eligibility.
Yep, the goal is to find a 5th win somewhere and claw our way to a bowl game.
Michigan or Illinois; just have to catch them at the right time/right moment with us playing a clean game and them the opposite.
Michigan or Illinois; just have to catch them at the right time/right moment with us playing a clean game and them the opposite.
As much as I would exult over a Mich win, we won't get any breaks at the Big outhouse. Illinois is more likely but it's at the dreaded Wrigley.
You’re in luck because we play Bye next week and we won’t even have to punt and can rest everyone.
Would be great to get to 5 even if we don’t make a bowl. Pretty sure we are allowed to keep practicing until officially eliminated, that extra handful of practices would be very helpful.
You beat me to it. Yes we are idle next week, which couldn't come at a better time.
After this weekend, there are now 45 bowl eligible teams for 82 slots. Of the two teams that could possibly take the first 5-7 APR bid from us, Nevada lost again to fall to 3-7 and with another loss will be out of bowl contention, while North Carolina won to improve to 5-4 and with another win will become bowl eligible. So we're very close to first in line. Just need at least one more win.
Just to update this, there are now 64 bowl eligible teams for 82 slots. Thanks to results elsewhere, if we finish 5-7 and if there are not enough bowl eligible teams, we will officially be the first team taken to fill an empty slot.
Just gotta find a way to get it done against Michigan or Illinois.
I feel good about our chances.
Let’s get both and remove all doubt. That and a bowl win would be a great momentum builder for the program.
I’ll be thrilled with just the extra practices for Lausch and our other youngsters.
I just don’t see lausch turning out to be a great northwestern QB of Big ten QB.
This has pretty much slipped away, even if we win. A lot of teams with 5 wins playing for 6 next weekend.
To summarize, there are currently 77 bowl-eligible teams for 82 spots. There are two games with 5-6 teams playing each other next week, so there will be 79 bowl-eligible teams at minimum. There are 12 additional teams that can reach bowl eligibility next week, so for NU to make a bowl, we must beat Illinois and have at least 10 of those 12 teams lose. This is not especially likely.
Absolutely right. We needed to win at least one of the tough but winnable games, like Wisconsin or Michigan, to even give the feeling that this is a bowl team. Beating MiamiOH, EIU, Maryland and Purdue is not bowl worthy football.
Illinois is now our bowl game. Which is actually as good of a bowl game as we can expect, playing a ranked team in a professional sports stadium for a trophy on a holiday weekend.
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