That was one of those ugly wins that causes teams to drop a little in rankings
- Thread starter Grafcat
- Start date
well both oregon and arizona lost, so we aren't dropping too far. Lots of dud performances out there across the top 25.
Who cares. Those are the type of character building games that payoff big time later in the year.
I wouldn't get too down about this game...maybe think of it as our "Miami of Ohio" game (except here we actually won).
Last week OSU played like crap no thanks in part to their QB play....and yet they played fine this week. Anyone can have an off week.
Anyway, we don't have to dominate every week, we just need to win.
Last week OSU played like crap no thanks in part to their QB play....and yet they played fine this week. Anyone can have an off week.
Anyway, we don't have to dominate every week, we just need to win.
Polls are meaningless right now. The season really starts next week.
A win is enough for me. You cannot expect college kids to be consistent like the pros. We were off tonight, but BS came to play. Kudos to them. Great to see Thorson make some outstanding throws. Great to see us make two key first downs in crunch time. I thought our secondary played well.
A win is enough for me. You cannot expect college kids to be consistent like the pros. We were off tonight, but BS came to play. Kudos to them. Great to see Thorson make some outstanding throws. Great to see us make two key first downs in crunch time. I thought our secondary played well.
More like the 1996 Wake Forest game. In the Miami game NU came out on fire and led like 28-7. This game was the exact opposite.
It's a strange season so far in college ball, and there have been plenty of ugly wins. Michigan State only led a 1-2 Central Michigan team 17-10 in the fourth quarter before finally putting it away. On the other hand, Utah is putting a 62-20 pounding on Oregon tonight, so maybe the MSU win over Oregon wasn't as impressive as it seemed at first glance. USC, loser to a Stanford team that we held to six points, is putting a 35-0 hurt on Arizona State at HALFTIME. Just hope our guys that got hurt tonight will be able to return to action before long so we can compete going forward.
Amen. The last thing an NU fan should worry about in rankings. Enjoy each win, don't get crazy about losses, and ignore noise around rankings and recognition.
You guys are fans of the wrong sport if you don't think rankings matter. This sport is all about perception. Media coverage, recruiting, bowl positioning, playoff berths...perception, perception, perception.
In any case, this was exactly the kind of game we needed to have going into B1G conference play - struggle with a "gimme" opponent. I believe it will be a good week of practice getting ready for Minny, and our players will take nothing for granted.
I don't think we drop far if at all because Duke and Stanford had impressive wins and both are 3-1. Those are looking like very solid wins for us.
I think Utah jumps us in the AP with their win against Oregon but maybe Oregon drops below us to keep our present AP ranking still in the top 20.
To keep NU on the radar it is most important that we stay ranked in the top 25 regardless of the number.
To keep NU on the radar it is most important that we stay ranked in the top 25 regardless of the number.
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As long as we're in, I don't really think it matters where...but with Ohio State and Sparty reigning surpreme...we are still the perceived kings of the west, at least in the eyes of the media, and until we can actually prove it on the field against Iowa, Sconny and Nebby, this is as good as it gets.
Well, a little bit is about actually winning.
I honestly don't really care about the rankings or "perception" at this point. We have eight conference games ahead of us, and those are what will define the season. Our media coverage and "perception" was good in 2013 heading into the OSU game, and we then lost seven straight games. I'm not saying this season will mirror that one, but I do think that, to some extent, winning takes care of these things. If we beat Minnesota and then Michigan (which will be very tough games), then it won't matter that we struggled against Ball State, didn't run back a pick-6 against Stanford, and took a knee at the end against Duke. We'll still be a borderline top 10 team at that point. But if we lose those games, then we're in for a struggle.
Oh what would an OSU fan know about an ugly win against what should have been a very manageable opponent???
/s
Well, you should care. Because when you have those super seasons, you want to get into the championship game. And the only way to do that is to be PERCEIVED to be better than the other teams with the same record. And when you're 9-3 and going to a solid bowl, you want it to be the most solid bowl possible and that means being PERCEIVED as better than the other 9-3ish teams. And even when you're 7-5 or 6-6, you want to go to the best of the crappy bowls, and that meNs being PERCEIVED better than the other barely-eligibles.
Every team starts undefeated. So among comparably-flawed teams, you start your slide from undefeated helps dictate where you finish. So, of course, perception matters.
Sorry, I just don't see this NU team as "championship" caliber. So talk about polls is really pointless. An 8-4 or 9-3 season will be a fabulous success for a team with a young QB and no playmakers at receiver. Do I honestly think NU is one of the best 20 teams in the country? Nope.
Thing is... who in the West is REALLY a "championship level" team? Wisconsin maybe? Iowa maybe? Nobody exactly looks invincible, so it should be a war of attrition to face MSU or OSU in Indy.
I'll make it easy for you. If we go undefeated, we will make the playoffs. If we lose one, we won't.
The spin I'm seeing so far this morning seems to be fairly positive...the game is being spun as a "slow start" in the first half, but then the Cats "pulled away." It's not "the emperor has no clothes," so NU is getting some benefit of the doubt...take that for what you will. I don't think we drop much, if any. And, yes, it has some importance, particularly in where we go bowling.
As long as we're dealing in hypotheticals, if we lose to, say, Wisconsin, but beat Ohio State or Michigan State in the title game to finish 12-1, we'll be in the playoff.
That isn't going to happen, of course, but it's fun to think about.
Disagree. If you have one relatively unpublicized team that is somehow ranked between 18-25 all year, but then loses a late game and goes into the bowls unranked, vs another that is unranked all year but on the fringes and wins a late game to be 24th going into the bowls, the 1st (ranked) team gets publicity all year, which sells tickets and sways recruits. Every week that Purple N shows up in the rankings, people see it.
Perception is self-fulfilling
Me neither. But how the hell do you think you GET there? Go tell guys in the locker room that 8-4 would be a great season for them and see how that goes over...
I'm not IN the locker room. I'm just a doofus who pays to watch them from the upper deck.
No. They don't. If 3 teams finish, say, 11-1, the team with the best reputation has an advantage. It's a self fulfilling prophecy at a certain point. The trick is getting there.
Well said. Being ranked all year is very important. Back door Top 25s don't have the same impact.
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