The Countdown Continues

[Deeringfish]

I enjoy the Orlando Sentinel's annual college football countdown. A month or so ago someone posted about it so I bookmarked the link.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college-football-rankings/

Today they listed the Spartans #50 which seems reasonable based on last year but low for the program in general. I think they are attempting and impossible task but what else is there to do this time of year.

They totally disrespect the Illini at #120 out of 130 teams. Rutgers at 93 and Purdue at 86 is not much better. With Duke at 85 , Nevada 84, and Bowling Green at #104 We should be 3-0 when we get to Wisconsin but we still will be untested.

In general not much respect for the B1G. Even our glorious Bowl win from last season is down graded with Pitt being listed at #82 due to graduation of key players.

There are so many teams that I have never even heard of it makes me wonder when a new division of football will be created.

 

[SciCat]

I enjoy the Orlando Sentinel's annual college football countdown. A month or so ago someone posted about it so I bookmarked the link.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college-football-rankings/

Today they listed the Spartans #50 which seems reasonable based on last year but low for the program in general. I think they are attempting and impossible task but what else is there to do this time of year.

They totally disrespect the Illini at #120 out of 130 teams. Rutgers at 93 and Purdue at 86 is not much better. With Duke at 85 , Nevada 84, and Bowling Green at #104 We should be 3-0 when we get to Wisconsin but we still will be untested.

In general not much respect for the B1G. Even our glorious Bowl win from last season is down graded with Pitt being listed at #82 due to graduation of key players.

There are so many teams that I have never even heard of it makes me wonder when a new division of football will be created.

The 'Cats should be 3-0 if they play to their potential and have so serious distractions and/or injuries.

 

[Hungry Jack]

I hope we go 1-0 the week before Wisconsin. Stop counting the chickens, or they will peck your eyes out.

Duke lower than Nevada? Ouch.

 

[Deeringfish]

I hope we go 1-0 the week before Wisconsin. Stop counting the chickens, or they will peck your eyes out.

Duke lower than Nevada? Ouch.

Yeah, but it is not a totally in-depth analysis. Maybe more serious when they get to the top twenty five.

 

[NorthNJCatsfan]

Ole Miss #54....

 

[gocatsgo2003]

I hope we go 1-0 the week before Wisconsin. Stop counting the chickens, or they will peck your eyes out.

Duke lower than Nevada? Ouch.

Counting by fans on the boards has zero impact. On anything. In any way.

I would be disappointed if we weren't undefeated in non-conference play. Nevada is a bad team with a new coach that suffered a ton of transfers. Duke is not a scary program. Bowling Green is Bowling Green (yes, Motor City Bowl, I know).

 

[rwhitney014]

In general not much respect for the B1G. Even our glorious Bowl win from last season is down graded with Pitt being listed at #82 due to graduation of key players.

I get what you're saying, but we beat the team that had the key players before they graduated.

Also, they call them the Illinois Illini. That's funny.

 

[hdhntr1]

I hope we go 1-0 the week before Wisconsin. Stop counting the chickens, or they will peck your eyes out.

Duke lower than Nevada? Ouch.

I want us to go 1-0 in the week of the WIS game.

 

[Deeringfish]

I get what you're saying, but we beat the team that had the key players before they graduated.

Also, they call them the Illinois Illini. That's funny.

Not much fight left these days.

 

[Deeringfish]

Counting by fans on the boards has zero impact. On anything. In any way.

I would be disappointed if we weren't undefeated in non-conference play. Nevada is a bad team with a new coach that suffered a ton of transfers. Duke is not a scary program. Bowling Green is Bowling Green (yes, Motor City Bowl, I know).

I will need to go undefeated Non Conference this year to get over last year.

 

[Hungry Jack]

Counting by fans on the boards has zero impact. On anything. In any way.

Really? Are you sure? I read an article once in Reiki Aficionado that internet fandom translates directly to performance on the field. Or maybe it was Branch Davidian Times. Or it might have been the Yezid guy on the street corner.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Really? Are you sure? I read an article once in Reiki Aficionado that internet fandom translates directly to performance on the field. Or maybe it was Branch Davidian Times. Or it might have been the Yezid guy on the street corner.

Sorry... pet peeve of mine when fans tout coaching cliches on the boards as if we somehow have any impact on anything with where our focus goes.

 

[MickeyCat]

For those who need a dose of reality, watch the full bowl game again. Cats barely won. Without several key plays by Anthony Walker/Xavier Washington and injuries to key Pitt players, NU easily could have lost.

 

[Deeringfish]

For those who need a dose of reality, watch the full bowl game again. Cats barely won. Without several key plays by Anthony Walker/Xavier Washington and injuries to key Pitt players, NU easily could have lost.

The injuries are one thing but you can't take away the Key plays by our players. Making key plays and not screwing up key plays is how you win.

 

[DaCat]

For those who need a dose of reality, watch the full bowl game again. Cats barely won. Without several key plays by Anthony Walker/Xavier Washington and injuries to key Pitt players, NU easily could have lost.

True but you can say this for a lot of games. Key plays and momentum changes are what the game is all about. NU rarely dominates anyone and coasts to easy wins.

 

[NorthNJCatsfan]

After re-watching the game : On the positive side, our team did make a number of big plays, highlighted by JJTBC. That's what good teams do. In fairness, Pitt lost an important OL early in the game, then lost their star RB and eventually their starting QB, who was replaced by a RF who had almost no prior playing time and threw 2 picks. The big turning point , IMO, was when George Steinbrenner's spirit tackled their FB who was headed for the EZ, unimpeded. If they score at that point early in the game, yes indeed, big 'Mo could have taken off for Pitt. But that's football. How many times have a similar reversal of fortunes gone against NU.....Anyway, 2016 is history. Lots of good talent returning and fresh talent ready to go. It's time for NU to put together a program that wins consistently.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

For those who need a dose of reality, watch the full bowl game again. Cats barely won. Without several key plays by Anthony Walker/Xavier Washington and injuries to key Pitt players, NU easily could have lost.

A win is a win and a loss is a loss.

 

[FloridAlum]

A win is a win and a loss is a loss.

That sounds very philosophical

 

[gocatsgo2003]

For those who need a dose of reality, watch the full bowl game again. Cats barely won. Without several key plays by Anthony Walker/Xavier Washington and injuries to key Pitt players, NU easily could have lost.

"If things had turned out differently, the result may have been different!"

Insightful.

 

[Hungry Jack]

For those who need a dose of reality, watch the full bowl game again. Cats barely won. Without several key plays by Anthony Walker/Xavier Washington and injuries to key Pitt players, NU easily could have lost.

Are you a disciple of Coach Wannestedt?

It was Wanny, who in the midst of yet another 5-6 win season at the helm of the Monsters of the Midway, dutifully reminded us that "if you take away the 4 or 5 plays that they scored on. we win the game."

My life was forever changed by that. I still have the dent in my skull where my palm smashed against it.

In all seriousness, most games come down to a handful of plays that could have tipped the balance. The team with the players that make more plays usually wins.

 

[MickeyCat]

A win for sure. However, as I was buzzing with confidence about this season, I watched the game and it made me feel better about not getting too over confident about the coming season. For me, there's nothing worse than having very high expectations for a season and feeling miserable when the team isn't flawless.

NU's D came up big in the game, but almost blew it by, of all things, intercepting a pass on the 2 yard line on a 4th down instead of knocking the ball down and getting it on the 20. I want the Cats to win very, very much, but without AWalk and XWash, there will be a pretty big learning curve in the first few weeks of the season. As the commentators said at the end of the game, the player of the game was undoubtedly Justin Jackson, but the NU defense was also huge by holding Pitt to 20 points less a game (or something like that, I'm typing this from memory) than they had given up that year.