The first time we've ever gotten ranked this quick?

[Mr. Stupor]

We've started seasons ranked. And we've gotten ranked after starting unranked plenty of times. But I don't ever remember us going from unranked to ranked in 2 weeks before. I don't think we even got ranked after week one in 1995. Usually we have to win 3 or 4 games and then a Big Ten game before we get ranked...

Is this a first?

 

[SmellyCat]

Almost positive NU was ranked #25 after the Notre Dame win in 1995. After losing to Miami it took a while before anyone believed in NU enough to rank them again.

 

[Mr. Stupor]

I'm not even sure they called it a Top 25 back then. I don't remember specifically though, when they went from Top 20 to Top 25.

 

[Mr. Stupor]

I'm not even sure they called it a Top 25 back then. I don't remember specifically though, when they went from Top 20 to Top 25.

I just looked it up. We did NOT get ranked the week after the ND win in 1995. We had a bye, however, and backdoored our way into the AP #25 the next week when a few teams lost. So don't count that. It's way too lame...

 

[stpaulcat]

I'm not even sure they called it a Top 25 back then. I don't remember specifically though, when they went from Top 20 to Top 25.

If you are 20 years old, 1995 was a long time ago. If you my age, it was not so long ago. Yes there was a Top 25 in 1995. There have been years in which we gotten rank very quickly.

 

[NJCat83588]

We've started seasons ranked. And we've gotten ranked after starting unranked plenty of times. But I don't ever remember us going from unranked to ranked in 2 weeks before. I don't think we even got ranked after week one in 1995. Usually we have to win 3 or 4 games and then a Big Ten game before we get ranked...

Is this a first?

It happened in 1997, when NU beat Oklahoma 24-0 and went from unranked to #24 in week 2:

http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/northwestern/polls.html

NU moved up to #21 after a bye week, then went to Winston-Salem and lost to Wake Forest 27-20 in route to a dismal 5-7 record.

 

[Mr. Stupor]

Ok. I had to look this up to confirm I'm not nuts: they didn't even HAVE a Top 25 until the 1990-1991 season. That's when they went to a Top 25.

 

[stpaulcat]

Ok. I had to look this up to confirm I'm not nuts: they didn't even HAVE a Top 25 until the 1990-1991 season. That's when they went to a Top 25.

Right. And 1995 was after 1990. Weren't you talking about our Rose Bowl year?

 

[shakes3858]

I just looked it up. We did NOT get ranked the week after the ND win in 1995. We had a bye, however, and backdoored our way into the AP #25 the next week when a few teams lost. So don't count that. It's way too lame...

How is beating EIU this year any less lame than a bye? I'm just saying you gotta count 95 if you count this one.

 

[jactheko]

You are not looking back far enough. 1959,1962 and 1963. That said let's not get to far ahead of ourselves. It's a good start and the Duke game will give us a better feel of where we stand.

"There is nothing older than yesterdays headlines."

 

[Secho99]

Almost positive NU was ranked #25 after the Notre Dame win in 1995. After losing to Miami it took a while before anyone believed in NU enough to rank them again.

Wasn't that long. After that loss we beat Air Force and Indiana, which was enough to get us back to #25 when we went to Ann Arbor.

 

[NJCat83588]

You are not looking back far enough. 1959,1962 and 1963."

1959 and 1963 NU was ranked in the preseason poll, but the OP asked for years when NU was NOT ranked in preseason but made the top 25. 1962 NU wasn't ranked until week 5, later than this season.

That being said, 1958-1963 was probably the Golden Age of NU football. Consistently ranked every year and ranked as high as #1, with final rankings of 20, 9, 8 and 8. Ara certainly knew how to coach 'em, and if he isn't the best coach NU ever had he's in the top 3.

 

[Mr. Stupor]

Well, I'm not counting 95, which was a strange year in every respect. So it's been almost 2 decades since we went from unranked to ranked on the basis of a 2-0 record, even though we've been 2-0 a ton of times since then. It seems that at last, we might actually be getting at least a smidgen of respect.

 

[phatcat]

It happened in 1997, when NU beat Oklahoma 24-0 and went from unranked to #24 in week 2:

http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/northwestern/polls.html

NU moved up to #21 after a bye week, then went to Winston-Salem and lost to Wake Forest 27-20 in route to a dismal 5-7 record.

OK I will grant you that the 97 team ended up with a losing record, and we had lost DA, Schnur, et al, but how do you not rank the two time defending B1G champ (back when it meant something) in the preseason?

Rankings mean absolutely nothing this early in the year relative to the eventual performance and W/L of the team; however, they matter in terms of notoriety - casual fans, recruits and the media watch this stuff. If we were to lose to Duke and then muddle our way to an 8-4 record, and then win our bowl, that would be a nice season, but we would be largely unranked and unnoticed. If we were to find a way to come out on top this weekend, and don't stumble against Ball U, that's a lot of attention for a lot of weeks. Even if we still ended up 8-4, the story at the bowl would be that we started 4-0, beat the Cardinals and Duke, and were ranked etc and ended up in a nice bowl.

Rankings matter. People look at them. He11, DONORS look at them.

 

[EvanstonCat]

I'm not even sure they called it a Top 25 back then. I don't remember specifically though, when they went from Top 20 to Top 25.

Your memory fails you. Of course there was a top 25. We were ranked #25 after the ND win.

And it's not surprising that we haven't been ranked this early since then given the fact that at no time in between have we been unranked and started the season by playing much less beating a ranked team.

1997 being the exception, but that's probably on the basis of shutting out a name program like OU (even though they were down).

All the other chump programs we've played over the years did not gain us much cred with the voters. That is when we actually started out 2-0.