Monday Sips

by Rodger Sherman on Nov 16, 2009 10:26 PM CST in Sips Comment 12 comments

You'll probably read 'em on Tuesday, but they're still Monday Sips!

So, bowlin. HTP's bowl likelihood meter I've linked to every week is now moot, since, uh, we're now guaranteed a bowl, but for old times sake, here's a link to it. (Enjoy it. It's beautiful.) Right now, it looks like we're going to the Champs Sports Bowl in Tampa (ed. note: its in Orlando. Medill F for me. If we make it, I'll need to check out the Epcot Center exhibit on mid-Floridian geography) , which is... awesome. I mean, I really couldn't be happier. It's the fourth-highest bowl in the conference, and that's ridiculous considering how lowly we looked not a month ago. Rivalry, Esq makes an interesting point: what happens in the Wisky/NU game really doesn't matter this week. If we reach 8 wins, we're tied with the Badgers, and we sure as all hell are not beating them for a bowl spot if we have the same amount of wins. Meanwhile, MSU and Minnesota have six wins, and are playing Penn State and Iowa, respectively, and neither of them should win against those opponents, and therefore, shouldn't be able to jump, and if PSU and Iowa are two-loss teams, one will probably make the BCS slate. Therefore, regardless of what happens in our game, we're pretty much destined for Champs Sports if good things hold up.
As always, here's a highlights video from our win:
Not NU relevant, but, this is a story for all of you people who are talking about how big a disappointment our 7-8 win season is because of how high our expectations were. Live a little.
Fitz intense-o-meter: Knowing that he's going bowling, Fitz's intensity lowers a little bit from 7.1 to 6.3, signifying that Fitz's heart is pumping hummingbird-style, 70 times in one second. (Cannibal Ox, baby!) (p.s. y'all have no damn idea how long it took me to figure out how to make that link work like it did.)
I mentioned back on the old site that I have a minor obsession with college sports polls. And, well, its' the return of NU in the others receiving votes category! Yes, some foolish coaches/minions of coaches who they tell to fill out the stupid poll they could give a goshdarn about apparently are silly enough to think Northwestern is one of the top 25 teams in the country. Either three of them thought this, or one of them thinks we're the 23rd best team in the country. Either way, I'm flattered, but, most importantly, the coaches poll is humorous. But yeah, wooh! OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES BACK UP IN THIS!
I'm glad that I'm not allowed to write about NU basketball on here, because I'm certain I would've broken something or torn a muscle or something if I had to write about them on here.
And ohhhhhh yeah, power poll:

Ohio State.
Penn State
Iowa
Wisconsin
Northwestern
Michigan State
Minnesota
Illinois
Purdue
Indiana
Michigan

Remember, calling me an idiot in the comments section = victory. So do so.

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idiot

by JoshuaS on Nov 16, 2009 11:22 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

idiot

Pretty sure MSU/Minny could still jump us if they have 6 wins and we have 7, as long as we’d still get a conference bowl. Like, the one in Detroit.

by Closso on Nov 17, 2009 1:26 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Not in the Big Ten

The SEC worked out that deal with their bowls, the Big Ten has not.

Sherman may be an idiot, but not because of this.

http://www.rivalryesq.com/
The quintessential Big Ten smoking room.

by Bama Hawkeye on Nov 17, 2009 1:56 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Rittenberg agrees with me

But he is occasionally an idiot as well.

by Closso on Nov 17, 2009 3:18 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

no. 1 sign i'm an idiot

i read this and thought “who’s sherma-oh, wait”
on the plus side i hope i’m dispelling the myths people have about everybody at northwestern being smart.

by Rodger Sherman on Nov 17, 2009 3:49 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Not to pile on here...

….but you’re an idiot.

First off, the Champs Sports Bowl is played in Orlando, not Tampa. They are only separated by a 1 hour drive, but still….

Second, this game ABSOLUTELY matters, as we COULD beat out Wisconsin for a bowl slot, but only if we’re tied/within one game. Think about this scenario, which isn’t at all far-fetched, as it would leave the Big Ten with just one BCS team:

- OSU gets Rose Bowl.
- Oklahoma State gets the extra at-large
- Iowa goes to the Capitol One Bowl
- Penn State goes to the Outback Bowl.

Now, you’re the Champs Sports Bowl. The rules say you can skip a team, but ONLY for a team within one win of the team you skip. If Northwestern wins, we’d end up 8-4, and Wisconsin’s best record would be 9-3, so we’d be within the one game buffer. Now, if you’re the Champs Bowl, do you pick a Wisconsin team that has been in Orlando or Tampa for the past 6 offseasons (I think)? Ummmmm, no. You go for a team in Northwestern that your bowl fans haven’t seen, that hasn’t been to Orlando since 1997, and you do a solid favor to the Alamo Bowl folks by giving them a Wisconsin team that THEIR fans haven’t seen.

So, we REALLY need this win to guarantee the Champs Bowl….which also would mean a fun matchup with an ACC team.

by Chadnudj on Nov 17, 2009 7:06 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

And one more thing..

Idiot. Illinois is not better than Purdue. Hell, I doubt Illinois is better than Indiana.

by Chadnudj on Nov 17, 2009 7:07 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Champs Sports Bowl

I see NU being essentially locked into the Champs Sports Bowl right now.

If PSU or Iowa win on Saturday, they’re all but locked into a BCS spot (even if Oklahoma St. grabs one of those spots). The only “guaranteed” at large berths go to the highest ranked non-BCS qualifier (likely TCU) and the SEC championship loser. That leaves 2 spots open.

For the final 2 spots, the bowls will get to pick from the following:
- PSU or Iowa (both 10-2 if they win)
- Oklahoma State: who must still get by Oklahoma (at Oklahoma), a team that won 65-10 this past week against Texas A&M
- Boise State
- Loser of the Cincy/Pitt game (who may not even stay in the top 14)

BCS bowls are all about money, and I can almost guarantee that PSU or Iowa would be picked above Boise State or a Big East team any day of the week.

In that scenario, it will mean:
- OSU: Rose
- PSU or Iowa: BCS
- PSU or Iowa: Capital One
- Wisconsin: Outback
- NU: Champs
- MSU: Alamo
- Minn: Insight

NOTE: Wisconsin & MSU went to Orlando last year (Champs Sports & Capital One are both played in the Citrus Bowl Stadium), and NU hasn’t been there since Jan. 1, 1997, so I don’t see MSU jumping NU with a lesser record.

I don’t think the Outback will take NU even if the ’Cats beat Wisconsin – look what happened last year (Iowa picked over NU despite NU having a better overall record and a head-to-head win at Iowa).

Anyways, most of the questions will be answered on Saturday, although Big Ten fans will still likely have to watch Oklahoma St-Oklahoma on Nov. 28 and Cincy-Pitt on Dec. 5 to know for sure.

--
JHodges
http://www.hailtopurple.com/jhodges/

by jhodges on Nov 17, 2009 10:31 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Weekly Power Poll Dismantling

- Iowa deserves to be #2 ahead of Penn State (I assume you did this to elicit a response). Same record, Iowa beat PSU (in Happy Valley), and Iowa took OSU to OT in Columbus with their backup QB while PSU got dismantled at home at full strength.

- MSU/Minnesota is a tough one, since Minnesota beat MSU just a few weeks ago and the teams have the same overall record. BUT, Minnesota barely escaped with a win over FCS/I-AA South Dakota State last week and MSU has a better conference record. You can’t always go by head-to-head, so I’ll accept your ranking there.

- Purdue deserves to be ranked ahead of Illinois. Better overall record, better conference record, and a head-to-head win a few weeks back. I know they’re both eliminated from bowl contention, but Zook doesn’t deserve any benefit of the doubt.

--
JHodges
http://www.hailtopurple.com/jhodges/

by jhodges on Nov 17, 2009 10:23 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

various responses:

first off, i hate you all.
my bad on tampa/orlando. that’s a medill f.
i’m pretty sure a seven win team can’t jump a six win team, right for any conference tie-in game, right?
if you think nu can jump wisconsin with the same record, you’re crazy. if you think we can jump them when they have a better record, well, that’s just silly. i mean, obviously, we’re trying to win because winning is fun. but unless msu or minny pulls off the upset, it don’t matter. even if they do, it might not matter, because no bowl takes nu over msu or minnesota.
and my ranking of iowa #2 was because they’ve lost two in a row and their backup quarterback was in. admittedly, it was flawed reasoning.

by Rodger Sherman on Nov 17, 2009 11:31 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

NU over Wisconsin....

….but only if we’re talking about an Orlando Champs Sports Bowl appearance.

Look at Wisconsin and where they’ve been recently:

2008 – Champs Sports Bowl (Orlando)
2007 – Outback Bowl (Tampa)
2006 – Capital One Bowl (Orlando)
2005 – Capital One Bowl (Orlando)
2004 – Outback Bowl (Tampa)

Look, I grew up in SW Florida (and will be there for the holidays this year)….it’s a great place. But if you think the Champs Sports Bowl is really anxious to invite the Wisconsin fans down for the 6th straigh year, you’re nuts. (Tampa and Orlando are an hour’s drive apart, by the way).

If the Champs has a choice between Northwestern and Wisconsin (a possibility), they’ll pick Northwestern, as a favor both to their own bowl and the Alamo (which, while I’m sure they loved us last year, probably wants to bring a Wisconsin team that hasn’t been in San Antonio since 2002)….particularly if the ACC team is someone they are pretty sure they’ll get a good crowd for (Miami, VaTech, Clemson)

by Chadnudj on Nov 17, 2009 1:29 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Six vs Seven Win

Technically, a six win team CAN jump a seven (or more) win team as long as a conference-affiliated bowl spot remains open for the seven (or more) win team. Now, I don’t think that has ever happened and it would definitely raise some eyebrows, so I would classify it as unlikely but possible.

Like others have mentioned elsewhere, I don’t see the NU-Wisconsin game outcome affecting the bowl selections too much. The game with the most direct influence will likely be Iowa-Minnesota game. The PSU-MSU game has some influence, but NU could likely trump MSU for the Champs if they have the same record since MSU has been to Orlando the past 2 seasons.

If Iowa wins, they’ll be in a good spot to grab a BCS at-large spot and Mnnesota will be stuck at 6-6. Minny at 7-5 has a decent chance of beating NU (with the same record) for the Champs.

If PSU and Iowa both lose, it essentially locks NU into the Insight.

Finally, if NU pulls off the upset, it is all but locks up the Champs; the Outback is in play theoretically but we all know they have it out for NU.

--
JHodges
http://www.hailtopurple.com/jhodges/

by jhodges on Nov 17, 2009 1:49 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs