OT: Northwestern, Auburn invited to the Outback Bowl

eh?

Tell us what you reallythink.

While two of them are labors of love for me, the other is my job.
Not sure which of these 3 would make me happiest, but all 3 would keep me giddy for the next 5 years or so.

Rumor has been that the Fiesta bowl WANTED Iowa. And the team had already sold its allotment of tickets, no matter the game. So why the sudden change?

My theory… the BCS powers wanted the non-BCS crashers to play each other, giving them the BCS game they deserve while not risking embarrassing any of the major teams / conferences. That way, they will emerge from the whole thing getting what they “deserve”, but won’t have a way be legitimized, as the BCS conferences can continue to beat the “Yeah, but they never beat anybody good!” argument in to the ground every time they are brought up.

While i’m psyched for my Hawkeyes, i’m with Worf above. The whole thing stinks.

Iowa State makes a bowl game! Rhodes won more games in one season there than Chezik did in two. It still amazes me that Auburn wanted him.

Auburn fans don’t like LSU either. And gee thanks for letting Satan go to Bama….

Northern Illinois vs. South Florida in the International Bowl.

Congrats Huskies.

we could set up a bowl pick-em on Yahoo or elsewhere for BCB if we wanted. Anyone up for that?

I’d rather play a good Miami team than a mediocre Auburn team. Plus, the game is a prime-time night game as opposed to a 10 am New Years game. If it’s not a BCS bowl, the name isn’t nearly as important to me as the competition we’re getting. UW/Miami has to be one of the very best non-BCS match ups out there. Plus, it can only help our exposure/recruiting in Florida if we have a good showing.

So the Outback picked the Big Ten #4 instead of the Big Ten #5 (head-to-head victory wins tiebreaker), and people are up-in-arms? Northwestern beat Wisconsin. Running up the score against a pathetic Hawaii team to get a meaningless ninth win isn’t enough to make up for a head-to-head loss. Last year, NU was 9-3 but got passed over for the same bowl by an 8-4 Iowa that had lost to the Wildcats. For once, the bowl actually got one right this season.

Final 2009 Big Ten Standings
1. Ohio St. 7-1
2. Iowa 6-2 (lost to Northwestern, at home)
3. Penn State 6-2
>> 4. Northwestern 5-3
>> 5. Wisconsin 5-3 (lost to Northwestern)
6. Michigan State 4-4
7. Purdue 4-4
8. Minnesota 3-5
9. Illinois 2-6
10. Michigan 1-7
11. Indiana 1-7

2008
1. Penn State 7-1
2. Ohio State 7-1
3. Michigan State 6-2
>> 4. Northwestern 5-3
5. Iowa 5-3 (lost to Northwestern, at home, again)
6. Minnesota 3-5
>> 7. Wisconsin 3-5
8. Illinois 3-5
9. Purdue 2-6
10. Michigan 2-6
11. Indiana 1-7
>> Which of the two teams was in the bottom tier? Hint: It’s not Northwestern.

In the Big Ten Conference, 2007-2009
“Bottom Tier” Northwestern 13-11
“Upper Tier” Wisconsin 13-11

If you want to argue that Northwestern isn’t as well-known, that’s fine, but to call a team “bottom tier” that just finished ahead of you two seasons in a row and has the exact same record as your team over the last three seasons is absurd.

The Wildcats aren’t just going up against opponents on the field every Saturday, they’re battling against the outdated and false perception that Northwestern isn’t a legitimate football program.

P.S. We’re about to graduate 100% of our senior class to boot.

That’s convenient. For you.

And right, I’m sure Wisconsin really needed those 17 points in the fourth quarter to put it away against Hawaii.

Talking tiers on your own perception of the programs is one thing. But you might need to get caught up with what’s really going on, on the field, in the Big Ten and the rest of the country. The “big-name” schools aren’t necessarily the most talented anymore. (See: Notre Dame) I’d rank them like this, based on how they actually perform on the field, which is all that matters.

Top Echelon: Ohio State. No one else is there yet.

Middle to Upper: Penn State, Iowa, Northwestern, Wisconsin. I firmly believe any of those teams can beat the other 3 on any given Saturday. Before you point to PSU-NU this year, keep in mind NU was dominating in the first half until Mike Kafka got injured. Paterno, afterward: “Our halftime adjustment was their quarterback got hurt.”

Tweeners: Michigan State (losing Decker really hurt them in the last half of the season)

Lower: Minnesota (great new stadium though), Indiana, Illinois (from Rose Bowl to no bowl), Purdue (perplexing the way they threaten yet collapse), Michigan

By the way, recruits have never been more excited about the Northwestern program than they are now. These young athletes really identify with a young, successful, passionate head coach like Fitz. NU is gaining momentum and stature amongst the future players of the sport at a rapid pace.

If Wisconsin wanted the Outback Bowl, maybe they should have beaten their primary competition for it. But they didn’t. So NU got the bid instead. I really don’t get why Wisconsin fans are so upset about this. Last year, NU had a better record AND beat Iowa head-to-head. But Iowa got the bowl. If that were the case this year, with Wisconsin in our place, I would completely agree with you that you got jobbed. However. This year, NU beat Wisconsin, finished with the exact same conference record, and Wisconsin happened to get a cupcake for their last game of the season, and somehow we’re supposed to throw away the rest of the ledger because you beat Hawaii? Don’t make me laugh. If they wanted the bowl that badly, maybe they should have taken care of business in Evanston, when the bowl assignments were starting to lineup and this looked like a real possibility. But they didn’t. We did.

It’s interesting that you point to players who aren’t there anymore when you say “produce” better results. Not produced, but produce. Present tense. So here we go again. Fact: NU finished ahead of Wisconsin in the Big Ten this season. Fact: NU finished ahead of Wisconsin last season. Fact: Northwestern beat Wisconsin, head-to-head, THIS season. Lee Evans? Seriously? Sutton? Harris? How about Mike Kafka? Corey Wootton? Sherrick McManis? All three have good chances at pro careers. But if you insist on the past, how about starting DT Luis Castillo of the Chargers? Super Bowl champions Trai Essex (Pittsburgh) and Barry Cofield (Giants)? Bears starting linebacker Nick Roach? Texans LB Kevin Bentley, Jets CB Marquice Cole, Chiefs OT Ikechuku Ndukwe, Saints OT Zach Strief, Cardinals RB Jason Wright? Sure, Wisconsin has produced more over the years. No one is arguing otherwise. The point is, NU has spent most of the last 15 years radically changing their program and we’re already seeing the results, whether you acknowledge it or not.

That said, I hope Wisconsin DESTROYS their opponent in their bowl. I’m really enjoying this rivalry developing between Northwestern and Wisconsin. Both teams always give each other a great game, and I think that’s good for both the conference and these two outstanding institutions. And thanks for the compliments on Pat Fitzgerald. I’ve met with him and interviewed him and he’s a class act, we’re proud to have him and I can’t see him leaving for anything or anybody. He truly loves Northwestern with all his heart. Speaking of player awards, he was the first player in college football history to win both the Nagurski and Bednarik back-to-back.

… Iowa, who has beat Penn State two years running, is a tier below them?

Are these rankings current? If we are reaching back to 2007, shouldn’t Michigan be a top tier team, as they ended the year in the top twenty and played in the rose bowl?

If you are doing these as of today, you can’t possibly place Penn State above Iowa. I’d do this:

Bottom

Indiana
Minnesota
Purdue
Northwestern

Middle

Illinois
Michigan State
Michigan
Iowa
Wisconsin
Penn State

Top

Ohio State

If you want to move any one of the Iowa / Wesconsin / Penn St group up a tier, you’d have to take the others (although you could probably justify leaving Wisconsin down). And Illinois played in the Rose Bowl in 2008… i’m not sure they justify bottom tier status so quickly as long as Michigan State is considered middle tier.