How big is the Illinois game?

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WolfontheProwl

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Gophers have a winnable game this week against a team coming off their first big win of the year. How big is this game with a win the Gophers are set to have a good chance at a 7 win season against a tough schedule. I thought the Gophers would win 7 games to start the year but thought the chances of 6 wins were very possible. So how big does this one this week become? With SDSU and Iowa left after this week I think it might be the biggest Gopher game in some time as far as a must win.

It would be great to be the team that would end Iowa's unbeaten season but beating Illinois and SDSU would be a great step for this team.
 

The Illinois game is huge, especially for Brewster. If we finish win vs. Illinois & South Dakota St and lose at Iowa, I think that is a great position for Brew to be in. Even though we would lack a signature win, we will have only lost to the four teams that finished ahead of us in the standings and beaten all those below us. Also, at 0-8, 3-5, and 4-4, it would show that progress is being made. I don't know how there could be any doubters over the off season if he is improving every year, especially given how tough our schedule was this year.
 

Since we beat MSU, ALL the games are big (assuming we keep winning). That's cliche, but true. If we had lost to MSU, the season becomes more about improving and figuring out what's best for the future. With the win, we need another win, and then another. They're all HUGE. Assuming we beat Illinois & SDSU, the Iowa game becomes HUGE. Not as a 'must-win', but because if we go in to Iowa @ 7-4, suddenly you have the opportunity to leap from a merely successful season to an indisputably very good season. A win wouldn't be likely, but the possibility would be tantalizing, and as we've seen over and over in the Big Ten this year, anything is possible. It's one week at a time because they are all incredibly important.
 

cduff said:
The Illinois game is huge, especially for Brewster. If we finish win vs. Illinois & South Dakota St and lose at Iowa, I think that is a great position for Brew to be in. Even though we would lack a signature win, we will have only lost to the four teams that finished ahead of us in the standings and beaten all those below us. Also, at 0-8, 3-5, and 4-4, it would show that progress is being made. I don't know how there could be any doubters over the off season if he is improving every year, especially given how tough our schedule was this year.
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It would be nice if the team could play loose for a week, it seems like every game this year has been huge, Syr(you want to be 1-0 going into the stadium opener) AF(lose this one and Brew is in trouble) Cal(Top 10 team, possible statement game) NW(Start out Big Ten season with a win, NW had been trouble last 2 years) Wisky(Trophy game, rivalry), Purdue(after tough loss, homecoming), PSU, OSU(need good showing on the road, potential statement/signature games), MSU(backs against the wall, Decker out) Now we have IL, going for a bowl, pressure is still on.
Such is D1 football I suppose.

Hopefully the SDSU game they can get up early and relax for awhile, speed should make the difference, Whaley, Stoudemire, Gray, Lawrence/Cooper should pose huge matchup problems for the jackrabbits.
 

This one is big for sure. After coming off a good, emotional win like we just had, teams tend to have a big let down the following week. We have to start big, get up on them early, and Illinois will be thinking "here we go again."
 


GophersInIowa said:
This one is big for sure. After coming off a good, emotional win like we just had, teams tend to have a big let down the following week.
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Illinois will be thinking exactly the same way about their own team. That's what makes all this tricky. Another fast start is the key.
 

The difference between 7-5 and 6-6 is HUGE for bowl implications. A 6-6 team (lets say Michigan) cannot be chosen ahead of a winning team (ie a 7-5 Minnesota) regardless of how well that team travels. 7-5 means Alamo or Champs, 6-6 means Insight or Little Ceasar's Pizza Bowl.
 

Go Gophers Rah said:
The difference between 7-5 and 6-6 is HUGE for bowl implications. A 6-6 team (lets say Michigan) cannot be chosen ahead of a winning team (ie a 7-5 Minnesota) regardless of how well that team travels. 7-5 means Alamo or Champs, 6-6 means Insight or Little Ceasar's Pizza Bowl.
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Actually, they can in certain scenarios. Here is a breakdown of the Big Ten's selection criteria based on whether the conference has 1 or 2 teams in BCS bowls.

1 Big Ten team in the BCS:
The Capital One, Outback, Alamo and Champs Sports can select any eligible team except a team that has two fewer wins or two more losses than another eligible team. So the Capital One bowl could pick an 8-4 team over a 9-3 team but they cannot take a 7-5 team over a 9-3 team. Of course, the bowls only look at overall records (not conference records) and do not have to look at head-to-head matchups. They just pick the best team for their bowl game.

The Insight and Motor City Bowls have no restrictions, so they can take whatever teams are remaining (in other words, the Insight could take a 6-6 team over an 8-4 team).

However, no 7-5 or better Big Ten team can get pushed out of the Big Ten’s bowl lineup by a 6-6 team. In other words, if we have eight bowl-eligible teams and seven bowl spots, and one of the teams is 6-6, that 6-6 team cannot be picked by the Motor City Bowl and push a 7-5 team out of the Big Ten bowl lineup. But if the Big Ten has seven bowl-eligible teams and seven bowl spots, a 6-6 team could be picked by the Insight and push a 7-5 or better team down to the Motor City Bowl.

2 Big Ten teams in the BCS:
If the Big Ten has two teams selected to BCS bowls, both the Outback and Alamo bowls have no restrictions on which teams they select. Those bowls could take a 7-5 or 6-6 team over an 8-4 squad, as long as the 8-4 squad still falls to a Big Ten-affiliated bowl. The Capital One and Champs Sports bowls are the only bowls that have to play by the rules, which allow them to select any eligible team except one that has two fewer wins or two more losses than another eligible team. This means, if two Big Ten teams make it to the BCS, the landscape is wide open.

The only way we're assured of not being jumped by a 6-6 Michigan team is if there are 8 bowl eligible B10 teams.
 




I think it's even more messed up than that gold. Typical NCAA. Think of the most complicated thing and you'll be close.
 

GoAUpher said:
Actually, they can in certain scenarios. Here is a breakdown of the Big Ten's selection criteria based on whether the conference has 1 or 2 teams in BCS bowls.

1 Big Ten team in the BCS:
The Capital One, Outback, Alamo and Champs Sports can select any eligible team except a team that has two fewer wins or two more losses than another eligible team. So the Capital One bowl could pick an 8-4 team over a 9-3 team but they cannot take a 7-5 team over a 9-3 team. Of course, the bowls only look at overall records (not conference records) and do not have to look at head-to-head matchups. They just pick the best team for their bowl game.

The Insight and Motor City Bowls have no restrictions, so they can take whatever teams are remaining (in other words, the Insight could take a 6-6 team over an 8-4 team).

However, no 7-5 or better Big Ten team can get pushed out of the Big Ten’s bowl lineup by a 6-6 team. In other words, if we have eight bowl-eligible teams and seven bowl spots, and one of the teams is 6-6, that 6-6 team cannot be picked by the Motor City Bowl and push a 7-5 team out of the Big Ten bowl lineup. But if the Big Ten has seven bowl-eligible teams and seven bowl spots, a 6-6 team could be picked by the Insight and push a 7-5 or better team down to the Motor City Bowl.

2 Big Ten teams in the BCS:
If the Big Ten has two teams selected to BCS bowls, both the Outback and Alamo bowls have no restrictions on which teams they select. Those bowls could take a 7-5 or 6-6 team over an 8-4 squad, as long as the 8-4 squad still falls to a Big Ten-affiliated bowl. The Capital One and Champs Sports bowls are the only bowls that have to play by the rules, which allow them to select any eligible team except one that has two fewer wins or two more losses than another eligible team. This means, if two Big Ten teams make it to the BCS, the landscape is wide open.

The only way we're assured of not being jumped by a 6-6 Michigan team is if there are 8 bowl eligible B10 teams.
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Good info

I have a feeling you could post this 25 more times before the first weekend of December.
 

alpinegopher said:
Good info

I have a feeling you could post this 25 more times before the first weekend of December.
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I saved the link just in case. ;)

Seriously though, could the rules on this stuff be more convoluted at times?
 

It's pretty obvious this game appears tougher now for both teams than it did last Monday. Last Monday both teams were coming off bad losses, especially Illannoy. Both teams are in a similar point but Illannoy's situation is much more urgent. All I have to say is please beat that *&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!# bag Zook, Iowa is trying to sway his top recruit away from him! Go Gophs!
 



they are all big

Minimizing the penalties should be the theme this week at practice. Accomplish that and we should cruise and build some steam going into our last home game and playing loose on the road at Iowa where we could win.
 

Ole said:
It would be nice if the team could play loose for a week, it seems like every game this year has been huge, Syr(you want to be 1-0 going into the stadium opener) AF(lose this one and Brew is in trouble) Cal(Top 10 team, possible statement game) NW(Start out Big Ten season with a win, NW had been trouble last 2 years) Wisky(Trophy game, rivalry), Purdue(after tough loss, homecoming), PSU, OSU(need good showing on the road, potential statement/signature games), MSU(backs against the wall, Decker out) Now we have IL, going for a bowl, pressure is still on.
Such is D1 football I suppose.

Hopefully the SDSU game they can get up early and relax for awhile, speed should make the difference, Whaley, Stoudemire, Gray, Lawrence/Cooper should pose huge matchup problems for the jackrabbits.
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I'll add to the HUGE column. This is a huge game for both teams. The Illini are fighting mathmatical elimination. This means we will get their haymakers thrown our way. We need to play solid and inspired football. Hopefully this is where being battle tested pays off.
 

STPGopher said:
Hopefully this is where being battle tested pays off.
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Exactly, exactly, exactly right!!! I would argue that playing tougher teams already paid off against MSU, but it will be key against the Frightening Illini once more.
 

I can't decide if the Illini have found their stride (in which case we are in trouble) or if they had a great game last week and there is not way that they will play well this week (in which case I foresee a nice Gopher win).
 

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