Orange Bowl

Gopher07

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Anyone think NIU has a shot? While I'd love to see them win I just don't think they can get it done.
 




Matt Millen is as good at announcing as he is as GM.
 


fsu is in shock. i don't get how you don't see that kick coming. wow
 

According to wiki, Rod Carey (new Northern Ill. head coach), coached at Wayzata HS and was a grad assistant at the U in the 90's. Didn't realize that.
 

By the way, did anyone else see this:

Supposedly a Orange Bowl rep told someone from NIU that they didn't want them there. Probably true and not surprising, but not really something you should be saying.

“You guys [NIU] don’t even deserve to be here,” the Orange Bowl rep said to the NIU staffer. “We didn’t even want you here.

http://www.rantsports.com/ncaa-football/2013/01/01/orange-bowl-representatives-continue-to-embarrass-themselves-with-northern-illinois-comments/

There looked like a bunch of empty seats at the Orange Bowl, also.
 

By the way, did anyone else see this:

Supposedly a Orange Bowl rep told someone from NIU that they didn't want them there. Probably true and not surprising, but not really something you should be saying.

http://www.rantsports.com/ncaa-football/2013/01/01/orange-bowl-representatives-continue-to-embarrass-themselves-with-northern-illinois-comments/

There looked like a bunch of empty seats at the Orange Bowl, also.

Agree you don't tell someone they aren't welcome/don't belong there as an official
 



NIU was able to hang with the big boys for most of the game. Just don't have enough.

I still don't think they deserved to play in the game, but that's not their fault.
 

NIU should have never played in that game...even after their unside kick, I never really thought they had a chance to win it.
 

NIU was able to hang with the big boys for most of the game. Just don't have enough.

I still don't think they deserved to play in the game, but that's not their fault.

Totally agree. They got in based on a technicality which as you say is not their fault, just the way the system is setup. It is clear they had a good team but it was also clear they should not have been competing in a BCS game. Put them in the Big Ten this year and they probably finish somewhere around the middle. Their record was a clear reflection of playing in a weak conference. Again though to their credit they won nearly all the games on their schedule and they can't help that the MAC is weak from top to bottom (getting destroyed in bowls for the most part this year).
 

They did as well as a couple of the B1G schools that WERE "supposed" to be there...
 




They did as well as a couple of the B1G schools that WERE "supposed" to be there...

In fairness to the B1G this year....very few of our teams were 'supposed' to be there. We were all slotted up 2 spots thanks to osu and psu. By all rights, we should have been in detroit playing central michigan or something
 

About what I figured. Didn't watch a ton of it, but what I saw was a well-coached, fundamentally-sound team play well for three quarters against a much more athletically gifted team. I'm not going to get into whether or not NIU should have been there. My guess is a team like Georgia would have been a more appropriate opponent for FSU.

But again (and I realize I go on and on about this), the team with the better athletes (provided the coach isn't a total tool and the players can translate their athletic ability into football skill) is going to win an overwhelming majority of the games in situations like this one.

PS--Lynch is a tough kid, but there comes a time when toughness becomes stupidity. Matt Millen (who certainly doesn't have a Phi Beta Kappa key) pointed out a couple of times where Lynch just played stupid football.

PPS--Mason had a number of guys on the staff over the years who have moved up impressively (thinking Joker Phillips and now Carey plus a few other coordinator-level guys). Too bad he wasn't given the budget to keep them around. We talk a lot about Brewster's turnover of assistants and while it wasn't as dramatic during the Mason years, we did lose a lot of up-and-coming assistants to other programs during Mason's tenure.
 

Obviously they didn't match up well, but shoot, you could have said that about plenty of games between major conference teams over the years. I mean, most thought the B1G didn't belong on the same field as USC during their little run there in those Rose Bowl games, and they proved it by getting worked over. Bad matchups happen all the time in these games, just because it's NIU doesn't mean they should get clowned on more than any other over matched opponent.
 

In fairness to the B1G this year....very few of our teams were 'supposed' to be there. We were all slotted up 2 spots thanks to osu and psu. By all rights, we should have been in detroit playing central michigan or something

Big Ten teams have lost to: Stanford, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State
MAC Teams have last to: Utah State, Central Florida, San Jose State, and Florida State
Think it is pretty clear which conference has faced tougher opponents and as mentioned nearly everyone in the Big Ten is up 2 spots from where they should be playing from an opponent standpoint.

Big Ten Wins: Mississippi State, TCU
MAC Wins: Western Kentucky, La Monroe
 

Obviously they didn't match up well, but shoot, you could have said that about plenty of games between major conference teams over the years. I mean, most thought the B1G didn't belong on the same field as USC during their little run there in those Rose Bowl games, and they proved it by getting worked over. Bad matchups happen all the time in these games, just because it's NIU doesn't mean they should get clowned on more than any other over matched opponent.

I will say the one main difference between those examples and this one is that Michigan, Illinois, and Penn St. had all proven they could play with good teams. NIU hadn't played anyone. Their top win was over Kent. St., who got blown out by Kentucky.

What was the most ridiculous to me was that they were ranked #15. No way were they a top 20 team. Again, not their fault, just a faulty system.
 


They did as well as a couple of the B1G schools that WERE "supposed" to be there...

They lost by 3 TDs going away, and required a fake punt and onside kick to stay in it. Wisky was the only other B1G in a BCS game and, despite also getting in on a technicality, their 5 loss unranked team took #6 Stanford right down to the wire. NIU and FSU were about evenly ranked coming in.

NIU had some good DL play and their quick RB seems to have top level speed to get good gains even against FSU. However, that was about it. Lynch did not at all resemble a Heisman finalist against a non-MAC defense. Maybe they should have been matched up against Louisville.
 

Cant wait for the gophers to make a major bowl game because that atmosphere was AWESOME. Northern was hanging around until the pick after the onside kick. Had to get points there. The speed differential was a big factor, but NIU switched up their d line from attacking to a more read-and-react style because they couldn't get a rush.
Overall the fans were really not and the 2,500 students that were there were awesome all game.
For those of you. Saying how awful they looked, FSU had a top 5 defense and multiple first rounders, just can't make the drops and turnovers they had if they were going to win.
 

NIU besides the fake punt and onside kick were able to stay in the game by some questionable play calling from FSU. A number of times in 3rd and short situations FSU went with deep throws instead of running the ball when they averaged 6 yards a carry.
 

After not enough sleep on NY Eve, I fell asleep at halftime. It was a true David and Golliath type of game though, and I would have loved to see NIU win that game. Watching NIU try to run against FSU reminded me of the Gophers trying to run against Nebraska or MSU this year. NIU's defense was better than I thought, and I was impressed by FSU's qb's throwing for the most part. He has good size and could be a good NFL Qb.
 




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