I realize we have a weak fan base and do not travel like Minnesota or Penn State, but did we get screwed over? We beat both of these teams, I have not seen anyone complain that we got passed over. I am happy we made a bowl game. Clemson would probably beat us in the Hunter Johnson bowl, but I still feel like on paper we should have at least ended up in Phoenix. In the end I am happy for us to get a few more practices in for next year and grateful we are in a bowl game that we should realistically win.
Bowl Game slight
- Thread starter ajr938
- Start date
Bowl games are about two things, ticket sales and TV ratings.
Northwestern drew respectable to good ratings for games against Michigan, USC and Illinois, but the conference did not release ratings for the games on BTN.
The only other game with released viewing numbers was week 1 against Tulane that drew 74,000 viewers on ESPNU. There’s your answer right there.
Minnesota was 7-5, we should have grasped the opportunity in front of us at Illinois or Michigan and we’d have passed them. PSU has never been to the pinstripe and we have.
Not only has Penn State been to the Pinstripe Bowl before, but they are in fact now going to be the first Big Ten team to play in that particular bowl twice.
That said, both Minnesota and NU have played in that bowl more recently than Penn State. And Minnesota's been to Detroit multiple times recently, while NU hasn't since 2003.
Wow. That’s like a rerun of Mantracker or a Bear Grylls cooking show
The only program that should feel the least bit slighted is Illinois, and that is still up for debate.
I've read conflicting reports on whether the Las Vegas Bowl is considered in its own class as a "Tier 2" bowl. There is consensus that Citrus and ReliaQuest (fka Outback) are "Tier 1" bowls and get first dibs. There is also consensus that Music City, Pinstripe, Rate, and Sports are all "Tier 3" games (even though I think every fan base agrees that Detroit is the boobie prize).
If Vegas is in fact Tier 2, then 8-4 Illinois got jobbed out to 7-5 Nebraska.
If we had beaten Illinois, that would have shuffled the deck considerably. But at 6-6, this is squarely on us.
I've read conflicting reports on whether the Las Vegas Bowl is considered in its own class as a "Tier 2" bowl. There is consensus that Citrus and ReliaQuest (fka Outback) are "Tier 1" bowls and get first dibs. There is also consensus that Music City, Pinstripe, Rate, and Sports are all "Tier 3" games (even though I think every fan base agrees that Detroit is the boobie prize).
If Vegas is in fact Tier 2, then 8-4 Illinois got jobbed out to 7-5 Nebraska.
If we had beaten Illinois, that would have shuffled the deck considerably. But at 6-6, this is squarely on us.
Because we did not get passed over, We lost 3 of the last 4. Minn has a better record and PSU had a much stronger finish. We had a very weak hand and there was no reason to give us a better bowl
It's news to me that momentum is the criteria for bowl games. Not sure how Nebraska nabbed the Las Vegas Bowl with Raiola injured if so.
I have no beef with Minnesota being ahead of us when they both won more games overall and in conference. But Penn State was worse in conference and lost to us head to head. If it was purely about comparative deservedness, the Nittany Lions would be in Detroit.
I'm under no illusion that other factors don't matter. The powers that be were never going to send the larger brand/fan base and its money to the lesser option among the lowest tier of bowls. So it's pointless to complain about in a year where we're 6-6 and the stakes aren't that high anyway -- might as well enjoy the bowl game we do have and the opportunity to beat a thoroughly mediocre team decisively (it's not like playing New Mexico in Arizona after the XII opt-outs would be miles different in terms of prestige).
But if we were 9-3 (7-2) and getting sent to Nashville so that an 9-3 (6-3) Penn State team that we beat in their own building could go to Florida for New Year's, we'd be deservedly howling (fun as Nashville can be too).
Again we lost 4 of our last 5. They won their last three including trouncing NEB. They played a tougher schedule than we did having to play the #1 and #2 teams in the country. That is enough but coupled with a much larger fan base and it is a no brainer that they would be picked over us. If we were 9-3 it would mean we had not lost 4 of last 5 and we could have had a gripe, but as it is we cannot.
Just got my ticket to Detroit through NU. Overpaid for sure but it helps the school with its quota so a donation. Not a great donation bust still. Yes the other bowls had advantages etc. but at least Detroit is driveable. WINNING ANY BOWL IS GOOD. Just get one. Not many pre-season projectios had NU at 7 wins so great.
It makes me nervous that everyone here is already counting this as an easy win. I’ve been an NU fan for far too long to feel that way.
Number one fault of NU fandom: letting the past dictate the future. We’re over the playing down to competition days. Onward!
But if Braun loses a bowl game to a MAC team as a two touchdown favorite I will personally bring the pitchforks.
We need to win this game.
Also for OP, I don't care about the slotting because Phoenix also has a G5 team, so there isn't much upside to going there this year versus Detroit.
Might as well go to Detroit when it's a wash and theoretically we have an easier opponent than Minnesota in Phoenix.
Also for OP, I don't care about the slotting because Phoenix also has a G5 team, so there isn't much upside to going there this year versus Detroit.
Might as well go to Detroit when it's a wash and theoretically we have an easier opponent than Minnesota in Phoenix.
If what Braun is saying is accurate (No opt outs and Komo/Hubbard back), there is no excuse to lose. But...NU
We're 6-6. You can't get passed over at 6-6. You can choose to be thankful you were invited, or you can dislike the location, and stay home, I guess.
All told, I'm pretty happy with how things went. Great win; dominant defense, game was never in doubt with how strong our defense was across the board.
There really wasn't a benefit of facing a much better New Mexico team (to Power conference fans, G5 teams are all the same) like Minnesota did in Phoenix that made them go through OT for their win.
We move on with a dominant 6th straight bowl victory. Best possible setup in a low tier bowl is an overmatched opponent.
Love what we heard from Braun (and Rittenberg) that the program isn't satisfied with the offensive output. Exactly what the program needs to be saying.
We have defenses to be able to challenge for 9-10 wins.
There really wasn't a benefit of facing a much better New Mexico team (to Power conference fans, G5 teams are all the same) like Minnesota did in Phoenix that made them go through OT for their win.
We move on with a dominant 6th straight bowl victory. Best possible setup in a low tier bowl is an overmatched opponent.
Love what we heard from Braun (and Rittenberg) that the program isn't satisfied with the offensive output. Exactly what the program needs to be saying.
We have defenses to be able to challenge for 9-10 wins.
I agree. Very happy with the win. If we had played a better team and lost I think it would have really diminished the off season vibe, confidence and recruiting. As it is it was a dominant victory and anyone watching heard the announcers repeatedly say NU played the 35th hardest schedule in college football. Put those two facts together and it points to a good, emerging program.
Respectfully, I think that’s a very optimistic take that’s probably not realistic. A 6-6 team beating up a crappy G5 school in a Detroit bowl isn’t moving the needle and nobody is watching who isn’t a fan of either team already.
And I don’t really get everyone’s fixation with strength of schedule… we are in the Big Ten, one of two major power conferences. You’re playing a 9 game schedule. Most years that’s going to result in a top 40 strength of schedule.
Detroit was arguably a lot better venue for our fans than frigid Yankee Stadium was today for Penn State and Clemson. Few will remember who the Cats beat, just that they have won six straight bowls just like few acknowledged the tough losses to powerhouse teams that resulted in our heart wrenching nine game bowl losing streak back in the day. MAC is 2-2 in bowls right now. and Toledo lost a close one to a very good Louisville team. To quote the late Randy Walker: There are NO bad bowls!
There are no Bad Bowls. Playing football into Dec and better yet Jan is a good thing. Ford Field is a great venue and driving vs airport mess was a huge plus. Play 13 is a great goal.
Another classic post. I bet there were some real “doozies” in the first quarter of the game thread.
CCat had a good point. A lot of us felt good about this match up but NU has had so many disappointing performances and losses when favored by -10 to12 points including MAC schools. The 1st QTR was a slow start but we won big on turnovers. I loved Fitzgerald but for every good win was a letdown game. This one went well and was a much needed win.
Ah, my Funny Florida Friend, you see it was my caution that I exercised in this thread to temper the abundant enthusiasm here that eliminated the possibility of any jinx, leading to the big win! You're welcome!!Another classic post. I bet there were some real “doozies” in the first quarter of the game thread.
Even in the first quarter it didn’t really feel like NU was in much danger because the defense was so completely dominant. It was just waiting around for CMU to break.Another classic post. I bet there were some real “doozies” in the first quarter of the game thread.
Braun so far has been better than Fitz when it comes to lower level competition.
This post was 100% Truthful, and the results provided Proof. I wanted to highlight it as a result. Well done @Purple Pile Driver .