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Bowl projections showing up ...

R

rmndcat

Junior
Sep 4, 2009
2,842
266
83
Pinstripe v UVa would be fun. I have Cavalier in-laws.
Cactus might be drivable from here.
I worked for banks in Charlotte for several years. Profoundly meh. Have zero interest in playing Clemson.
 
N

NJCat

All-Conference
Mar 7, 2016
21,956
2,108
113
I'd love to see Braun whup Dabo. Plus it's in my backyard.....
 
S

Sheffielder

Senior
Sep 1, 2004
10,110
934
113
No need to get worked up or be pragmatic about bowl projections, it's all just for fun (and clicks) - good to see the program actually getting predictions; sometimes I will Crtl+F "Northwestern" in those articles and...0 results.
 
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K

kaTNap

Junior
Nov 6, 2005
2,754
384
83
LathamLad said:
I respect those who enjoy speculating, but I prefer not to do so. It's all fantasyland, at least until the Cats become bowl eligible, right?
Click to expand...
Nobody is even hypothetically bowl-eligible for another week or two. It's just for fun, but it's nice to see us get recognition ... and hopefully see us rise in the bowl pecking order.
 
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K

kaTNap

Junior
Nov 6, 2005
2,754
384
83
Post week 5:

CBS says ReliaQuest vs A&M (quite a bump up from last week!)

Athlon says Music City vs Kentucky (think I've heard that song before)

ESPN says either Duke's Mayo vs Duke (vomit!) or Pinstripe vs SMU

CFN is still stuck on Pinstripe vs UVa
 
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R

rmndcat

Junior
Sep 4, 2009
2,842
266
83
kaTNap said:
Nobody is even hypothetically bowl-eligible for another week or two. It's just for fun, but it's nice to see us get recognition ... and hopefully see us rise in the bowl pecking order.
Click to expand...
We have a pretty clear path to bowl eligibility by the time of the Oregon game.
 
P

Purple Pete

Freshman
Sep 22, 2025
101
76
28
kaTNap said:
Post week 5:

CBS says ReliaQuest vs A&M (quite a bump up from last week!)

Athlon says Music City vs Kentucky (think I've heard that song before)
Click to expand...
If I recall corectly, I think the name of that tune was, "We're Going to Try to Eject as Many Players as We Can."
 
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jne381

jne381

Sophomore
Sep 2, 2013
575
106
38
Is it too early to dream about a playoff bid? They have a tough road. Even if they take care of Ball State, Rutgers, Michigan State, Minnesota, and Illinois (which I think they can win all those), they have to host a very good Iowa team, and then OSU and Oregon on the road. To make the playoff, they will need to win those first five, and then take two of the last three. I am not sure a three loss team will make the playoff.

I can't help but think how amazing a home playoff game at NRF would be.
 
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U

UpsetAlert

Junior
May 21, 2018
1,649
245
52
jne381 said:
Is it too early to dream about a playoff bid? They have a tough road. Even if they take care of Ball State, Rutgers, Michigan State, Minnesota, and Illinois (which I think they can win all those), they have to host a very good Iowa team, and then OSU and Oregon on the road. To make the playoff, they will need to win those first five, and then take two of the last three. I am not sure a three loss team will make the playoff.

I can't help but think how amazing a home playoff game at NRF would be.
Click to expand...
Gameday watch vs Iowa?
 
K

kaTNap

Junior
Nov 6, 2005
2,754
384
83
Post week 6 (warning! may induce nausea!):

  • CFN/Fiutak: Duke's Mayo vs. Florida State (I like this one!)
  • CBS Sports: Pinstripe vs. Duke (yuck!)
  • ESPN: Pinstripe vs. Louisville -or- Duke's Mayo vs. Duke (yuck x2!)
  • Athlon: Pinestripe vs. Pitt (like deja vu all over again!)
  • On3/McMurphy: Pinstripe vs. Pitt (is there an echo in here?)
  • USAToday ... think this was done by PJ Fleck's mom's best friend, possibly with help from Clucko the Chicken. They don't list us at all, they have Minnesota going to the ReliaQuest bowl (sure, buddy ... whatever you say!), and they think the Duke's Mayo Bowl is SEC vs ACC, when everyone else agrees it's B1G vs ACC. Sheesh....!
(I tried to put in links for all of these, but the board software just won't tolerate it, sorry. Something is buggy, somwhere ...)
 
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K

kaTNap

Junior
Nov 6, 2005
2,754
384
83
jne381 said:
I am not sure a three loss team will make the playoff.
Click to expand...
Alabama made the playoffs last year with 3 losses, but one of those was in the SECCG ... and they're Alabama. And the argument can be (and was) made that it was a mistake to put them there.
 
TheC

TheC

All-Conference
May 29, 2001
19,411
1,475
62
jne381 said:
Is it too early to dream about a playoff bid? They have a tough road. Even if they take care of Ball State, Rutgers, Michigan State, Minnesota, and Illinois (which I think they can win all those), they have to host a very good Iowa team, and then OSU and Oregon on the road. To make the playoff, they will need to win those first five, and then take two of the last three. I am not sure a three loss team will make the playoff.

I can't help but think how amazing a home playoff game at NRF would be.
Click to expand...
If we win all those games except OSU, I think we are in. That is probably the only way (well.... other than winning all of them).
 
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J

JustGary

Senior
Oct 7, 2025
376
530
93
TheC said:
If we win all those games except OSU, I think we are in. That is probably the only way (well.... other than winning all of them).
Click to expand...
Basically, we can only lose one of our remaining conference games. It doesn’t matter which one as beating Ohio State and losing to anyone else will put us in. Losing two more is a deal breaker. Basically we are competing with UCLA, Oregon, USC, Iowa, and Wisconsin for one or two spots. I’m think Indiana and Ohio State are safe but things can change.
 
F

Fanaticat98

All-Conference
May 29, 2001
9,399
1,013
113
I suspect after this week, even though we won we’re not going to move up in anyone’s projection as they figure we’ve got Iowa, @Oregon and @OSU ahead.
 
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K

kaTNap

Junior
Nov 6, 2005
2,754
384
83
Fanaticat98 said:
I suspect after this week, even though we won we’re not going to move up in anyone’s projection as they figure we’ve got Iowa, @Oregon and @OSU ahead.
Click to expand...
Actually, we bumped up a little in Athlon's view already. It will be interesting to see the other projections when they come out on Tuesday.
 
I

IMC Cat

Freshman
Jun 14, 2020
470
58
23
Two more projections tonight:

Sports Illustrated: Cactus Bowl vs UCF

On3: ReliaQuest Bowl vs Florida

So yeah, that's 4 vastly different bowl projections today.
 
K

kaTNap

Junior
Nov 6, 2005
2,754
384
83
IMC Cat said:
Two more projections tonight:

Sports Illustrated: Cactus Bowl vs UCF

On3: ReliaQuest Bowl vs Florida

So yeah, that's 4 vastly different bowl projections today.
Click to expand...
I wonder if Sports Illustrated and USAToday even pay attention to non-CFP contenders. SI has Penn State in the Duke's Mayo Bowl and us in Cactus. Penn state is 0-4 in conference, with Purdue, @Washington, and Minnesota still on the schedule. They will struggle to make it to 6-6.
 
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Purple Pile Driver

Purple Pile Driver

All-Conference
May 14, 2014
29,163
4,369
113
Fanaticat98 said:
I suspect after this week, even though we won we’re not going to move up in anyone’s projection as they figure we’ve got Iowa, @Oregon and @OSU ahead.
Click to expand...

Fanaticat98 said:
I suspect after this week, even though we won we’re not going to move up in anyone’s projection as they figure we’ve got Iowa, @Oregon and @OSU ahead.
Click to expand...
I don’t think pollsters do or should base their rankings on who remains on the schedule. The results will take care of themselves in the rankings.
 
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D

Deeringfish

All-Conference
Jun 23, 2008
22,119
1,953
63
So all these different outlets, predicting all these different things. I wonder if they just look and see that NU is 5-1 and don't consider the rest of the schedule? It is fun to be in the conversation and getting good press.
 
S

Sheffielder

Senior
Sep 1, 2004
10,110
934
113
IMC Cat said:
Two more projections tonight:

Sports Illustrated: Cactus Bowl vs UCF

On3: ReliaQuest Bowl vs Florida

So yeah, that's 4 vastly different bowl projections today.
Click to expand...
I think a lot depends on whether the person writing thinks we will beat Oregon and Iowa (or not), which then also potentially impacts whether they think B1G gets three playoff bids or just two, which also impacts the pecking order.

But at this early stage it's all just clickbait.
 
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AdamOnFirst

AdamOnFirst

All-Conference
Nov 29, 2021
11,833
3,025
113
Sheffielder said:
I think a lot depends on whether the person writing thinks we will beat Oregon and Iowa (or not), which then also potentially impacts whether they think B1G gets three playoff bids or just two, which also impacts the pecking order.

But at this early stage it's all just clickbait.
Click to expand...
Bowl bid projections have indeed never been more difficult
 
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