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I think people's biggest knock on NIU is their schedule. They lost to a 4-8 Iowa team and did not exactly have a smooth win over a 1-11 Kansas team at home.
Boise State has been the best non-AQ team since 2006 and they have done a good job of scheduling tough non-conference games and winning them. Back to back years making cross country trips to play essentially road games against Georgia and V Tech. They beat Oregon in back to back years. The first year Oregon won 9 games and the second year 10 and also won the Pac 10 that season.
Like I said before: there are plenty of teams who lost games to similarly qualified opponents.
Quote:
Originally Posted by e_coli
NIU just doesn't belong...sorry. They could end up making FSU compete a little if the Noles don't prepare for this game, but they're not Boise State.
See, it's people like you who just don't like a team for whatever reason and because people are fickle, a mob mentality forms and opinion becomes "fact".
People complained about Boise State this exact same way. People also complained about Hawai'i this exact same way.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Toxic Toast
Florida State beat ONE ranked team this year. Same as Northern Illinois. Louisville did not beat any ranked teams.
Florida State beat TWO teams with a winning record. Louisville beat three teams with a winning record. Northern Illinois beat THREE (four if you count FCS Tennessee-Martin, which I don't count).
People point to Northern Illinois losing to a 4-8 Iowa team; Louisville lost to a 5-7 UConn team that lost to Western Michigan.
In 2011, West Virginia won its way into a BCS bowl, despite having been drilled by LSU and a 5-7 Syracuse team.
The 2010 UConn Huskies played in the Fiesta Bowl despite playing ZERO ranked teams.
All this talk of Northern Illinois' schedule is sour grapes.
They also beat Toledo who was also ranked at one point.
Florida State beat ONE ranked team this year. Same as Northern Illinois. Louisville did not beat any ranked teams.
Florida State beat TWO teams with a winning record. Louisville beat three teams with a winning record. Northern Illinois beat THREE (four if you count FCS Tennessee-Martin, which I don't count).
People point to Northern Illinois losing to a 4-8 Iowa team; Louisville lost to a 5-7 UConn team that lost to Western Michigan.
In 2011, West Virginia won its way into a BCS bowl, despite having been drilled by LSU and a 5-7 Syracuse team.
The 2010 UConn Huskies played in the Fiesta Bowl despite playing ZERO ranked teams.
All this talk of Northern Illinois' schedule is sour grapes.
All that is great except one fact that you didn't mention. FSU's SOS is around 50 spots higher than NIU schedule. You know FSU played two cupcakes in non-conference... In other words NIU schedule was really THAT bad.
As for Kent St... When you lose to Kentucky by 33, it says to the nation that this team isn't what their record shows.
All that is great except one fact that you didn't mention. FSU's SOS is around 50 spots higher than NIU schedule. You know FSU played two cupcakes in non-conference... In other words NIU schedule was really THAT bad.
As for Kent St... When you lose to Kentucky by 33, it says to the nation that this team isn't what their record shows.
So beating Ohio, Rutgers, Bowling Green, Ball State, and losing to Northern Illinois in overtime counts for nothing because of one lose.
Florida State beat ONE ranked team this year. Same as Northern Illinois. Louisville did not beat any ranked teams.
Florida State beat TWO teams with a winning record. Louisville beat three teams with a winning record. Northern Illinois beat THREE (four if you count FCS Tennessee-Martin, which I don't count).
People point to Northern Illinois losing to a 4-8 Iowa team; Louisville lost to a 5-7 UConn team that lost to Western Michigan.
In 2011, West Virginia won its way into a BCS bowl, despite having been drilled by LSU and a 5-7 Syracuse team.
The 2010 UConn Huskies played in the Fiesta Bowl despite playing ZERO ranked teams.
All this talk of Northern Illinois' schedule is sour grapes.
I think the real issue here is that NIU has hardly any track record that gives us a compelling case for their consideration. If the counterargument is that FSU isn't necessarily the strongest team that could be in the BCS system, I'd agree with that, but that's not really going to resolve the problem of having a very suspect NIU team in there. Thus, we're left with a bowl featuring a suspect conference champion (FSU) against an even more suspect conference champ in NIU.
I think the real issue here is that NIU has hardly any track record that gives us a compelling case for their consideration. If the counterargument is that FSU isn't necessarily the strongest team that could be in the BCS system, I'd agree with that, but that's not really going to resolve the problem of having a very suspect NIU team in there. Thus, we're left with a bowl featuring a suspect conference champion (FSU) against an even more suspect conference champ in NIU.
Northern Illinois has had one of the best records over the past few seasons. It's not Northern's fault that people haven't done their research or followed them.
96-55 or a .636 winning percentage since 2001. They have been to the MAC championship three straight years and won it the past two. This is their third straight bowl game and third straight year with at least ten wins. Since 2010 they have lost 2 coaches to BCS schools.
None of this happens by accident.
104-52 or a .667 winning percentage for Florida State during the same time including the 12 vacated wins so otherwise it would be 92-52 or a .638 winning percentage. During that time they only had three 10 wins seasons and two in a row although their lows were higher, their highs were lower than Northern's.
Northern Illinois has had one of the best records over the past few seasons. It's not Northern's fault that people haven't done their research or followed them.
96-55 or a .636 winning percentage since 2001. They have been to the MAC championship three straight years and won it the past two. This is their third straight bowl game and third straight year with at least ten wins. Since 2010 they have lost 2 coaches to BCS schools.
None of this happens by accident.
104-52 or a .667 winning percentage for Florida State during the same time including the 12 vacated wins so otherwise it would be 92-52 or a .638 winning percentage. During that time they only had three 10 wins seasons and two in a row although their lows were higher, their highs were lower than Northern's.
I wish NIU weren't playing FSU, because I'm not convinced that FSU's all that either. I wish they'd take on Florida or Georgia.
Back to the point, they've played several "Big" 10 schools over the past three seasons and lost to every single one of them except for...Minnesota. So yeah they go 11-2 or 12-1 but every time they get a taste of a team from a real conference, they lose. And in the case of the Big, we're talking about a conference that is much less competitive this year than it has been historically. Sheesh, they even took on Big 12's worst team - Kansas - and lost 45-42 in 2011. Just like they lost to a very weak Iowa team earlier this year. Face it, they're not that good. They're not Boise State. They can't hang with the big boys.
I wish NIU weren't playing FSU, because I'm not convinced that FSU's all that either. I wish they'd take on Florida or Georgia.
Back to the point, they've played several "Big" 10 schools over the past three seasons and lost to every single one of them except for...Minnesota. So yeah they go 11-2 or 12-1 but every time they get a taste of a team from a real conference, they lose. And in the case of the Big, we're talking about a conference that is much less competitive this year than it has been historically. Sheesh, they even took on Big 12's worst team - Kansas - and lost 45-42 in 2011. Just like they lost to a very weak Iowa team earlier this year. Face it, they're not that good. They're not Boise State. They can't hang with the big boys.
Why are you so hung up on Boise State?
Also, good teams have bad days and bad teams have good days. Sometimes they fall on the same day.
Uh, maybe because Boise State's actually a good team, and not just an average team with a good record compiled on the backs of inferior competition.
But this is exactly the kind of talk that Boise State got a few years back.
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