Let me begin by stating that our football team didnt belong in a bowl game for sure with our record. But I was really amazed how NIU got handled by BGSU and Utah State. Neither team was ranked all year. NIU was made out to be such a great team and once they played a couple more winning teams they were exposed. Their coach didnt make any halftime adjustments. And lets face it he looks like a tyrant on the sidelines. He came off as a real jerk yesterday. Without Lynch I think this guy is going to really get exposed. There is no doubt in my mind that Lynch put NIU over the top at least four times this year to win games, if not more. I looked at their record and overall NIU was 3 and 2 against winning teams and one of them was an FCS school (Eastern Illinois) Again, this isnt a knock on NIU at all, they beat us fair and square. I just think this goes to show that strength of schedule really should matter more because NIU couldnt beat a couple un ranked winning teams at the end on neutral fields, so they didnt belong after all. I feel bad for their fans because they have some loyal ones for sure!

(12-27-2013 10:51 AM)tampabayrocketfan Wrote:  Let me begin by stating that our football team didnt belong in a bowl game for sure with our record. But I was really amazed how NIU got handled by BGSU and Utah State. Neither team was ranked all year. NIU was made out to be such a great team and once they played a couple more winning teams they were exposed. Their coach didnt make any halftime adjustments. And lets face it he looks like a tyrant on the sidelines. He came off as a real jerk yesterday. Without Lynch I think this guy is going to really get exposed. There is no doubt in my mind that Lynch put NIU over the top at least four times this year to win games, if not more. I looked at their record and overall NIU was 3 and 2 against winning teams and one of them was an FCS school (Eastern Illinois) Again, this isnt a knock on NIU at all, they beat us fair and square. I just think this goes to show that strength of schedule really should matter more because NIU couldnt beat a couple un ranked winning teams at the end on neutral fields, so they didnt belong after all. I feel bad for their fans because they have some loyal ones for sure!

Be honest, the MAC is just very bad.

(12-27-2013 11:00 AM)joeo58 Wrote:  

(12-27-2013 10:51 AM)tampabayrocketfan Wrote:  Let me begin by stating that our football team didnt belong in a bowl game for sure with our record. But I was really amazed how NIU got handled by BGSU and Utah State. Neither team was ranked all year. NIU was made out to be such a great team and once they played a couple more winning teams they were exposed. Their coach didnt make any halftime adjustments. And lets face it he looks like a tyrant on the sidelines. He came off as a real jerk yesterday. Without Lynch I think this guy is going to really get exposed. There is no doubt in my mind that Lynch put NIU over the top at least four times this year to win games, if not more. I looked at their record and overall NIU was 3 and 2 against winning teams and one of them was an FCS school (Eastern Illinois) Again, this isnt a knock on NIU at all, they beat us fair and square. I just think this goes to show that strength of schedule really should matter more because NIU couldnt beat a couple un ranked winning teams at the end on neutral fields, so they didnt belong after all. I feel bad for their fans because they have some loyal ones for sure!

Be honest, the MAC is just very bad.

This year anyhow. Still, it develops it's share of NFL players, has good rivalries and there's something to be said for longevity. Given a choice between changing conferences and improving the one we're in, I think the latter is the more hopeful. If other conferences came knocking for schools, it doesn't appear that UT would be at the top of the MAC. Mid-majors are going to look hard at the Men's basketball program. I like all our coaches but unless women's sports become a media giant, Coach K is the most valuable as far as moving up on the food chain.

I watched NIU in quite a few games and after that performance in the MACC I thought surely their coach must've told his players prior to the game that he was taking a job somewhere else. The way they played the last two games was totally different than prior games and they looked like a team with no coach. I didn't think they were the greatest team but they seemed to be the type that would find a way to win in the end no matter what until the MACC. I don't know what happened but something went way wrong at the end of the season.

(12-28-2013 12:35 AM)Aries_Rocket Wrote:  I watched NIU in quite a few games and after that performance in the MACC I thought surely their coach must've told his players prior to the game that he was taking a job somewhere else. The way they played the last two games was totally different than prior games and they looked like a team with no coach. I didn't think they were the greatest team but they seemed to be the type that would find a way to win in the end no matter what until the MACC. I don't know what happened but something went way wrong at the end of the season.

I think we got outcoached against BGSU. I was worried when they decided to promote Carey instead of doing an official search - we don't know how good he is but next year will show it. It seemed like we were unprepared at the start of almost every game this year.

(12-28-2013 07:55 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(12-28-2013 12:35 AM)Aries_Rocket Wrote:  I watched NIU in quite a few games and after that performance in the MACC I thought surely their coach must've told his players prior to the game that he was taking a job somewhere else. The way they played the last two games was totally different than prior games and they looked like a team with no coach. I didn't think they were the greatest team but they seemed to be the type that would find a way to win in the end no matter what until the MACC. I don't know what happened but something went way wrong at the end of the season.

I think we got outcoached against BGSU. I was worried when they decided to promote Carey instead of doing an official search - we don't know how good he is but next year will show it. It seemed like we were unprepared at the start of almost every game this year.

Well, NIU always is prepared to play UT and always out-coaches UT's staff.

(12-29-2013 11:37 AM)DSV27 Wrote:  

(12-28-2013 07:55 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(12-28-2013 12:35 AM)Aries_Rocket Wrote:  I watched NIU in quite a few games and after that performance in the MACC I thought surely their coach must've told his players prior to the game that he was taking a job somewhere else. The way they played the last two games was totally different than prior games and they looked like a team with no coach. I didn't think they were the greatest team but they seemed to be the type that would find a way to win in the end no matter what until the MACC. I don't know what happened but something went way wrong at the end of the season.

I think we got outcoached against BGSU. I was worried when they decided to promote Carey instead of doing an official search - we don't know how good he is but next year will show it. It seemed like we were unprepared at the start of almost every game this year.

Well, NIU always is prepared to play UT and always out-coaches UT's staff.

For the last 4 or 5 years they have. We had a pretty consistent handle on them before that.