(11-23-2014 06:07 PM)DiehardHuskie Wrote:  I love the fact that for the past week and a half, our boys have been hearing how they're gonna get their a**es kicked on Friday.

What's your prediction?

It's only Sunday...

(11-23-2014 10:44 PM)DiehardHuskie Wrote:  It's only Sunday...

Safe prediction - you predict a Huskie loss.

Quote:You're always making excuses before games are even played. We've lost our starting QB and All-MAC quality WR and LB. I guess you could say we'd be favored by 10 if they were all playing.

You didn't lose your starting QB -- Carey was juggling them to find out who would end up being starter, but McIntosh the initial favorite went injured for a bit -- but you didn't lose him -- he was just moved to defense. And McIntosh didn't prove himself to be better than Hare -- if he did, he would be the starter as you didn't lose him to injury.

Franklin is a beast -- but more importantly, we don't have a multi-threat Running Game like you and Toledo. We have Chance, being a senior is okay -- but he's small. He wasn't just trumped by Franklin -- he barely played at all with Franklin in there, and there's a reason for that. We're not deep in several positions -- probably only cornerback/d-back. So when we lose Franklin, it really hurts against Good Competition (not so much against EMU or Miami-OH or something).

If we had Franklin 100%, again, I'd say 8.5pt favorites. Without that Gem, we won't tire out a D which helped us win games this year that rested on his shoulders. Otherwise, it's basically us being favorites because it's home-field. We have more Potential to beat NIU, but NIU plays more sound & mistake-free which balances all that out.

More or less a 50/50 chance, but IMO, a 3 - 3.5 pt favorite for WMU would be the one I'd see as the most accurate spread.

What the hell are you talking about? McIntosh was definitely the starter. That'd be like suggesting Drew Hare isn't the starter right now because Maddie gets rotated in.

Quote:What the hell are you talking about? McIntosh was definitely the starter. That'd be like suggesting Drew Hare isn't the starter right now because Maddie gets rotated in.

You didn't lose him! He was the INITIAL starter. Hare just proved better in Carey's eyes, given more room to prove himself as McIntosh was injured for a bit. But McIntosh is healthy. You could have him play QB right now. He's not a lost starter due to injury at all.

(11-24-2014 12:19 AM)toddjnsn Wrote:  

Quote:You're always making excuses before games are even played. We've lost our starting QB and All-MAC quality WR and LB. I guess you could say we'd be favored by 10 if they were all playing.

You didn't lose your starting QB -- Carey was juggling them to find out who would end up being starter, but McIntosh the initial favorite went injured for a bit -- but you didn't lose him -- he was just moved to defense. And McIntosh didn't prove himself to be better than Hare -- if he did, he would be the starter as you didn't lose him to injury.

Franklin is a beast -- but more importantly, we don't have a multi-threat Running Game like you and Toledo. We have Chance, being a senior is okay -- but he's small. He wasn't just trumped by Franklin -- he barely played at all with Franklin in there, and there's a reason for that. We're not deep in several positions -- probably only cornerback/d-back. So when we lose Franklin, it really hurts against Good Competition (not so much against EMU or Miami-OH or something).

If we had Franklin 100%, again, I'd say 8.5pt favorites. Without that Gem, we won't tire out a D which helped us win games this year that rested on his shoulders. Otherwise, it's basically us being favorites because it's home-field. We have more Potential to beat NIU, but NIU plays more sound & mistake-free which balances all that out.

More or less a 50/50 chance, but IMO, a 3 - 3.5 pt favorite for WMU would be the one I'd see as the most accurate spread.

The point of my post was calling you out for always having preemptive excuses. For CMU it was, if we lose, it will be because Frankilin isn't 100%, because it's a rivalry and because it's at CMU. For the NIU/WMU game, it's because Franklin isn't 100%. In other words, you're saying, if NIU wins, it's because Franklin is hurt. If WMU wins, it's because you're better.

Quote:The point of my post was calling you out for always having preemptive excuses. For CMU it was, if we lose, it will be because Frankilin isn't 100%, because it's a rivalry and because it's at CMU

For the CMU game, it's closer to what you describe but still not it. I put the weight on WMU to lose because I believed Franklin wouldn't play much because of his injury AND CMU wins @CMU when playing WMU. 2 wins since the mid-70s. That's it. In 2000, when we were #26 in the nation, flying high, already locked to win the MAC West -- and then we lost to a PITIFUL CMU team @CMU in the final game.

Why I highly disagree with your label is because I wasn't "if we lose, it's because" -- it's we'll probably lose because of X & Y combo. So? Who doesn't say that a team will likely win or lose because of X & Y against a comparable team?

Quote:In other words, you're saying, if NIU wins, it's because Franklin is hurt.

No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying the spread should Still favor WMU regardless, but be higher if he wasn't, lower since he is. It's at WMU and NIU is re-building/adjusting this year and hasn't shown itself as a powerhouse this year due to that. As an NIU fan pointed out, WMU's an(other) injury away from not being that great and losing to NIU, because WMU's not deep and NIU is pretty deep. I guess he's just as "guilty"? :)

Again, I'm saying WMU should get the point spread in their favor (=expecting WMU to win by chances), regardless. Just a bigger spread IF Franklin were 100%. I think the point spread is too high because they, like others, didn't see/factoring Franklin crawling off the side of the field into the full sidelines in pain and the re-aggravation near the end of it. He's not just a starting RB. He's more than just that to the team's performance. So yes, I would say it's basically Even, hence, WMU with just a home-field advantage and just a bit expected to win. Not a shocker by any means if NIU wins if they bring their A-game.

If Hare muffed up his throwing shoulder some, and NIU was going to play Maddie 90% of the time and Hare 10% of the time instead -- I'd be applying the same kind of logic to adjusting a spread/expectations. Why is that so weird/controversial?

(11-23-2014 07:56 PM)NIUCOF12 Wrote:  NIU hasn't been a Dog in a MAC game since Toledo in 2011, and that's the only time since 2009. We'll see how this goes

I went back and checked on the NIU / Kent State title game in 2012. Kent was ranked higher in the polls so I thought they may have been favored. We had NIU as six point favorites out here, though. It was fun going back and reading about that game. Kind of the last hurrah. The Huskies haven't won a big game since.

(11-23-2014 11:23 PM)huskiebob Wrote:  

(11-23-2014 10:44 PM)DiehardHuskie Wrote:  It's only Sunday...

Safe prediction - you predict a Huskie loss.

It's worked four weeks in a row!

NIU 42
WMU 23

According to Massey's, which is a conglomeration of many different polls, nation wide, NIU is ranked slightly ahead of WMU, yet WMU is favored by seven. Home field is usually worth 3.5, so even if you assume NIU and WMU are equal, 7 points is a little high.

Huskies also tend to play better on the road, so I say take the points.

NIU 28
WMU 21

(11-23-2014 08:17 PM)niubrad00 Wrote:  7 point spread is a joke. But then again a 7 point spread was a joke in Evanston too.

Good point! I remember thinking that before the game, myself.

Funny, the WMU board doesn't even seem to be discussing this game

(11-26-2014 12:04 PM)NIU8484 Wrote:  Funny, the WMU board doesn't even seem to be discussing this game

That's because they all like to come over to our board and talk about it.

They are still apologizing for their bad behavior.

(11-24-2014 12:19 AM)toddjnsn Wrote:  

Quote:You're always making excuses before games are even played. We've lost our starting QB and All-MAC quality WR and LB. I guess you could say we'd be favored by 10 if they were all playing.

You didn't lose your starting QB -- Carey was juggling them to find out who would end up being starter, but McIntosh the initial favorite went injured for a bit -- but you didn't lose him -- he was just moved to defense. And McIntosh didn't prove himself to be better than Hare -- if he did, he would be the starter as you didn't lose him to injury.

Franklin is a beast -- but more importantly, we don't have a multi-threat Running Game like you and Toledo. We have Chance, being a senior is okay -- but he's small. He wasn't just trumped by Franklin -- he barely played at all with Franklin in there, and there's a reason for that. We're not deep in several positions -- probably only cornerback/d-back. So when we lose Franklin, it really hurts against Good Competition (not so much against EMU or Miami-OH or something).

If we had Franklin 100%, again, I'd say 8.5pt favorites. Without that Gem, we won't tire out a D which helped us win games this year that rested on his shoulders. Otherwise, it's basically us being favorites because it's home-field. We have more Potential to beat NIU, but NIU plays more sound & mistake-free which balances all that out.

More or less a 50/50 chance, but IMO, a 3 - 3.5 pt favorite for WMU would be the one I'd see as the most accurate spread.

In all honesty, we didn't lose our QB (Mac), because we never had him. Never had him at 100%. He had been battling a leg injury all off season. It's one of the reasons we had a QB competition. He played the NW game with his left calf wrapped. He was never able to plant his left foot and throw with accuracy. If he were actually healthy, it would be a different story. His leg isn't getting any better. He has one season left if he stays a Huskie. Switching to D is his only opportunity to get on the field at this point. The only playing time he gets is on special teams. I feel bad for the kid.

We also never got our RB back (Akeem Daniels). He's never been 100%, although he looked at about 80-90 last week. We've been without our LB Bass for most of the season as well as Tommy Lee Lewis. If we had TLL healthy, Brown would have an even better stat sheet.

I'm not sorry your RB has a dinged up ankle. Sucks to be you. Every team has injuries. You have a great draft class, plug the next man up in and strap it up. That's why they call it a team game. Toledo had to play their #4 QB and they lost. I guess their team was not as deep as they needed to be to pull out a victory. Who had the better team? On that day it was us. Coulda Woulda Shoulda never wins a game. Strap it up or step to the side, The Huskies are coming to town.

GET EM SHACK

(11-26-2014 12:52 PM)shack66 Wrote:  

(11-24-2014 12:19 AM)toddjnsn Wrote:  

Quote:You're always making excuses before games are even played. We've lost our starting QB and All-MAC quality WR and LB. I guess you could say we'd be favored by 10 if they were all playing.

You didn't lose your starting QB -- Carey was juggling them to find out who would end up being starter, but McIntosh the initial favorite went injured for a bit -- but you didn't lose him -- he was just moved to defense. And McIntosh didn't prove himself to be better than Hare -- if he did, he would be the starter as you didn't lose him to injury.

Franklin is a beast -- but more importantly, we don't have a multi-threat Running Game like you and Toledo. We have Chance, being a senior is okay -- but he's small. He wasn't just trumped by Franklin -- he barely played at all with Franklin in there, and there's a reason for that. We're not deep in several positions -- probably only cornerback/d-back. So when we lose Franklin, it really hurts against Good Competition (not so much against EMU or Miami-OH or something).

If we had Franklin 100%, again, I'd say 8.5pt favorites. Without that Gem, we won't tire out a D which helped us win games this year that rested on his shoulders. Otherwise, it's basically us being favorites because it's home-field. We have more Potential to beat NIU, but NIU plays more sound & mistake-free which balances all that out.

More or less a 50/50 chance, but IMO, a 3 - 3.5 pt favorite for WMU would be the one I'd see as the most accurate spread.

In all honesty, we didn't lose our QB (Mac), because we never had him. Never had him at 100%. He had been battling a leg injury all off season. It's one of the reasons we had a QB competition. He played the NW game with his left calf wrapped. He was never able to plant his left foot and throw with accuracy. If he were actually healthy, it would be a different story. His leg isn't getting any better. He has one season left if he stays a Huskie. Switching to D is his only opportunity to get on the field at this point. The only playing time he gets is on special teams. I feel bad for the kid.

We also never got our RB back (Akeem Daniels). He's never been 100%, although he looked at about 80-90 last week. We've been without our LB Bass for most of the season as well as Tommy Lee Lewis. If we had TLL healthy, Brown would have an even better stat sheet.

I'm not sorry your RB has a dinged up ankle. Sucks to be you. Every team has injuries. You have a great draft class, plug the next man up in and strap it up. That's why they call it a team game. Toledo had to play their #4 QB and they lost. I guess their team was not as deep as they needed to be to pull out a victory. Who had the better team? On that day it was us. Coulda Woulda Shoulda never wins a game. Strap it up or step to the side, The Huskies are coming to town.

Now that's a great post!

Not many WMU fans will be using injuries as an excuse. WMU lost something like 14-15 players to season ending injuries last year, many of whom would have been starters and you didn't see too many of us blaming injuries for our performance last year (we all just blamed it on fleck lol). We'll take banged up any day over what we had to deal with last year.