(02-23-2017 07:54 PM)7 Wrote:  

(02-23-2017 09:21 AM)RedandBlackAttack Wrote:  

(02-23-2017 08:11 AM)Rabid Squirrel Wrote:  

(02-22-2017 11:11 PM)VegasHuskie Wrote:  

(02-22-2017 11:00 AM)Rabid Squirrel Wrote:  Last season really just comes down to the Western Illinois game. Most of us had 4 pretty sure losses penciled in with SF,SDS,WM,Tol. Then 2 toss up games in Wyo and CMU. That's pretty much exactly how it turned out. If they don't screw up that one game against WIU and go 6-6 I think we'd feel better about things. In 2017 I think you pencil in only 3 losses in BC, Neb, and SDS. If Maddie is back I'll have WMU, tol, CMU as toss up games in the west. We should win 1 or 2 of those. So 4 or 5 losses. There obviously can be one other conference loss. So 6-6 is worst case I think.

In hindsight, is the better/tougher OOC scheduling a positive thing going forward? Are the losses worth the money/promotion now that we are not competing for a top 25 spot? If it means going 5-7 instead of 7-5, are we moving forward? Those Army, Kansas, Purdue wins were nice little pats on the back even if they didn't help our SOS. Now we may just be licking our wounds.

Really? NIU fans had the Wyoming game as a toss up game? You should go back and check posts from the start of last season. Most NIU fans had the Huskies hammering Wyoming.

It was also a trap game....crazy far travel, late start, high altitude and the first game of the season in which we had no idea how Hare would perform. I, like many, underestimated how good Wyoming was. Before the season it maybe was not quite a toss up. But it was a game to be uneasy about. After the fact, Wyoming being much better than expected, we'd all call it a toss up game. Whether you want to look at the games before they occurred or after, the same logic applies.

I actually agree with Vegas here. If we have come to a point that we are stating Wyoming is a trap game, that is not good. NIU should have taken Wyoming to the woodshed if they were as good as they should be.

WHAT?! Did you just stop following Wyoming after they beat NIU? They played in the MWC game last year. Beat San Diego St and Boise in Laramie.

I know what they did the rest of the season and they did turn out to be a pretty good team. What I am saying is that I thought we got to the point where NIU was considered a top G5 program and takes care of teams like Wyoming. Obviously the expectations have taken a huge tumble over the past couple seasons though.

(02-24-2017 10:10 AM)RedandBlackAttack Wrote:  

(02-23-2017 07:54 PM)7 Wrote:  

(02-23-2017 09:21 AM)RedandBlackAttack Wrote:  

(02-23-2017 08:11 AM)Rabid Squirrel Wrote:  

(02-22-2017 11:11 PM)VegasHuskie Wrote:  Really? NIU fans had the Wyoming game as a toss up game? You should go back and check posts from the start of last season. Most NIU fans had the Huskies hammering Wyoming.

It was also a trap game....crazy far travel, late start, high altitude and the first game of the season in which we had no idea how Hare would perform. I, like many, underestimated how good Wyoming was. Before the season it maybe was not quite a toss up. But it was a game to be uneasy about. After the fact, Wyoming being much better than expected, we'd all call it a toss up game. Whether you want to look at the games before they occurred or after, the same logic applies.

I actually agree with Vegas here. If we have come to a point that we are stating Wyoming is a trap game, that is not good. NIU should have taken Wyoming to the woodshed if they were as good as they should be.

WHAT?! Did you just stop following Wyoming after they beat NIU? They played in the MWC game last year. Beat San Diego St and Boise in Laramie.

I know what they did the rest of the season and they did turn out to be a pretty good team. What I am saying is that I thought we got to the point where NIU was considered a top G5 program and takes care of teams like Wyoming. Obviously the expectations have taken a huge tumble over the past couple seasons though.

Right, we should no longer expect to beat good teams since we are no longer a good program with Carey at the helm. We should only expect to beat bad teams with losing records and we might also lose to the occasional 1-AA. But as long as the teams we lose to are good then it's acceptable that we lose to them.

What planet are you living on? Take peak NIU teams and playing at Wyoming in the middle of the night would be a toss up.

The Orange Bowl team damn near lost to Army and Kansas!! The 2011 team did lose to Kansas.

The Wyoming loss last year was fine. The two games you should talk about is WIU at home (which they lost because Maddie didn't start) and losing to a bleh CMU team at home. Win those two games and you're 7-5 which is a totally acceptable "down year."

(02-24-2017 03:42 PM)epasnoopy Wrote:  .

Right, we should no longer expect to beat good teams since we are no longer a good program with Carey at the helm. We should only expect to beat bad teams with losing records and we might also lose to the occasional 1-AA. But as long as the teams we lose to are good then it's acceptable that we lose to them.
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That's kind of what average teams do. Lose to good teams. Beat bad teams. Have close games with other average teams. We may be slightly better than average, but tell me what team out there is afraid to play NIU right now? This Is the 2012-13 hangover where fans still have over inflated expectations. The misguided notion that the "program" is elite. It's not. MAC elite, sure. G5 elite. Nope. It's ok to be good as long as you're still trying for great. Right now NIU is only a good team. Good teams still lose. Multiple times. You can hope your team is great, but your expectations should match what you see on the field and sideline.

(02-24-2017 03:45 PM)7 Wrote:  What planet are you living on? Take peak NIU teams and playing at Wyoming in the middle of the night would be a toss up.

The Orange Bowl team damn near lost to Army and Kansas!! The 2011 team did lose to Kansas.

"Playing in the middle of the night"?

LOL...I'll give ya the "altitude" handicap....but... I've got kids that age and they're a heckuva lot sharper at Midnight than 11AM!

Full Disclosure: I stayed up til the end of that train wreck and was worth nothing the following day...

(02-24-2017 06:00 PM)thxjoenovak Wrote:  

(02-24-2017 03:45 PM)7 Wrote:  What planet are you living on? Take peak NIU teams and playing at Wyoming in the middle of the night would be a toss up.

The Orange Bowl team damn near lost to Army and Kansas!! The 2011 team did lose to Kansas.

"Playing in the middle of the night"?

LOL...I'll give ya the "altitude" handicap....but... I've got kids that age and they're a heckuva lot sharper at Midnight than 11AM!

Full Disclaimer: I stayed up til the end of that train wreck and was worth nothing the following day...

Lol. I was traveling on the East coast when this game happened . My wife thought I was a nut for staying up for the first quarter. I didn't make it to bed till 4:30am Eastern. Rough night.

Without looking it up, I recall the last play of the game happening and then looking at the clock where it said 3:35.