CSNbbs

NIU coming in at #3.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball...t-17-years

Whether you call it luck or resilience, probably some of each, it was a crazy year. Consider the close games we pulled out:

Northwestern - We led 10-7 after 3 and went on to win 23-15.

UNLV - After getting tied at 34 in the fourth we got two scores sandwiched around Marlon Moore's crazy endzone interception to win 48-34.

Kent State - While leading 17-14 we got a stop with 2:25 left when Folliard blew up their QB, then Kent missed a 56 yard field goal.

EMU - After trailing 17-14 in the fourth we got defensive stops and scored twice to win 28-17.

Ball State - While leading 28-21 in the fourth Compton got the diving pick and we scored again to win 35-21.

Toledo - While leading by 3 we recover an onside kick with 2:14 left, then go 3 and out and stop the hook and ladder for the 27-24 win.

Ohio - Leading 14-7 in the 4th we stop them on 3rd and 1 and 4th and 1 at our 29. Later we score to go up 21-14 then force and recover a fumble at our 33 for the win.

WMU - In the second quarter we recover a fumble at our 1 where WMU could have gone up 26-7. Just before the half Hare completes a 39 yard pass to DaRon while getting crushed on a blitz. That play leads to a field goal that gets us back to 21-10 at the half. In the 3rd quarter we stop them on 4th and 1 at our 10, then take over the game and win 31-21.

Niu should not have lost to CMU so that cancels out any good luck

I honestly thought we were going to lose to EMU listening on the radio. The WMU I had the same feeling. All the others not the same. Even the NW game i felt we were more in control even with 3 qbs.

Winners Win.

A year ago we were predicting 8 wins, a great year 9 or 10. A young Huskie team over achieved before they were ready.

(02-20-2015 11:39 PM)HuskiePride12 Wrote: [ -> ]I honestly thought we were going to lose to EMU listening on the radio. The WMU I had the same feeling. All the others not the same. Even the NW game i felt we were more in control even with 3 qbs.

Yep, the NU game NIU completely controlled, NU just made it seem closer than it was with that late desperation pass

Stupid article.

"I'd rather be lucky than good."

Lefty Gomez

I wouldn't say NIU had lucky wins -- I would say lucky to have that Record, given how they were. If you were to take that same team, situation, etc -- and roll them through 10 different years of different schedules -- none being notably any easier or harder per se -- that would top the list with an 11-2 regular season record.

It happens. Sometimes an 8-4 level team, what would be a good 8-4 team will be 10-2, and sometimes what should be a 10-2 team ends up 8-4 by the ball not bouncing their way. BUt what made NIU stand out was that you'd expect that from a really good should-be 8-4 level team going 10-2, then 11-2. Instead, it was a "if they hold things together adequately, they'll be 8-4."

How they played against bad teams (UNLV this past year, EMU any year, Kent State almost any year) -- and getting raped by Arkansas so much (and Marshall to cap things off).

But to be fair, they were more like a skitzo team -- you never knew what you were going to get. The NIU vs WMU game was the perfect example of that. NIU first half was the NIU team playing EMU/Kent/UNLV, and the 2nd half was the NIU team beating @NW, stepping up to (an albeit injured) @Toledo team, and stomping a BGSU team. So in some sense it's not some classical "bad team does better" -- it's more like "which NIU version shows up?" -- and with so many "holy sh!t, is this NIU playing or their bad twin brothers?" at too many points in time, they're lucky to have pulled it out to 10-2 regular season.

I would have rather seen them go 11-2 though given all that, though. It at least kept the MAC somewhat on the map, as opposed to going 8-4.

NIU was lucky but they created (at least some of) and took advantage of a lot of that luck. NIU played with incredible disciple and had very little room for error.

I only watch so much college football so I can't speak to how lucky NIU was comparatively, but (other than Arkansas and Marshall) NIU was a pretty lucky (and disciplined) team.

Except for PC, there were no relaxing games last year. Every game was a potential heart attack or stroke. My health insurer cheered when the season ended.

I'm not like Urban Meyer and am arrogant enough to say that I've never experience luck or seen it.

There are things that are definitely luck. See the catch by Seattle in the Super Bowl, winning the lottery (the odds are astronomically terrible) and a few other things.

But when you're consistently "lucky" it's because of opportunity and your ability to prepare met each other. Many successful people say the harder they work the "luckier" they are. To me NIU fits that bill. They're prepared for when opportunity comes knocking and take advantage.

I feel like I'm a little dumber now after having read this "article".

(02-21-2015 09:23 AM)HuskieJWN Wrote: [ -> ]I'm not like Urban Meyer and am arrogant enough to say that I've never experience luck or seen it.

There are things that are definitely luck. See the catch by Seattle in the Super Bowl, winning the lottery (the odds are astronomically terrible) and a few other things.

But when you're consistently "lucky" it's because of opportunity and your ability to prepare met each other. Many successful people say the harder they work the "luckier" they are. To me NIU fits that bill. They're prepared for when opportunity comes knocking and take advantage.

I agree with this and I would add that last year's team had a very strong "will to win" and the confidence to back it up.

Luck does play a part because when you put yourself in tough spots you cannot always count on digging yourself out by asserting your will. One to three plays that could have gone either way determined the outcome of many of our games last year.

The Huskies consistently finished strong in the second half of games last year so strength and conditioning are also part of the equation.

I think Todd has it right on. I wouldn't want to draw that up as a season plan: "Hey let's keep everybody within a score in the 4th and then take over with 7 minutes left." By any logic, NIU should have rolled snake eyes in one of those games they won, blowing their chance at the dominant win in Detroit, and leaving all of us to say, "Well, if you pull this crap every week, sooner or later you'll pay."

That said, the 2010-present run that NIU's on has taught me that good teams make their luck. We pulled the Ball St game out of our ass in 2011. BSU got the roughing call on Harnish when he threw the pick six that would have put the game away. Afterward, somebody mentioned how that team had gotten a crazy amount of breaks. I remarked that it was true, but NIU was owed about a decade straight of lucky breaks to make up for the mountain of s^*tty ones we'd had over the years.

There's something to be said, and definitely intangible (so I wouldn't want to base a season on it) about belief. Right now, NIU believes that they know they're going to win every game. Other teams believe they can win. Now, that edge, built up over years, can disappear in a matter of a few weeks, and eventually will.

It was an amazing thing, though, to see a pretty mediocre Northern team win on guts and balls an not a whole lot else in 2014.

(02-21-2015 10:37 AM)cawoo22 Wrote: [ -> ]I think Todd has it right on. I wouldn't want to draw that up as a season plan: "Hey let's keep everybody within a score in the 4th and then take over with 7 minutes left." By any logic, NIU should have rolled snake eyes in one of those games they won, blowing their chance at the dominant win in Detroit, and leaving all of us to say, "Well, if you pull this crap every week, sooner or later you'll pay."

That said, the 2010-present run that NIU's on has taught me that good teams make their luck. We pulled the Ball St game out of our ass in 2011. BSU got the roughing call on Harnish when he threw the pick six that would have put the game away. Afterward, somebody mentioned how that team had gotten a crazy amount of breaks. I remarked that it was true, but NIU was owed about a decade straight of lucky breaks to make up for the mountain of s^*tty ones we'd had over the years.

There's something to be said, and definitely intangible (so I wouldn't want to base a season on it) about belief. Right now, NIU believes that they know they're going to win every game. Other teams believe they can win. Now, that edge, built up over years, can disappear in a matter of a few weeks, and eventually will.

It was an amazing thing, though, to see a pretty mediocre Northern team win on guts and balls an not a whole lot else in 2014.

I think that most people get mad when you say a team got "lucky" because it's usually heavily implied that that means the team wasn't good too.

All teams need luck. Better teams take advantage of it. To me, you need to be both lucky and good to win consistently.

Definitely a little luck, but I agree with others that it was more that NIU was a very inconsistent team last year, even within games/halves/quarters

But man was it exciting to watch!

(02-21-2015 08:56 AM)Dog Fan Wrote: [ -> ]Except for PC, there were no relaxing games last year. Every game was a potential heart attack or stroke. My health insurer cheered when the season ended.

Mac Championship was pretty relaxing.

(02-21-2015 06:50 PM)niusfactuary Wrote: [ -> ]

(02-21-2015 08:56 AM)Dog Fan Wrote: [ -> ]Except for PC, there were no relaxing games last year. Every game was a potential heart attack or stroke. My health insurer cheered when the season ended.

Mac Championship was pretty relaxing.

I think you could say the second half was.

(02-21-2015 08:56 AM)Dog Fan Wrote: [ -> ]Except for PC, there were no relaxing games last year. Every game was a potential heart attack or stroke. My health insurer cheered when the season ended.

Yep. Best most relaxing game last year ...the MACC. Wished we had made that trip to Detroit.