Northern Illinois Impressive

[mscarn]

I doubt people will be clamoring to see them again given the most recent results.

People didn't clamor last year. Kirk Herbstreit was almost apopletic.

Northern Illinois was the best non BCS team in the Top 16. Thus, they got to play in the Orange Bowl. If do it again, they'll play in the Fiesta Bowl this year. Those are the rules, at least for this year, and they are good.

Naturally, I hope Bowling Green stops Northern Illinois in Detroit. But if we can't, more power to them.

Herbstreit expressed the sentiments of the elitist player-turned analyst sect. The majority of journalists, it seemed to me, celebrated NIU's inclusion and the plucky underdog narrative they got to run with.

They not only failed to capitalize on the opportunity by winning like Boise and Utah, they seemed to confirm the perceptions stoked by Herbstreit and his ilk that they didn't really belong on the same field.

It's a shame because people who've followed the MAC for a long time knew they weren't close to the best team the conference has produced throughout the BCS era yet they were the ones to carry the mantle that, sadly, they weren't prepared to handle.

[MacGuy]

Buffalo was impressive too. Sure Connecticut was in letdown mode, they aren't very good to begin with, and their coach might be fired before the season is over, but a gigantic win over an AAC school is quite noteworthy.

Absolutely Mark. They not only beat UConn but smashed them. To think the AAC gets a bcs bid is criminal.

Only this year.

[Flipper]

NIU never seem to place very highly in the annual first week of February dick swinging contest known as "recruit rankings"...they just seem to consistently win the September through December battles that count...

[kdog27]

FSU was a tough matchup and they weren't going sneak up on a team that underachieved. It's all about the matchup. They could have played with or beaten UF, Wisconsin and KSU in my opinion. Maybe Louisville too.

If you want to blame someone for making the conference look bad then you have to include BG, Kent, Ball State and Toledo too. Couple of those were ass whoopings to far less talented teams.

[mscarn]

FSU was a tough matchup and they weren't going sneak up on a team that underachieved. It's all about the matchup. They could have played with or beaten UF, Wisconsin and KSU in my opinion. Maybe Louisville too.

If you want to blame someone for making the conference look bad then you have to include BG, Kent, Ball State and Toledo too. Couple of those were ass whoopings to far less talented teams.

You can't really be comparing the platform NIU had playing in a BCS bowl to the Potato Bowl, GMAC and others? They had the national spotlight and they squandered the opportunity no matter the could of's, should of's and would of's.

[kdog27]

Yes a collective bowl record of 2-5 makes the conference look like s**t. Especially when 4 of those losses were to teams that aren't that good.

[mscarn]

Yes a collective bowl record of 2-5 makes the conference look like s**t. Especially when 4 of those losses were to teams that aren't that good.

1) The casual football fan isn't tallying up overall conference bowl records. They are watching BCS games like the Orange Bowl where NIU lost and lost big. There is no comparison between the Orange Bowl and the others in terms of perception.

2) You significantly discount the opponents the other MAC teams squared off against. Utah State won 11 games, SJSU won 11, Arkansas State won 10 and UCF won 10. Two of the four (besides NIU) were competitive down to the last drive.

[Beaker]

Yes a collective bowl record of 2-5 makes the conference look like s**t. Especially when 4 of those losses were to teams that aren't that good.

1) The casual football fan isn't tallying up overall conference bowl records. They are watching BCS games like the Orange Bowl where NIU lost and lost big. There is no comparison between the Orange Bowl and the others in terms of perception.

2) You significantly discount the opponents the other MAC teams squared off against. Utah State won 11 games, SJSU won 11, Arkansas State won 10 and UCF won 10. Two of the four (besides NIU) were competitive down to the last drive.

If a casual fan passed judgement on an entire conference solely by looking at one BCS game while completely ignoring the other 6 bowl games and the regular season results, then they are grossly uninformed and their opinions should be ignored.

Whichever way you want to measure it, the MAC did not exactly shine in last years bowl season.

[mscarn]

If a casual fan passed judgement on an entire conference solely by looking at one BCS game while completely ignoring the other 6 bowl games and the regular season results, then they are grossly uninformed and their opinions should be ignored.

That's probably 75-80% of college football fans. Their opinions should be ignored but their potential as converted fans shouldn't. A BG undergrad brainwashed by years of OSU propaganda or a loutish, beer guzzling townie might give the MAC a chance because of their performance in such a high profile game.

On second thought, if that's who we're desperate to convince then screw it. Let them educate themselves on their own.

[kdog27]

The same way you significantly discounted how good FSU was? The truth is NIU winning wouldn't have done crap for the conference, it would have done a hell of a lot for NIU though. Utah, Boise and TCU didn't help the reputation of their conference by winning those games they helped the reputation of themselves.

[hammb]

The same way you significantly discounted how good FSU was? The truth is NIU winning wouldn't have done crap for the conference, it would have done a hell of a lot for NIU though. Utah, Boise and TCU didn't help the reputation of their conference by winning those games they helped the reputation of themselves.

On the surface? Yes. NIU beating FSU would have raised their reputation, but not that of the MAC.

However, when a casual fan looks at the upcoming BG schedule and you see NIU coming to town (I know we don't play them, but hypothetically) they might say, "oh wow that's a big game they beat FSU last year." And sure you may not gain anything in the eyes of the general public/media, but you absolutely may sell more tickets to that game.

Boise & Utah didn't do much to improve the reputations of their conference, I'm sure of that, but I'd be willing to bet they did a helluva lot for their conference mates financially. I'd be shocked if those other teams didn't sell substantially more tickets for their future contests against those more prominent conference members than they had prior to their success.

Hell, Boise coming here was one of our highest attended games in the last 5 years. There is definitely something to be said for the conference teams showing well in showcase games.

[kdog27]

Good points. I just think the overall impact on the conference is minimal. Most people couldn't tell you what conference Boise is in or what conference TCU and Utah were in. I haven't seen any teams from those conferences looked upon any better because of their success. NIU winning wouldn't make anyone think any higher of Akron or EMU. If anything it hurt those conferences in the long run because 2 of them are now in the BCS. Again the individual school benefitted greatly not the conference.

[Schadenfreude]

Herbstreit expressed the sentiments of the elitist player-turned analyst sect. The majority of journalists, it seemed to me, celebrated NIU's inclusion and the plucky underdog narrative they got to run with.

They not only failed to capitalize on the opportunity by winning like Boise and Utah, they seemed to confirm the perceptions stoked by Herbstreit and his ilk that they didn't really belong on the same field.

I disagree. Northern Illinois didn't win, and it didn't come down to a single play or two. Florida State had the better team that night. But it was hardly a rout, and I very much thought Northern Illinois belonged on that field.

The Alabama-Notre Dame bowl game? That was a rout.