B1G Discussion Thread

[RDU Irish]

ISU always struggles with their FCS games. Even in these last few years where they have been good.

They'll be ready for Iowa.

Extra juice in this one with Big12 struggling to keep the lights on, IMO. A lot of the same local vibes you get out of Mich State and Michigan with the little brother treatment. Is ISU auditioning for B1G here?

 

[Dale]

ISU always struggles with their FCS games. Even in these last few years where they have been good.

They'll be ready for Iowa.

Campbell has never beaten Ferentz and scored 3 points in the game twice.

 

[RDU Irish]

Campbell has never beaten Ferentz and scored 3 points in the game twice.

Yikes - I had to look it up, Iowa won the last five and leads the series 45-22. I did not realize it had been that long - especially with Matt Campbell holding just short of deity status in Ames.

 

[ulukinatme]

By the same token, Iowa has consistently beaten ISU in this game.

Iowa State is a better team right now though. The last time they played in 2019 they lost by just 1 point in Iowa. This team is possibly better than that 2019 team, although Iowa may be better too. Should be a great rivalry game.

 

[Irish#1]

Iowa State is a better team right now though. The last time they played in 2019 they lost by just 1 point in Iowa. This team is possibly better than that 2019 team, although Iowa may be better too. Should be a great rivalry game.

The unknown is, how good is Iowa? Are the much better than anticipated or was IU overrated and reverted back to it's norm?

 

[drayer54]

The unknown is, how good is Iowa? Are the much better than anticipated or was IU overrated and reverted back to it's norm?

Sometimes two things are true. I'm betting they get a narrow win over ISU this weekend and even then we will wonder after ISU barely beat UNI.

 

[Dale]

The unknown is, how good is Iowa? Are the much better than anticipated or was IU overrated and reverted back to it's norm?

Iowa crushed teams after starting 0-2 last year. Just no one noticed because they already had two losses and people were checked out on PSU and Wisconsin too. Outscored teams 214 - 83 to end the season 6-2.

 

[Irish#1]

Iowa crushed teams after starting 0-2 last year. Just no one noticed because they already had two losses and people were checked out on PSU and Wisconsin too. Outscored teams 214 - 83 to end the season 6-2.

True. I question it because it's pretty regular that we see teams lay an egg following a decent season. This game should tell us who they are.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Iowa State is a better team right now though. The last time they played in 2019 they lost by just 1 point in Iowa. This team is possibly better than that 2019 team, although Iowa may be better too. Should be a great rivalry game.

So do you think they were sleepwalking against UNI, maybe looking ahead? Perhaps they let the unprecedented preseason hype go to their heads?

I'm not so sure, their track record against Iowa is abysmal and Iowa boat-raced what I thought is a pretty solid Indiana squad last weekend. I'd take Iowa to cover +4.5 all day. Maybe even outright.

 

[pumpdog20]

ISU always struggles with UNI because they have their "super bowl" (inside joke for those that live in iowa) the next week. I've seen this party before, ISU is going to be ready to make it a close game with Iowa.

Iowa's defense hasn't given up 24+ points in the last 23 straight games. ISU supposedly has 3 AA candidates on its offense. I predict ISU by a FG or less.

 

[Irish#1]

So do you think they were sleepwalking against UNI, maybe looking ahead? Perhaps they let the unprecedented preseason hype go to their heads?

I'm not so sure, their track record against Iowa is abysmal and Iowa boat-raced what I thought is a pretty solid Indiana squad last weekend. I'd take Iowa to cover +4.5 all day. Maybe even outright.

I'm not convinced they are solid just yet. I expected a much better game against Iowa which is why I wonder if the final score was a result of Iowa being that good or IU being overrated?

 

[ulukinatme]

ISU always struggles with UNI because they have their "super bowl" (inside joke for those that live in iowa) the next week. I've seen this party before, ISU is going to be ready to make it a close game with Iowa.

Iowa's defense hasn't given up 24+ points in the last 23 straight games. ISU supposedly has 3 AA candidates on its offense. I predict ISU by a FG or less.

They really have become a good team the last few years. A lot of people didn't like the matchup in 2019, but when you look at their body of work and the fact that 3 of their losses that season were a combined 5 points or something...they've definitely gotten respectable. It was impressive that Tommy dismantled that defense in his first attempt at OC.

 

[Rogue219]

I'm not convinced they are solid just yet. I expected a much better game against Iowa which is why I wonder if the final score was a result of Iowa being that good or IU being overrated?

Getting hammered at home vs Purdue may have answered some of these questions.

And Penn State losing Clifford ultimately sealed their fate against Iowa too.

I am starting to think this comes to down to Ohio State being able to stop the run, in particular against Michigan State. Offensively, Ohio State should be fine. If they wind up a one loss Big Ten Champion, it should be enough to get them into the top four so long as nobody in the Big 12 goes unbeaten.

 

[Irish#1]

Getting hammered at home vs Purdue may have answered some of these questions.

And Penn State losing Clifford ultimately sealed their fate against Iowa too.

I am starting to think this comes to down to Ohio State being able to stop the run, in particular against Michigan State. Offensively, Ohio State should be fine. If they wind up a one loss Big Ten Champion, it should be enough to get them into the top four so long as nobody in the Big 12 goes unbeaten.

IU hasn't come close to what was expected of them. They have a chance to redeem themselves this weekend. I expect them to be respectable, but lose to OSU. Every team seems to have an Achilles. Iowa's is Purdue who has beat them 4 out of the last 5 years.

 

[Dale]

I don’t know how it ends given his stature there, but I don’t think Pat Fitzgerald can turn this ship around at Northwestern. They are and have been for two years now abysmal and not even really that particularly well coached, it’s not just a recruiting/talent issue. There’s a chance his entire legacy was misplaced by the media and Hankwitz the DC deserved most of the credit. Just cycling back up because the B1G West stinks won’t be possible when they get rid of divisions. Illinois and Purdue have pulses. Really intriguing how they go forward in the coming years.

 

[GATTACA!]

I don’t know how it ends given his stature there, but I don’t think Pat Fitzgerald can turn this ship around at Northwestern. They are and have been for two years now abysmal and not even really that particularly well coached, it’s not just a recruiting/talent issue. There’s a chance his entire legacy was misplaced by the media and Hankwitz the DC deserved most of the credit. Just cycling back up because the B1G West stinks won’t be possible when they get rid of divisions. Illinois and Purdue have pulses. Really intriguing how they go forward in the coming years.

And some around here seriously mentioned him as a viable option to replace Kelly lol.

 

[ulukinatme]

After Book to Boykin put us up early in the 3rd of the 2018 meeting

 

[Crazy Balki]

I'm all for shitting on Fitz, but I have to say, this season aside, what he's done in 17 seasons at NW is unheard of.

He's had 7 seasons of a winning percentage above .600. So basically 8-5 or better, with 3 10 win seasons.

That may not seem all that impressive, but keep in mind that NW had only 7 seasons with a .600+ win percentage between 1944-2007. That's over 6 decades, where they had only 7 seasons with what would equate to an 8-5 or better season, and Fitz had attained that or better the same number of times 7 times in 13 seasons, compared to 7 times in 64 prior to that.

He's a ND hating dipshit but he's definitely been arguably the most successful coach in NW history.

 

[irishff1014]

Northwestern Releases Renderings for Proposed 35,000-Seat Football Stadium

Northwestern’s Board of Trustees has approved initial plans for a brand new football stadium, which will be privately-financed and will feature a slew of amenities for both fans and the general public, the school said in a statement.

www.nbcchicago.com

Northwestern getting a kick ass stadium.

35,000 though isn't a lot of seats.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Fitzgerald's contract runs through 2026 but that extension came off of his third winning season in five years and was signed in spring 2017. If they were to fire him or he left on his own accord (I don't see that ever happening), it is impossible to say where they would turn to replace him. So many people forget how he stepped in and was promoted when Randy Walker passed away unexpectedly. Time heals all wounds and I think it was long enough ago now that people have forgotten about that. It is a tough call because of how much nostalgia and sentiment he gets for being one of the best former players they've had in recent memory.

The school is so damn landlocked that it's impossible for them to expand but the upgrades they've made with facilities have been remarkable. They are going to have to demolish the stadium as it is and rebuild, so I assume they'll have to play home games at Soldier Field. That's not going to be good for them (or the grass) on many levels. The article didn't mention that.

Easy connect the dots for ND fans who like Fitz. He's from the south Chicago burbs, he has an Irish last name and he has had success at a program with high academic standards. Those all seem like wonderful fits only he has zero interest in coaching at ND and loves Northwestern in a way that few coaches or even former players love their program. Personally, I've been a hard pass on him for ND from the jump, but I doubt there was ever a realistic chance there was anything more than feelers put out, if that, based on what I've heard.

Like Balki said, he's basically Northwestern's best coach ever by leaps and bounds. There is a lot of sentiment involved too.

 

[GATTACA!]

Northwestern Releases Renderings for Proposed 35,000-Seat Football Stadium

Northwestern’s Board of Trustees has approved initial plans for a brand new football stadium, which will be privately-financed and will feature a slew of amenities for both fans and the general public, the school said in a statement.

www.nbcchicago.com

Northwestern getting a kick ass stadium.

35,000 though isn't a lot of seats.

Kinda interesting the drop in capacity. I wonder if that’s a trend we’re going to start seeing across all sports.

 

[Armyirish47]

Kinda interesting the drop in capacity. I wonder if that’s a trend we’re going to start seeing across all sports.

Absolutely, even our boy Lane Kiffin is tired of fighting to get the fans to come inside.

The Grove is The Groovy

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

Kinda interesting the drop in capacity. I wonder if that’s a trend we’re going to start seeing across all sports.

MLB has been doing it ever since Camden Yards debuted in the mid-90s. Since then the new generation of stadiums got smaller even as attendance increased leaguewide.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Kinda interesting the drop in capacity. I wonder if that’s a trend we’re going to start seeing across all sports.

School officials say the reduction in size was deliberate, so that fans could sit closer to the field and so that congestion, light and noise pollution would be reduced in the area around the stadium.

What the school is saying is all well and good, but if you've been there before and you look at these drawings, it's hard to imagine that they really had any choihce in the matter. It probably has more to do with them being landlocked than anything else.

Fans being on top of the field serves programs like Oregon and Utah well. The noise is very intense. I don't know that Northwestern can replicate that kind of atmosphere. I was there in 2013 when they played Ohio State and it was mostly Buckeye fans. When ND played there a few years back it was mostly ND fans. The big schools who travel there are going to travel well and get big portions of the tickets.

 

[Irish du Nord]

Fitzgerald's contract runs through 2026 but that extension came off of his third winning season in five years and was signed in spring 2017. If they were to fire him or he left on his own accord (I don't see that ever happening), it is impossible to say where they would turn to replace him. So many people forget how he stepped in and was promoted when Randy Walker passed away unexpectedly. Time heals all wounds and I think it was long enough ago now that people have forgotten about that. It is a tough call because of how much nostalgia and sentiment he gets for being one of the best former players they've had in recent memory.

The school is so damn landlocked that it's impossible for them to expand but the upgrades they've made with facilities have been remarkable. They are going to have to demolish the stadium as it is and rebuild, so I assume they'll have to play home games at Soldier Field. That's not going to be good for them (or the grass) on many levels. The article didn't mention that.

Easy connect the dots for ND fans who like Fitz. He's from the south Chicago burbs, he has an Irish last name and he has had success at a program with high academic standards. Those all seem like wonderful fits only he has zero interest in coaching at ND and loves Northwestern in a way that few coaches or even former players love their program. Personally, I've been a hard pass on him for ND from the jump, but I doubt there was ever a realistic chance there was anything more than feelers put out, if that, based on what I've heard.

Like Balki said, he's basically Northwestern's best coach ever by leaps and bounds. There is a lot of sentiment involved too.

Fitzgerald to ND? What makes us think Golden would step away from linebacker coaching? Italics?

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

What the school is saying is all well and good, but if you've been there before and you look at these drawings, it's hard to imagine that they really had any choihce in the matter. It probably has more to do with them being landlocked than anything else.

Fans being on top of the field serves programs like Oregon and Utah well. The noise is very intense. I don't know that Northwestern can replicate that kind of atmosphere. I was there in 2013 when they played Ohio State and it was mostly Buckeye fans. When ND played there a few years back it was mostly ND fans. The big schools who travel there are going to travel well and get big portions of the tickets.

I suppose since Northwestern controls most of the tickets that the fan reduction will mostly affect visitors. So maybe when Ohio State comes to town the crowd is only 50% Buckeye fans instead of 65% or something.

 

[Irish Heaven72]

Extra juice in this one with Big12 struggling to keep the lights on, IMO. A lot of the same local vibes you get out of Mich State and Michigan with the little brother treatment. Is ISU auditioning for B1G here?

No chance. The B1G's strategy - and it should be obvious - is putting a stranglehold on the big TV markets and the TV sets that the school can bring in. The quality of a program does factor in somewhat but it's mostly about TV sets. NY City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philly and on and on.....

 

[Irish du Nord]

No chance. The B1G's strategy - and it should be obvious - is putting a stranglehold on the big TV markets and the TV sets that the school can bring in. The quality of a program does factor in somewhat but it's mostly about TV sets. NY City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philly and on and on.....

B1G strategy: hold TV broadcasts hostage with slow “physical” teams, find an Alto Play by Play guy to scream about something every game, have the one team with talented playmakers beat the tires off the rest of the conference, PROFIT.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

Illinois RB Chase Brown leads college football in rushing thanks to refined skill set

"It was always a goal of mine to be a 1,000-yard rusher," Brown said, "but once I achieved that, I just wanted to do more.”

www.pff.com

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

EXTRA POINTS INVESTIGATES: What is every FBS team's record immediately after a Taylor Swift release?

I did a lot of counting.

www.extrapointsmb.com

Purdue has never won.

Ohio State has never lost.