Northwestern - aka Pretenders

Northwestern hasn't faced an above average team, but they faced five teams with a pulse and went 5-0. That usually means something. They aren't gonna set the world on fire, but they could win 4 or 5 B10 games to finish 8-4 or 9-3.

The Massey College Football Ranking Comparison of 77 (at the moment) computer rankings has them #27.

College Football Ranking Comparison
 
So I just want to make sure I'm getting this right. Regardless of who we've beat this year it's meant nothing because of who our competition was. But when Northwestern is 5-0 playing bottom feeders from BCS conferences people are called out for thinking they're pretenders. Makes a great deal of sense to me. Then again they did beat Indiana so I guess that validates things.
 
WinOneThisCentury said:
The 5-0 is much less impressive when you look at the records of who they have played...6-14 or something like that. We will see how they do when they get to some decent competition. Penn State at home will be a test, but everyone knows this Penn State team isn't what it used to be either.

I think they fold like a cheap suit.
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<<I think they fold like a cheap suit>>

If they win at PSU, all bets are off on that call.
 
hawkdrummer1 said:
Lemme help ya out with something OP. When your team is 3-2, and has lost to ISU and CMU... calling a 5-0 team "pretenders" is a bit foolish.
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Nah, we know we're not good and our record shows that... their record indicates they're good, but they're probably not. That's the pretending part. You can only pretend if your record is deceptive of your true quality.
 
Ok, I'll bite. I'm calling out the team that was a couple of plays from losing to IAA UNI which has lost a number of IAA games. I"ll also call out a team that was 1 play away from losing to a MAC team that underwhelmed such powerhouse teams as KU and Army.

So about 3 plays from being 1-4. Who would that be?
 
How many times now have they pretended against Kirk? Iowa fans should hope they arent pretending. Come to think of it there is a lot of crappy pretenders.
 
HawkPrdatr40 said:
Iowa fan is so funny we are 3-2 and we got beat at home against Central Michigan. Yet Iowa fan feels the need to call out 5-0 team.. Hilarious..
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The way Iowa has played...I'd be calling us out too if we were 5-0 and it's not unrealistic to think we could be. NW got breaks against BC and Syracuse that turned those games.

I didn't realize there was so much love for the Purple of this board...I though okeefe4president would be the only one defending them. We will see how they NW fares this week against a defense that at least has a pulse.
 
OUTofTOWNHAWK said:
They suck theyre only 5-0.....


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Kinda like Minnesota's 4-0. And I remember a school called Illinois who started 6-0 in 2011 and finished 6-6. Like has been stated, let's see what NW does once they actually start playing somebody with a pulse.
 
hawkdrummer1 said:
Lemme help ya out with something OP. When your team is 3-2, and has lost to ISU and CMU... calling a 5-0 team "pretenders" is a bit foolish.
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What does Iowa's record have to do with anything? We can still talk about other teams on this board and whether or not we think they are for real.
 
WinOneThisCentury said:
Thanks for helping me out Hawkdrummer...really appreciate your insight. Never mind that we are a probably a couple of plays from 5-0 and a meltdown from 4-1. How much better would you think we were if we were 5-0? I wouldn't have different opinion on Iowa if we were 5-0, because our offense has been one dimensional and we haven't been consistent in the passing game...wait, strike that, we have sucked in the passing game. I'd say were lucky to be 5-0 and not worthy of any recognition yet. I'm just saying the same thing about NW. None of the teams they have played, outside of BC, have done anything...much like our schedule.

Foolish is a little harsh...if they continue to pile up the wins, I'll say I was wrong, but I believe that's doubtful with their defense.
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No bad blood intended, dude. But regardless of the "what ifs", we're 3-2, they're 5-0. And they've played a schedule at least at tough as ours. Calling out a team that has clearly outplayed you seems a little ...well, I dunno.

How bout we just kick their arse in a few weeks and settle it. ;)
 
hawkdrummer1 said:
No bad blood intended, dude. But regardless of the "what ifs", we're 3-2, they're 5-0. And they've played a schedule at least at tough as ours. Calling out a team that has clearly outplayed you seems a little ...well, I dunno.

How bout we just kick their arse in a few weeks and settle it. ;)
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"They've played a schedule at least as tough as ours"...thanks for supporting the post...and therefore unworthy of the heaping praise that is coming their way. That is the point of my thread and that's all. I didn't bash them...I just said I think they are pretenders right now...based on their defense and the fact that they haven't played anyone who can make them uncomfortable on offense. Let's see how it works out.
 
ILHawk said:
Ok, I'll bite. I'm calling out the team that was a couple of plays from losing to IAA UNI which has lost a number of IAA games. I"ll also call out a team that was 1 play away from losing to a MAC team that underwhelmed such powerhouse teams as KU and Army.

So about 3 plays from being 1-4. Who would that be?
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A couple plays away from losing to UNI is a stretch. If you're playing that game, we are a lot closer to 5-0 than 2-3 (much less 1-4).

Not purchasing your spinny.
 
Let's look at their quest to get to 5-0.

42-41 vs. Syracuse (currently 1-3 last year 5-7)
23-13 vs. Vandy (currently 1-3 last year 6-7)
22-13 vs. B.C. (currently 1-3 last year 4-8)
38-7 vs. South Dakota (currently 1-3 last year 6-5)
44-29 vs. Indiana (currently 2-2 last year 1-11).

Why would anyone call them pretenders (major hint of sarcasm). The fact is they've played no one. Sure they've managed to win all their games, but nothing about this resume is impressive. I'm not saying they aren't a good team, but the fact is they've proven absolutely nothing with those wins. That's why they're pretenders at this point. The only team they've played that's even .500 at this point is Indiana, need I say more.
 
ILHawk said:
Ok, I'll bite. I'm calling out the team that was a couple of plays from losing to IAA UNI which has lost a number of IAA games. I"ll also call out a team that was 1 play away from losing to a MAC team that underwhelmed such powerhouse teams as KU and Army.

So about 3 plays from being 1-4. Who would that be?
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You do realize that the two FCS games they lost were to #1 North Dakota State and #3 Youngstown State. Say what you want about how close you think their game was against Iowa, but don't play it off like UNI has been playing cupcakes. I applaud their scheduling and if you put UNI's talent level into prospective they've probably played one of the toughest schedules in the nation at this point.
 
This whole discussion is irritating. Some people who are arguing with the premise (why it was posted in the first place I don't know) keep bringing up Iowa's record like it matters in relation to the premise in the first place.
 
Oh, and I'm convinced that WinOneThisCentury posts drunk 99% of the time so I don't really see the point in arguing with him anyways.
 
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