Let's try this again (read the bold part slower this time so you can grasp it):

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I'm in favor of folding the basketball program all together. They are horrendous.

The last time NIU made the tournament, I went to the game in Richmond, Va. They lost to Texas Tech (well before the Knight-era). I was still an undergrad at the time. And I'm old.

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In what universe has "highest ranked" ever meant "best?" Are you new to this whole college football thing?

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Fire Phil Emery

I guess this universe since it's the only one we know. You are nothing if not predictable. And desperate when making bad arguments.

99% of all college football fans look at the rankings, in part, to judge teams from from week to week. Would you like a definition of "rankings" when used in this case? The other two teams won't even show up in the rankings at all. The rest of the country is ranking them as one of the top 25 teams in the nation, but you're gonna tell me you know better than everyone else? Yeah, I guess that makes me the one that is "new to this whole college football thing".

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This is one of the most asinine arguments I've been in on this board, and that's really saying something. The rankings don't follow anything but wins and losses and what has recently happened. None of these people have been watching NIU. They don't give two shits about NIU. They know they've won a bunch of games in a row, so they move up. BFD. Even among the people doing the ranking, if you asked them "who would win a game between NIU and Florida (not ranked this week)" probably every single one would say Florida. You know why? Because they aren't drooling imbeciles.

I'm going to keep repeating this over and over again. NIU LOST TO ILLINOIS. NIU LOST TO ILLINOIS. NIU LOST TO ILLINOIS. NIU LOST TO ILLINOIS. NIU LOST TO ILLINOIS. NIU LOST TO ILLINOIS. No amount of wins over Akron and Eastern Michigan changes that, even if clueless media writers look at the schedule and say "gosh, that NIU team really has something going there!" Hint: no, they don't.

Enjoy Detrot. NIU lost to Illinois.

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Fire Phil Emery

I'll keep asking this, because I never get an answer - how long is that single win "valid" as your sole indicator of who is better? Because that's all you keep going back to. You never mention who is playing better between the two, who is winning games they should, losing games they shouldn't etc........

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Enjoy the drubbing by a mediocre mid-major in central California next week too.

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Short answer: this season.

Long answer: the MAC sucks. The MAC sucks a lot. There are I-AA divisions that are tougher than the MAC, and I'm not being a smartass. NIU's wins over MAC opponents do not impress me at all. The two next best teams are Toledo (lost 41-2 at home to soon-to-be-unranked Arizona) and Miami of Ohio. The conference is awful.

This season's NIU team is better than the 2008 and 2009 versions of Illinois. They are not better than this year's version. The loss against them is one piece of evidence. Illinois also beat PSU and three other Big Ten teams.

It sucks that NIU hasn't had a chance to face anyone, but that's how it goes. This isn't even a mid-major "who did they play" argument. The WAC and MWC are miles in front of the MAC. The MAC is just dreadful. I have no doubt that seven teams in the Big Ten would go 8-0. Eight, if Persa was around.

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Fire Phil Emery

I'm pretty sure you don't mean this. Unless the actual "long answer" is: Unless IB doesn't think it applies.

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Uh, no. Every season is different.

Hell, if you like, quote this next season. I'd like to think that I'm quite consistent in my claims. If not, well, the writing is always there (that's why I think deleting posts is shitty.)

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Fire Phil Emery

In the last 5 games, Illinois has scored more points than any 5 game stretch in the UofI's history and that's against Big Ten competition.

If Illinois played NIU again tomorrow, they'd score 50 points and NIU would be lucky to get 25.

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My Maserati does 186.

This is hysterical. You're on a rol tonight, IB.

Right now, these teams rank like this, according to Irish Boy:

James Madison > Va. Tech
Boise St. > Va. Tech
Temple > UConn
UCLA >Texas
Colorado > UGA
Mizzou > A&M
Texas > Nebraska

and I saved a couple of fantastic ones for the end:
Kentucky > South Carolina > Alabama

And my single favorite one for this thread:
Toledo > Purdue > Minnesota > Illinois


Remember, there are no other factors in determining who is the best team right now. All of these teams beat the team rated below them this season.

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Fire Phil Emery

Unfortunately, defense is a mandatory part of the game. Remember, a wise man told me a couple of weeks ago that the defense was their strength.

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Everything is their strength if they are playing NIU.

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My Maserati does 186.

The short answer is, all of those teams I listed are better than the team listed after them.

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Fire Phil Emery

Yep. Total domination. They didn't even cover the spread, at home, and you were outraged at the "low spread" to begin with. It should have been much bigger according to you, IIRC.

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A meaningless FG in the final minute cut the winning margin from nine to six. You're really reaching.

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Fire Phil Emery

Again, I asked for the 98th time, how long is a single victory valid? You answered with:

.....and then gave me a long rambling answer about how much the MAC sucked as whole, then threw your "one piece of evidence" at the end. Nice qualifier.

Very few of the results I listed had anything to do with the MAc, except the one that stings you the most.

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Well, except the part that Dr. Ken was appalled by the spread to begin with.

And cutting the score to less than a TD with little time to play, setting up an onside kick possibility, is hardly "meaningless".
Are you new to this whole college football thing? Yes, I'm the desperate one.

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I'm appalled by every Illini spread.

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My Maserati does 186.

Yeah, the one where Toledo beat Illinois by a chain three times removed? That really cut to the quick.

NIU kicked a FG with nineteen seconds left so that they could throw a longer hail mary, into the wind, for a TD. Their entire reason for doing that was to keep the score closer, so that dopes like you could boast about keeping the game within one score to big brother.

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Fire Phil Emery

Yeah, usually too much La Bamba.

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You are smarter than this and this is the most desperate I've seen you outside of a yellow cab.

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The Ok. St. coach kicked a FG to cut the lead to 6 with less than a minute left tonight against OU. What an idiot. He was probably only doing it for bragging rights so that he can say that they lost by less.

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There was almost a full minute left, and it was fourth down.

NIU kicked on third down, with 19 seconds left. That's only enough time to recover an onside kick (which you cannot advance), then throw a hail mary. 60 yards. Directly into the wind.

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Fire Phil Emery

With little tim left, the down doesn't matter. Again, you have to be smarter than this. These two examples cannot be the only times you have seen this, right? I mean, on every level of football. If you need two scores, you take the "automatic" one in the hopes you get a chance at the second one.

You are unreal.

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Once again, the score was meaningless. If they had gone for a TD, they could have recovered, then tried to kick a 78 yard FG into the wind. That wasn't going to happen, plus, they wouldn't be able to get within one score of their archnemesis. So they kicked a FG to try for a physically impossible hail mary.

OSU had almost a full minute if they were able to recover. They wouldn't have to recover, then throw a hail mary. They could run a regular offensive set. NIU could not.

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Fire Phil Emery