Week 4 polls

Dan · Sep 16, 2012, 10:04 AM

AP Poll-

16. Ohio State
18. Michigan
21. Michigan State
25. Nebraska

http://collegefootball.ap.org/poll

USNIlliniFan · Sep 16, 2012, 10:11 AM

Like I said in another thread yesterday, the cream is quickly rising to the top. I seriously believe by years end, the B1G will have only two (maybe three) in the AP top 25.

Dan · Sep 16, 2012, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Cats don't crack ap top 25 despite being only 3-0 team vs bcs schools. So much for rewarding good sched. Cats "28th". Chip meet shoulder

http://twitter.com/LakeThePosts

Illini2016 · Sep 16, 2012, 11:51 AM

Nice to see Notre Dame up there (they're my 2nd team). I know many of you don't like them, but at least admit that the more schools in there to dilute the SEC influence, the better.

Illini125 · Sep 16, 2012, 12:11 PM

I realize that beating 3 BCS is schools is an accomplishment, but if you had to pick 3 BCS schools to beat I assume Syracuse, Boston College, and Vanderbilt would be among the teams to pick.

Just another reason that polls this early in the season are kind of pointless.

Groundhogday · Sep 16, 2012, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Illini125

I realize that beating 3 BCS is schools is an accomplishment, but if you had to pick 3 BCS schools to beat I assume Syracuse, Boston College, and Vanderbilt would be among the teams to pick.

Just another reason that polls this early in the season are kind of pointless.

Syracuse has two losses, to USC and Northwestern, so it is too early to say they are a bad team. BC lost a close game to Miami (FL), so probably not a terrible team. Vandy is coming off a bowl game and had a very close loss to #9 South Carolina in their opener.

Remember, a sub-500 Syracuse team beat a very good MAC team last year (Toledo, granted with some help from the refs). In general, BCS conference teams have more talent and depth than MAC and FCS teams. So yes, Northwestern has played a tougher schedule than Illinois.

Groundhogday · Sep 16, 2012, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by USNIlliniFan

Like I said in another thread yesterday, the cream is quickly rising to the top. I seriously believe by years end, the B1G will have only two (maybe three) in the AP top 25.

Agree. This is going to be a very down year for the B1G.

RyanK · Sep 16, 2012, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Groundhogday

Agree. This is going to be a very down year for the B1G.

Wisconsin looks like they'll struggle to a 7 win season at best, same goes for Iowa. Ohio State and Michigan will remain ranked because of national hype. Not sure what to make of MSU right now

Groundhogday · Sep 16, 2012, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyanK

Wisconsin looks like they'll struggle to a 7 win season at best, same goes for Iowa. Ohio State and Michigan will remain ranked because of national hype. Not sure what to make of MSU right now

As we learned last night, if you can stop the MSU run they have trouble throwing it. I still think they will be pretty good, just based upon that run game and defense. But three traditional powers are really struggling: UW, Iowa and PSU. UW was hurt more than everyone realized with the loss of so many assistant coaches. Iowa has been struggling to recruit at a high level for some time. I wonder if the natives are going to get restless with Ferentz.

mattcoldagelli · Sep 16, 2012, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Groundhogday

BC lost a close game to Miami (FL)

Miami is atrocious. I would say BC's loss to them is confirmation that they are a bad team.

Wokker · Sep 16, 2012, 01:04 PM

Holy crap, the only ranked team in the Leaders Division of the B1G is ineligible Ohio State.

Wisconsin looked like crap again last night and should've lost. I don't want to jump the gun, but a mediocre to good Illinois team could easily contend to go to the B1G title game this year.

AHSIllini32 · Sep 16, 2012, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Groundhogday

Syracuse has two losses, to USC and Northwestern, so it is too early to say they are a bad team. BC lost a close game to Miami (FL), so probably not a terrible team. Vandy is coming off a bowl game and had a very close loss to #9 South Carolina in their opener.

Remember, a sub-500 Syracuse team beat a very good MAC team last year (Toledo, granted with some help from the refs). In general, BCS conference teams have more talent and depth than MAC and FCS teams. So yes, Northwestern has played a tougher schedule than Illinois.

I'm not sure anyone's tried to say that Illinois' played a tougher schedule than NW. But that doesn't change the fact that their only decent win was over Vandy.

Groundhogday · Sep 16, 2012, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AHSIllini32

I'm not sure anyone's tried to say that Illinois' played a tougher schedule than NW. But that doesn't change the fact that their only decent win was over Vandy.

It is hard to beat three BCS conference opponents in a row, regardless of whether they are good BCS teams. This is why you see Purdue beating Ohio State last year, Minnesota upsetting Illinois, etc... Compared to FCS or mid-major teams, BCS conference teams have more talent and depth. Given that most teams have played at least one complete cupcake at this point, it is fair to say Northwestern has played a tougher schedule than most teams.

Should they be in the top-25? No. In my mind, they need a more impressive win (they had close wins in all three games). But I do think they are better than Illinois right now.

Illini2016 · Sep 16, 2012, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wokker

Holy crap, the only ranked team in the Leaders Division of the B1G is ineligible Ohio State.

Wisconsin looked like crap again last night and should've lost. I don't want to jump the gun, but a mediocre to good Illinois team could easily contend to go to the B1G title game this year.

I would rather that not happen. I don't want to be that team that gets to the championship because the division sucks, and then gets obliterated in the championship. I would much rather a good Illinois team get to the B1G Championship.

mattcoldagelli · Sep 16, 2012, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Illini2016

I would rather that not happen. I don't want to be that team that gets to the championship because the division sucks, and then gets obliterated in the championship. I would much rather a good Illinois team get to the B1G Championship.

I will go on record as accepting any and all trips to the B1G Championship.

Wokker · Sep 16, 2012, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Illini2016

I would rather that not happen. I don't want to be that team that gets to the championship because the division sucks, and then gets obliterated in the championship. I would much rather a good Illinois team get to the B1G Championship.

Agreed. Hopefully the O comes to life and the D tightens up over the next nine weeks and they legitimately earn it.

still............making a trip to Indy to see Illinois in the Championship would be pretty awesome regardless of how they got there

Wokker · Sep 16, 2012, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattcoldagelli

I will go on record as accepting any and all trips to the B1G Championship.

+1. The division isn't going to be this ripe for the picking for Illinois again for probably a long, long time once Ohio State becomes eligible again and Wisconsin rebounds.

IlliniX · Sep 16, 2012, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattcoldagelli

Miami is atrocious. I would say BC's loss to them is confirmation that they are a bad team.

yes. What KState did to Miami confirms that they are not back and not even below average

Juice · Sep 16, 2012, 01:51 PM

The question is. Would you feel like we don't deserve a chance in the B1G chip if we went 7-5 or 8-4? 7-5 I would feel we didn't deserve it, but 8-4 I would take.

Wokker · Sep 16, 2012, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juice

The question is. Would you feel like we don't deserve a chance in the B1G chip if we went 7-5 or 8-4? 7-5 I would feel we didn't deserve it, but 8-4 I would take.

I would agree with that logic. 7-5 meant that we probably tied within the division with Wisconsin but beat them head-to-head.

Counter-point: If we go 7-5 with the top position in the Leader Division, that means every other team did worse(except possibly Ohio State and Penn St). Therefore, if Illinois doesn't deserve to go, then who does? Maybe none of the four eligible teams this year are great by any means, but someone has to go to Indy, I'd rather it be us.

Ron Zooks Barber · Sep 16, 2012, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juice

The question is. Would you feel like we don't deserve a chance in the B1G chip if we went 7-5 or 8-4? 7-5 I would feel we didn't deserve it, but 8-4 I would take.

IF IL won this division when two teams were ineligible to win, it would be payback for the year that OSU cheated. If they were not cheating, they may not have been in the championship, may not have won at all. Maybe they GOTTA cheat to win???

Rather than worrying about us not belonging in it recognize that it is our reward for not running a dirty program in one way or another....for doing things right.

Illini2016 · Sep 16, 2012, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattcoldagelli

I will go on record as accepting any and all trips to the B1G Championship.

I would accept it, but I would not feel like we really earned it. I would also worry that going 7-5 and going to the B1G Championship would give people a false idea that we are where we need to be.

Dan · Sep 17, 2012, 12:15 AM

Wisconsin still ranked in the Coaches Poll!

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/colle...l/coaches-poll

FeelYourPaign · Sep 17, 2012, 06:49 AM

It is fun to dream of going to the Championship Game, but even in the dreams it seems to require that we overachieve. I just don't see it, as thin as we are at so many positions and with an offense that looks just bad so far. Maybe a miracle happens and they start to click, but I'm not optimistic about it. Guess I've been down this road too often with people talking about winning the division before we've played a conference game. Sure would be happy to be wrong, but I'm in the friendly skeptics category as of mid-Sept.

Sep 16, 2012, 11:51 AM	#4
Illini2016 Location: Chicago/Champaign Posts: 371	Nice to see Notre Dame up there (they're my 2nd team). I know many of you don't like them, but at least admit that the more schools in there to dilute the SEC influence, the better. __________________ ILLINI BEARS CUBS BULLS BLACKHAWKS Class of 2016

Sep 16, 2012, 10:04 AM	#1
Dan Admin Location: Champaign, IL Posts: 25,908	AP Poll- 16. Ohio State 18. Michigan 21. Michigan State 25. Nebraska http://collegefootball.ap.org/poll

Sep 16, 2012, 10:11 AM	#2
USNIlliniFan Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 318	Like I said in another thread yesterday, the cream is quickly rising to the top. I seriously believe by years end, the B1G will have only two (maybe three) in the AP top 25.

Sep 16, 2012, 12:11 PM	#5
Illini125 Posts: 1,598	I realize that beating 3 BCS is schools is an accomplishment, but if you had to pick 3 BCS schools to beat I assume Syracuse, Boston College, and Vanderbilt would be among the teams to pick. Just another reason that polls this early in the season are kind of pointless.

Sep 16, 2012, 01:04 PM	#11
Wokker Location: "The Good Land", WI Posts: 1,004	Holy crap, the only ranked team in the Leaders Division of the B1G is ineligible Ohio State. Wisconsin looked like crap again last night and should've lost. I don't want to jump the gun, but a mediocre to good Illinois team could easily contend to go to the B1G title game this year.

Sep 16, 2012, 01:51 PM	#19
Juice Posts: 1,542	The question is. Would you feel like we don't deserve a chance in the B1G chip if we went 7-5 or 8-4? 7-5 I would feel we didn't deserve it, but 8-4 I would take.

Sep 17, 2012, 12:15 AM	#23
Dan Admin Location: Champaign, IL Posts: 25,908	Wisconsin still ranked in the Coaches Poll! http://www.usatoday.com/sports/colle...l/coaches-poll

Sep 17, 2012, 06:49 AM	#24
FeelYourPaign Location: Barrington, IL Posts: 2,305	It is fun to dream of going to the Championship Game, but even in the dreams it seems to require that we overachieve. I just don't see it, as thin as we are at so many positions and with an offense that looks just bad so far. Maybe a miracle happens and they start to click, but I'm not optimistic about it. Guess I've been down this road too often with people talking about winning the division before we've played a conference game. Sure would be happy to be wrong, but I'm in the friendly skeptics category as of mid-Sept.