2021 Cure Bowl Ranked at #3 Best Bowl on 247 Sports.

Okay, from over a year ago, but still a great game and it involved my school, Northern Illinois University.  Unfortunately, we lost, but that was one enjoyable game to watch.  Neither defense could stop the other's offense.

It was Coastal Carolina versus NIU.

From 247 Sports.com "College football bowl games:  Ranking  top ten from 2021"  by Riley Gates.

He ranked the Cure Bowl at #3.

"With Grayson McCall coming back, you just knew we were in for a fun shootout.  The Chanticleers star threw for 315 yards and  four touchdowns, while Northern Illinois' Rocky Lombardi (is that not a great football name or not?) threw for 181 yards and two touchdowns.

"Both teams ran the ball for massive numbers too, as the Huskies had 335 yards on the ground to the Chanticleers' 199.

"Down six with just a little more than three minutes to go, Northern Illinois looked  done for.  But the Huskies forced a punt and went for a 15-play, 83-yard to try to win the game.  With seven seconds remaining, Northern Illinois had the ball at the Coastal 8-yard line.  Lombardi threw a complete pass for the first down but the receiver did not get out of bounds and time expired.

Finakl score was Coastal Carolina 47 NIU 41.

--RoadDog

CBS Sportscaster Ranks Cure Bowl As Best Game-- Part 2

"The game's biggest lead came when Miles Joiner  caught a 12-yard TD from Rocky Lombardi to put Northern Illinois ahead 24-16 late in the first half.  Even that deficit was short-loved as  Coastal got a field goal a minute later to make it 24-19.

"Not only was it a  one-score game the entire time, but the lead changed seven times (4 times in the third quarter).  It was non-stop, back-and-forth football entertainment.  Coastal couldn't stop Northern Illinois, and the Huskies couldn't stop the Chanticleers.

"Aside from the final  possession of the half, the first 12 possessions of the game ended with points, and only three of them ended in field goals.  When Coastal's Charles Ooverson came onto the field for the game's first punt, he did so with only 54 seconds left in the third quarter.

"It came down to the very last play, too.    Northern Illinois had the ball at the Coastal 8-yard line with two second left, but Lombardo's pass to Joiner was stopped short of the end zone and the Chanticleers held on  for the win."

I Completely Agree, That Was One Hell of a Game.  --RoadNIU

CBS Sportscaster Ranks Cure Bowl #1 As Far As Entertainment in 2021 (Coastal Carolina vs. Northern Illinois)

From the January 6, 2021, CBS Sports "Ranking the 37 college football games for 2021-2022:  Rose delivers as Orange, Cotton disappoint" by Tom Fornelli.

Evidently this guy watched all the bowl games and I have to say his picking the Cure Bowl game in Orlando, Florida, as the best of the lot is one I have to agree with.  It matched Northern Illinois versus Coastal Carolina and was the second bowl game player (read most meaningless), but not so with this one.

Coastal Carolina was a 12 1/2 point favorite, but Northern led the whole game until the last six minutes, when Coastal went up and "held" on to win.

This is what Tom Fornelli wrote:

"#1  Cure Bowl    Coastal Carolina 47  Northern Illinois 41

And so we come to the best bowl game of the postseason.  I'm assuming a lot of you are perplexed about how the Cure Bowl can rank ahead of the Rose Bowl or Music City Bowl, but that's just because most of you probably didn't watch it.

"You should have because the second bowl game of the season was incredible.  Not only was there a bunch of points scored, but it was a one-score game the entire time."

Continued.  --RoadBowl

First Weekend of 2022

SATURDAY, JANUARY 1

Started snowing early and continued all day so just stayed home.  Watched Bowl Games, Yellowstone and the movie "The Magnificent Seven."

SUNDAY, JANUARY 2

"Binge watched" TV for the first time.  We don't have any of those streaming services, but Paramount Channel was running the "Yellowstone" series, so caught up on background. Great show but way too much cussin'.

Listened to Da Bears win on the radio and went over to the McHenry American Legion.

The new neighbor and his young son came over and cleared the snow off our driveway and sidewalk.  Mighty neighborly of them.

--RoadDog

THINGS YOU'D LIKE TO SAY:  I like you.  You remind me of when I was young and stupid.

JSS: Crazy Weather-- Yellowstone, 1883-- the Drive's A to Z-- The Big Guy Up the Middle

JSS--  Just Some Stuff

1.  CRAZY WEATHER--   We certainly have been having some crazy weather around here.  Yesterday we had thunder, lightning, rain and snow.  There was quite a bit of snow on the ground.  Then yesterday, we got 3-4 inches of very slippery snow.

2.  YELLOWSTONE, 1883--  This past Sunday I was able to watch some episodes of Yellowstone and 1883 on TV.  Both are very good, but all that good acting is kind of negated by the overuse of the f___ word.  Come on, get a thesaurus and expand your language base.

3.  THE DRIVE'S A TO Z--  The Drive, 97.1 FM, is now up to the letter "I" in their annual end-of-the-year A to Z.  They are playing 2,000+ songs.  They aren't sure when they'll end, but for sure sometime after the start of the new year.  It streams.

4.  THE BIG GUY UP THE MIDDLE--  Last night, O enjoyed watching the Minnesota-West Virginia bowl game, when the Gophers put in offensive lineman 380 pound, six foot 4 inch Daniel Faalele in  the backfield to run a play.  You never saw a team call a time out that fast as the Mountaineers did.  It didn't help as he crashed right through the line like there was nothing there.

The commentators mentioned when the Bears did that with our Refrigerator Perry back in the 80s.  It sure reminded me of him.

--RoadDog

THINGS YOU'D LIKE TO SAY:  Ahh ... I see the screw-up fairy has visited us again.

Last Week: Stucky's, NIU Bowl Game, Stucky's, McHenry Legion

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17

Sunnyside was having their customer appreciation Christmas party, but we figured it would be too crowded and too difficult to watch the NIU-Coastal Carolina Cure Bowl on TV, so went to Stucky's and sat with friends Kevin and Kelly and watched the game.  

We figured Northern would get blown out as we have lost the last six bowl games and been blown out in them, but this one was different.  Our guys came to play and we actually led for almost the whole game until the end, but lost, sadly. 

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18

No McHenry County Civil War Round Table discussion group for me as it was on Zoom only and I don't do Zoom.

Finished putting up Christmas decorations outside and inside. We went to Stucky's in Johnsburg and enjoyed the  $1 draft beers and a great pizza burger.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19

Enjoyed Bob Stroud's annual Holiday Hootenanny on WDRV, where he played three hours of 60s-70s Christmas music.  Went to the McHenry American Legion and watched the Packers win a game.

Go Pack.  --RoadDog

Northern Illinois Closes Out Season With a Victory, End Up 5-7

Last night, the Northern Illinois University (NIU) football team ended its season at 5-7 with a 17-14 victory over Mid-American Conference division rival Western Michigan.  This was Thomas Hammock's first year as head coach.

It was also the first year I didn't even make it out to Huskie Stadium for even one of the five home games played there.

A few days ago I wrote in this blog about how often it is better for first year coaches not to have too good of a record and this fits the case.  Shoot, even our best ever coach, Joe Novak, had about as bad a record as you could have in his first three years at Northern.  In 1996, he was 1-10, 1997  0-11, and 1998 2-9.

***********************

NIU 2019 GAMES:

NIU 24 Illinois State  10
Utah  35  NIU 17
Nebraska  44  NIU 8
Vanderbilt 24  NIU 18

Ball State  27  NIU 20
NIU 39  Ohio 36
Miami (Ohio)  27  NIU 24
NIU  49  Akron 0

Central Michigan 48  NIU 10
NIU 31  Toledo  28
Eastern Michigan  45  NIU 17
NIU 17  Western Michigan  14

Of course, our all-time nemesis and rival is Toledo, and at least we beat them.

But, even better, NIU is not bowl eligible, which is alright with me as we usually get blown out pretty bad in those games.

Looking Forward to 2020.  --RoadHuskie

DID YOU KNOW:  An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

MAC and NIU Stinking Up Bowl Games Again

It is getting to the point that I would just as soon that my school, Northern Illinois, didn't go to any more college bowl games.  It is embarrassing.  We have now reached six straight bowl losses and most of them have been by blowout scores.

And, the same goes for our whole football conference, the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

Gone are the days when the MAC only got one bowl invitation.  Back in 2003, NIU had a 10-2 record and beat five Power Conference foes, two of whom were ranked when we played them.  But, we lost a game to Toledo (of course) and they went and we sat home.

This year, the MAC had six teams in minor bowl games.  So far the MAC record is 1-4, with just one game remaining, Buffalo vs. Troy in Mobile later tonight.

MAC teams shown in caps.

Georgia Southern 23  EASTERN MICHIGAN 21
University of Alabama-Birmingham 37  NIU 13
OHIO  27  San Diego State University
Florida International University 35  TOLEDO 32
Brigham Young University  49  WESTERN MICHIGAN  18

Please, Santa, No More MAC or NIU Bowl Games!!!  --RoadLoss

POLITICALLY INCORRECT CHRISTMAS SONGS:  "Do You Hear What I Hear"  Blatant disregard for the hearing impaired.

Dec. 23:  Final score in the Buffalo-Troy game:  Troy 42  BUFFALO 32.  So, the MAC went 1-5 in bowl games.  Please, no more bowl games for the MAC!!

And, I see they are adding one more bowl game for the MAC in 2019 in Myrtle Beach.  Last thing we need.

And, For That Matter, Please No More MAC Bowl Games

And, as bad as NIU is at bowl games, the whole Mid-American Conference is fairly futile in bowl games.  Northern's sad effort this past week ended the MAC at 1-4 in bowl games.  That was one more win than in 2016 when teams went a combined 0-6.

2016 Bowl Games

Well, at least the scores were mostly close.

Camelia Bowl  Toledo lost to Appalachian State 31-28
Miami Beach Bowl--  Central Michigan lost 55-10
Dollar General Bowl--  Ohio lost 28-23

Bahamas Bowl--  Eastern Michigan lost 24-20
St. Petersburg Bowl--  Miami lost 17-16 to Mississippi State
Cotton Bowl--  Western Michigan lost to Wisconsin 24-16

2017 Bowl Games

Boca Raton Bowl--  Akron lost to FAU 50-3
Famous Potato Bowl--  Central Michigan lost to Wyoming 37-14
Dollar General Bowl--  Toledo lost to Appalachian State 34-0

Bahamas Bowl--  Ohio lost to UAB 41-6
Quick Lube Bowl--  Northern lost to Duke 36-14

A Record of Futility.  --RoadSad

Please, No More Bowl Games for NIU: Northern's Bowl Woes Continue

After sitting through the latest debacle of Northern Illinois' football team, all I can say is, "Please, No More Bowl Games!!"

Northern was dominated and thrashed by a so-so Duke team 36-14 to finish the season 8-5 after losing three of the last four games it played.  Other than one brief exciting three minutes when Northern scored twice on some great plays to tie the game at 14, it was horrible.

Northern has won just two of its last ten bowl games and have been absolutely blown out in the last three.

2006  Poinsettia Bowl  Lost TCU  37-7
2008  Independence Bowl  Lost  Louisiana Tech 17-10
2009  International Bowl  Lost  South Florida  27-3

2010  Humanitarian Bowl--  Won  Fresno State  40-17
2011  Go Daddy Bowl--  Won  Arkansas State  38-20
2012  Orange Bowl--  Lost  Florida State 31-10

2013  Poinsettia Bowl--  Lost to Utah State 21-14
2014  Boca Raton Bowl--  Lost  Marshall  52-23
2015  Poinsettia Bowl--  Lost  Boise State   55-7

2017  Quick Lube Bowl--  Lost Duke  33-14

I Am a Huskie Fan, But This Is Just Too Sad.  --RoadDog

ACCIDENT REPORTS:  The accident happened when the right door of a car came around the corner without giving a signal.

JSS: It Is COLD!-- The Drive's A to Z-- Bowls

JSS--  Just Some Stuff.

1. IT IS COLD!--  To say it has been a bit cold around here is an understatement.  Doggone Canadians and their weather.  Wish they would be nice enough to KEEP IT!!

Looking at the weather forecast from yesterday's paper, highs and lows:

THURS:  14 // 6,  FRI.  16 //  -1,  SAT.  7 // 1,  SUN.  13 // -5,  MON.  11 // 1,  TUES. 10 // 5,  WED.  19 // 8.  A real heat wave Wednesday.  Time to start working on the old tan.

2.  THE DRIVE'S A TO Z--  I've been enjoying listening to the Drive's A to Z going on right now.  (WDRV, 97.1 FM and streaming.)  They are in the letter "L" right now.  Last songs played:

LIGHTS--  Journey
LIGHT UP--  Styx
LIGHT MY FIRE--  Doors
LIFE'S BEEN GOOD--  Joe Walsh
A LIFE OF ILLUSION--  Joe Walsh
LIFE IS A ROCK--  Reunion
LIFE IS A HIGHWAY--  Tom Cochrane

3.  BOWLS:  NIU's Bowl woes continue after Tuesday's 36-14 drubbing by Duke in the Quick Lube Bowl in Detroit.  In the last ten bowls Northern has appeared in our record is 2-10 and we haven't won the last  five and have been blown out in the last three.

Please, No More Bowl Games for NIU.  It Is Too Embarrassing to Watch.  --RoadSorry

About New Year's-- Part 2: Bowls, Parades and Da Hawks

Sunday, January 1st.

We went to Donovan's Reef in Twin Lakes for the Bears game, but it was so sad watching them, we left at half time and went to Sunnyside Tavern in Johnsburg and saw the rest of it. It didn't get any better with a 38-10 loss.  Bears ended up 3-13, one of the worst years ever.

We came home after that to drown our Bear Sorrows.

Monday, January 2

Strange having the Rose Bowl Parade and big bowl games on January 2nd instead of the 1st.

Watched the parade, then went to Sunnyside and watched Da Hawks play the NHL Winter Classic outside in St. Louis at Busch Stadium.  Sadly, the Blackhawks lost 4-1.

Also watched the Wisconsin-Western Michigan game at the Cotton Bowl.  Western Michigan gave them a good game, but lost.  Also sad for us MAC fans, I'm sure the Western Michigan coach, former NIU player P.J. Fleck, coached his last game for them.  He'll be out of there for sure.

Watched the Rose Bowl there for awhile and then at home in Margaritaville.  One of the best games I've ever seen, even if my team, Penn State, lost on a field goal in the final second.  Lots of action with a final 52-49 score.

--RoadDog

JSS: Sad Bears Over-- Cotton Bowl-- Rose Bowl

JSS--  Just Some Stuff

1.  SAD BEARS OVER--  The 2016 Chicago Bears season mercifully came to an end Saturday with a 38-10 blowout by Minnesota.  Season record 3-13.  But, at least we get the third round draft choice which hopefully is a quarterback.

Now the problem is whether or not the Bears can pick a good one.  And that is highly questionable.

As Ralphie's Old Man said, "More like the Chipmunks of the Midway."

2.  COTTON BOWL--  Yesterday we watched the Hawks hockey game and this game at Sunnyside Tap in Johnsburg, Illinois.  Normally, I would have been pulling for Wisconsin, one of my favorite college teams.  But, not when they were playing MAC school, Western Michigan.

Unfortunately, despite playing a great game, the Mustangs lost by a touchdown.  Even sadder, I imagine it won't be long before WMU is looking for a new coach.  Whenever I coach has success in the MAC, the next thing you know, one of the Power 5 conferences gets him.

NIU's last two coaches, Jerry Kill and Dave Doreen, went to Minnesota and North Carolina State respectively after winning seasons.  And, the coach of WMU, P.J. Fleck, was a stand-out receiver at NIU.

3.  ROSE BOWL--  Anyone think this was not one of the greatest games ever?  I was pulling for Penn State, but, WOW!!  Losses aren't easy, but, again, what a game with USC winning 52-49.

JSS.  --RoadDog

WE THE PEOPLE ARE OFFENDED:  I am offended by anyone who messes with the American Flag.  Symbol or not.  You don't like it -- there's the border.

New Year's Day: Good Friends, More Rotten Bowl Games and the Legion Again

JANUARY 1, 2016   Friday

For some reason, today seemed like it was Saturday all day.    That was the same thing with Christmas Day.

Another bad day for the teams I supported in Bowl games.  Both Notre Dame and Northwestern lost.

We went over to Kevin and Kelly's for a get together with them and Jim and Arlene.  Watched some football and had plenty to eat.  The others had never seen that hilarious, but oh so true Chris Rock video on how not to get your ass beat by the police.   All the gangsts should be made to watch this over and over.  Jin especially roared.

We had plenty of food and liberal samplings of Kelly's home brews.  She is getting quite good at it.

Afterwards, stopped by the Legion on the way home.

My cold continued to get worse all day.

--RoadDog

Huskies Get Rolled in Florida

We had thought to go to Florida for the inaugural Boca Raton Bowl between two conference champs, the Northern Illinois Huskies of the MAC and Marshall Thundering Herd of C-USA.  But, we didn't care to pay those big pre-January prices and this year our Huskies were good, but not as good as in the past,  We were 11-2, but a whole lot of those victories were by the skin of our teeth.

We also considered going to DeKalb, Illinois, to watch it, but again, I was figuring a definite loss and we have a really bad storm rolling in today.

Well, I'm glad we didn't go.  It was a blow out.  Marshall beat us up badly 52-23.  We actually scored first, but on the ensuing kickoff, they ran it back for a TD and it went down from there.

We watched it at home in Margaritaville.

Marshall had something to prove for not getting into one of the Big Bowls and they sure did.  That happened to the Huskies before in the Poinsettia Bowl when TCU also had something to prove and buried us.

I'd say Marshall is ready for the next level.  We sure aren't, but we are on our third coach in five years.

I did learn that Florida Atlantic University (FAU) is in Boca Raton.  We played in their huge stadium.

I was very impressed with Marshall's quarterback.  The Bears hopefully will be looking for a new quarterback.  Maybe?

--RoadDog


YOU THINK ENGLISH IS EASY?  English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France.

Familiar Foes With Local Ties To Clash: UW- Whitewater Vs. Mount Union

From the Dec. 20, 2013, Northwest (Il) Herald by AP. //// It will be two familiar opponents who will be playing tonight for the NCAA D-3 Championship at the Alonzo Stagg Bowl in Salem, Virginia. They've been there before. //// In addition, UW-Whatewater has quite a few players from northwest Chicagoland: Kyle Wismer and John Flood from out village's Richmond-Burton High School as well as Jacobs grad Tim regan and Harvard's Collin Nolen. Not to mention backup qb Nelson who is the son of a friend. //// Whitewater and Mount Union have played for the Division III Championship in eight of the last nine years. //// Mount Union is 14-0 under first-year coach Vince Kehres, 37. He is the son and former defensive coordinator under his father Larry Kehres who guided the Purple Raiders to 21 unbeaten regular seasons and 11 national championships in 27 years as head coach. //// You have to wonder how a bigger school didn't snatch him up which is norm for college football? //// Larry Kehres retired after lasy season when he again won his 11th national championship with a stellar overall 332-240-3 record (with four of them coming from UW-Whirewater. //// Mount Union features last years championship MVP quarterback Kevin Burke who threw for 3,514 yards, 44 TDs and only 7 interceptions this year. In addition, he ran for 1,035 yards. //// That Was Quite a Game. --RoadDog

UW-Whitewater Blasts Mount Union for D3 Title, 4th in Five Years

From the Dec. 20, 2013, NBC Sports. //// I was able to watch this while at a friend's party. What I expected to be a very close game as these two teams have squared off many times in the past, was just that for awhile, but then Whitewater buried them. //// The game was played at Virginia's Stagg Bowl, long-standing site for the NCAA Division 3 championship game. //// It was the Whitewater Warhawks versus the Mount Union Purple Raiders and was close before Whitewater went on a 31-0 run after halftime. //// Whitewater is perhaps 40 miles from where we live so we support them, especially with a friend's son playing as backup qb and several Richmond-Burton players on the team. //// This is the 8th time in the last nine years the two teams have faced each other (last year, Whitewater didn't make it that far, but Mount Union won it) for the D-3 championship. Whitewater is now 5-3 versus Mount Union. //// Both programs are unbelievably good and the last time neither team was in the Stagg Bowl was 2004. The time before that was 1995. //// Big Congrats to Whitewater. --RoadDog

Toastin', Snowin' and Bowlin'

New Year's Eve, Liz and I went to the Fox Lake American Legion for the annual "Early New Year's Celebration" from 1 to 5 PM. Just great timing for old fogies like us. We had plenty of food, drinks and karaoke. Afterwards, we went to Antonio's for a couple before going home. Actually stayed up until 12:30 AM. //// New Year's Day was spent mostly shoveling snow (which started at 3 PM New Year's Eve and continued until this afternoon with probably a foot accumulation of fortunately light snow which I usually shoveled off instead of using the snowblower. I also watched the Rose Bowl Parade and then more bowl games than usual. I wasn't happy about Georgia's loss to Nebraska or the Wisconsin and Iowa losses, but was very happy with Michigan State winning the Rose Bowl. //// Spending the Eve and Day. --RoadDog

Went to DeKalb (Capital "K") for Da Game-- Part 3

I found out that after all these years of spelling DeKalb with a small "k" that it is actually a capital "K".  That's a good college education for you.

A big crowd at Fatty's, but nowhere as near the standing room only ones they get after Huskie football games (and that includes the huge outside area which is closed now for some reason).

We had good talks with some of the fans, including the man who calls himself "Facebook Guy" and NIU dean who runs the school's Facebook page and a couple of grad students from College of Engineering who had been to all the games (home and away) and bowl games the last two years.

The crowd would have been bigger except the students were home for break.

We used our special 24 ounce Fatty's glass NIU schedule and Back-to-Back MAC Championship mugs.

Lots of cheering whenever the Huskies did well, but, unfortunately, Utah State had Jordan Lynch's number and he made mistakes and we lost.

Oh well, always more fun to watch a game on TV with a bunch of fans pulling for your team.

Sure glad we didn't spend the $2,000 apiece to go to San Diego.

Looking Forward to Next Year. --RoadDog

Went to DeKalb for Da Game-- Part 1

Yesterday, we drove to DeKalb, Illinois, to watch the Northern Illinois Poinsettia Bowl game against Utah State. We figured to watch it at Fatty's Bar and Grill on the Lincoln Highway with a whole bunch of NIU fans. Always more fun to watch a game on TV with a bunch of fans. (We have a group of Usual Suspects with whom we watch most Chicago Bear games at local watering holes, usually the Squaw Bar in Ingleside. We'll be there this Sunday for the game with arch rival Green Bay for the NFC Central Chamoionship.) //// And Fatty's was packed and boisterous. (It was one of the official watch sites for NIU fans for the Poinsettia Bowl and essentially is Huskie football headquarters all season long.) //// Why, I even cheered for Bowling Green against Pittsburgh in the Little Caesar's Bowl which was on before our game. Hey, have to cheer for the MAC (unless, of course, it's the hated Toledo Rockets). They (Bowling Green) were the ones who knocked us out of the BCS bowl appearance when they trounced us in the MAC Championship game earlier this month. I just hope that at some point in the future we will be able to devastate them in a game with such high stakes. //// Then, we were on ESPN at 8:30. //// And It Was Sad. --RoadDog