The transitive property doesn't apply and perhaps Temple is awful. But after last weekend's euphoria feeling a bit more concerned about next weekend.
Kinda Nervous Now... Duke looked spectacular and Nebraska is a hot mess....
- Thread starter wildcatcoaster
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I can be pretty pessimistic as a Wildcats fan but how Northwestern is it to win a B1G West game as a big underdog with our lines performing in dominating fashion, and then immediately crumble at the sight of Duke beating up on TEMPLE? I mean, I think Temple had a couple good years but let’s say if Duke beat Nebraska 31-28 and we beat Temple 30-0, would your opinions be reversed?
Exactly. We know we have solid running backs. OL looks much improved, even if it ultimately turns out to have been against air. Hilinski looked confident and comfortable, so even against more pressure next week (if it’s there) I’m feeling better about his ability to handle it.
Even if next week is a tougher test, and I think it’s debatable, I feel much better about our improvement than I did before the season started.
Exactly, this has nothing to do with Nebraska.
We'll be favored against Duke. We've been favored against them before and lost.
It's an important test for us, but all that matters is how NU and Duke play. If we play a good game in all phases, we should beat Duke handily. We just haven't done that as much as Duke has the past 3 times we've played them.
Duke was extremely well prepared for us under Cutcliffe, we'll see what happens next Saturday now that they have different coaching staff.
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I am rather unimpressed with our division. Iowa could not score a touchdown. Those claiming Illinois being spectacular were brought back down to earth watching them against Indiana. Purdue found a way to lose to a Penn State team that did not look that great. Minnesota won but they were not playing a good team. So far Wisconsin has looked the best because they have not played yet. It is hard to tell how good Wisconsin is until they play a real team. So, whether Duke is good or not, I like the way this season is shaping.
Barring injuries that are significant, we should contend for the division. I gave Illinois some props as they beat down a team that they were expected to, never said they were spectacular. We can't rate any team after only one game. At least the Illini lost to another BIG team. The West might be ours for the taking, but take one game at a time in the Wild, Wild West!!!! This season should be a lot of fun!!!!
Temple is not a good measuring stick, so we don't really know how good or bad Duke is. Temple finished 3-9 in the American Athletic Conference last year and finished the year on an 8 game losing streak with multiple blowouts. They lost by a similar score (28-3) at home to another ACC team (Boston College) in September 2021 and BC just finished a middling 6-6. If the transitive property is able to hold from year to year based on their Temple game, Duke is about the same as they were last year - a 5-7 or 6-6 type team.