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NU Alltime Best Games - #21 - "Badge(r) of Honor"

The Game: NU vs Wisconsin -"Badge(r) of Honor"

Dateline: November 21, 1992

Ranking: 21 (of 24)

The Setup: In what seemed like a Badger home game, Barry Alvarez' troops entered Dyche Stadium hoping to secure their first bowl game in eons. Wisconsin was 5-5 and a win on this final weekend of Big Ten play would guarantee a Bowl game. Gary Barnett was completing his first season at the helm and the Cats were 2-8 and playing for pride.

The Game: The game was definitely not a classic by any means. All you need to know is the Badgers were marching on their final drive and the NU faithful stood with a collective "here we go again" attitude waiting to watch the Cats snag defeat from the jaws of victory. The Badgers, down 2, had a last second field goal attempt go awry and NU hung on 27-25.

Indelible Moment: The throngs of completely silent Badger fans walking down Central Street on the verge of tears.

You Bleed Purple If...: You saw this in the rankings and thought "Greg Gill".

Why it Ranks: It marked the 3rd Big Ten win of the season for the Cats (Illinois in "the comeback" and Purdue were the other two) - a feat that hadn't been accomplished since 1971. Barnett's ability to motivate the Cats, who were playing for nothing in front of a partisan Wisconsin crowd, against a team that was playing for everything was admirable.

Lasting Legacy: I point to this game as the foundation for the glory years. The 3 Big Ten wins served as a great recruiting tool to back Barnett's boundless optimism. Remember the scoffing at the Expect Victory signs in each end zone? After this game it gave us all hope that something special might be brewing.

Lake The Posts!

So I'm only a week in and I received the blogosphere smackdown. My "dot-tv" extension on my URL combined with the discrepancy in URLs between the blogger address and the .tv address has caused me to start anew with laketheposts.com.

If you have to ask about the new URL than the site is probably not for you. I'd love to get the official count of Goalpost lakings in NU history - so send your soggy tales of "w's" in to me! Sorry for the trouble this is causing to all 6 of you who have been so kind as to check out the site.

NU Alltime Best Games - #22 "Obliterating Sparty"

The Game: NU at Michigan State "Obliterating Sparty"

Dateline: October 22, 2005

Ranking: 22 (of 24)

The Setup: Sparty was 4-2 and ranked #22 in the country. NU was looking for their 3rd straight Big Ten win and prove they were for real despite the heartbreaking home opener to the resurgent Penn State JoePas. It was an 11 am ESPN2 game and promised a whole lot of, ahem, offensive fireworks (couldn't resist - happy 4th!) and not a lot of "D". MSU was 3rd in the nation in total offense (1st Big Ten) while the Cats were 4th in the nation in total offense (2nd Big Ten). And of course, it was homecoming (I lament the last hurdle in respectability is finally getting off the homecoming schedules of Big Ten opponents).

The Game: An inauspicious beginning - MSU marched 75 yards for a TD on their first drive - was definitely not an indication of things to come. Basanez had a monster day, throwing for 331 yards, 2 TD passes and 2 TD runs as part of 533 total yards of offense. Tyrell Sutton had an "oh-by-the-way" 109 rushing yards. The Cats led at half 21-7 and proceeded to crush Sparty 49-14.

Indelible Moment: Demetrius Eaton rumbling, stumbling and scream for oxygen 86-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.

You Bleed Purple If...:You're still pissed at Drew Stanton for his cheap shot, helmet-to-knee tackle of Brendan Smith at the 37 on an end zone pick runback.

Why it Ranks: Could have easily picked another MSU win at Ryan field - the 1997 blocked FG game - but in retrospect, this game actually meant something. Big Ten road game blowouts are far and few between and this one was a confidence builder that helped the mojo down the stretch en route to a Sun Bowl berth against UCLA.

Lasting Legacy: This one was symbolic of the Basanez-era "just find a way to win" mentality. NU's horrific "D" coughed up 480 yards and still beat a legit Big Ten team by 35. As Bleeding Purple's staff grows due to your ever increasing loyalty, I'll be able to have some crack statician point-out how rare this accomplishtment actually is. Until then, you'll have to deal with the fact that it was this stat that made it a Top 24 no brainer.

Happy 4th!

Schedule (Hay)Makers Part Deux

ESPN puts the Cats sched as 7th easiest in the nation. Now those are the types of preseason top 10 rankings this cat likes to see. Way to go Fitz! And I still say 8-4. No trash talking Hoosiers and Buckeyes - you're also in the top 10 with us. Note to Bucks: If you're going to go cream puff at least schedule no-name teams that are NOT good. Youngstown State is a bad schedule - this game offers nothing more than pregame "you know it's Tressel's former team" banter. Bottom line -it still doesn't look good to have a close game scrolling along the ESPN ticker. You never want to have the honus of eductating CFB fans and lazy poll voters how good a non-name team is ("no really, there good, they went blah blah blah)...Michigan take note as well - Appalachian State - BAD game to schedule - game will be close.

NU Alltime Best Games - #23 - The Pigskin "Not so" Classic

The Game: NU vs Oklahoma at Soldier Field "The Pigskin Classic"

Dateline: August 23, 1997

Ranking: 23 (of 24)

The Setup: Coming off back-to-back Big Ten titles (albeit co-titles) our beloved Cats were selected as the headliner for the official kick-off game for the '97 season. Forget the fact that Oklahoma was coming off a 3-8 debacle, their worst season in 35 years - a "w", we knew, would play out nicely in future leafing through the media guide.

The Game: The worst of the 24 greatest games. Hands down. Two Gowins field goals were the only points through most of the game before the Cats "o" wore down the Sooners and Faraji Leary and Levelle Brown punched in two late rushing TDs.

Indelible Moment: D'wayne Bates going down with a severely sprained ankle early in the game. And, the disappointing feeling of seeing the opening ABC pan of Soldier Field with more yellow empty seats than fans. The 35,000+ in attendance proved that while the reigning Big Ten champs had been adopted nationally as worthy of the audience, it underscored the Cats inability to draw.

You Bleed Purple If...:You remember the timely Keith Lozowski pick inside the 10 to stave off an OU touchdown and set-up the dagger TD for the Cats.

Why it Ranks: It is hard to remember, but the now defunct "Classic" was truly an honor for college football teams (remember the Michigan-UVA classic?). This makes the list not so much for the game, but the symbolism of being selected as a national stamp of legitimacy for the program. Unfortunately, the 5-7 season (3-5 Big Ten) didn't do much to keep it there.

Lasting Legacy: None, really. Lessons learned - until Ryan Field sells out regularly, never play a home game at another venue.

Top 24 (nod to TRD #24) Alltime Best NU Games - #24

The Game: NU vs Northern Illinois

AKA:"The Streak Breaker"

Dateline: Sept. 25, 1982

Ranking: 24 (of 24)

The Setup: The Cats entered this game against Northern Illinois riding the all-time Division I record losing streak of 34 straight games. Allegedly (I wasn't there!), after a 61-14 home loss vs Michigan State during the streak, fans ripped down the goalposts and chanted "we're the worst".
The Game: All that matters in this one is the result. Cats left no doubt trouncing the Huskies 31-6. Dennis Green's unforgettable quote - "When I woke up that day, I knew it was a special day" - is the only chuckle Cats fans can remember from an otherwise forgettable era.

Indelible Moment: Fans ripping down goalposts (this time in victory) and marching them to Lake Michigan.

You Bleed Purple If...:You were there.

Key Stat: Consider the previous season the Cats were outscored 505-82 and this win almost seems Notre Dame-esque. Uhhh, not quite.

Why it Ranks: While this blog will admittedly downplay the lovable loser thing, it is impossible to retain any strand of credibility without at least acknowledging the dark times. Subconsciously it is part of the appeal. This is the only game of the 80s that makes the list.

Lasting Legacy: Cats still own the alltime losing streak record for Division I, however they rank 4th (thankfully) behind these infamous squads:

1. Prairie View A&M (Division I-AA) 1989-1998 - 80 straight losses
2. Macalaster College (MN) (Division III) 1974 - 1980 - 50 straight losses
3. Columbia University (Division I-AA) -1983-1988 - 44 straight losses
(source: ESPN Page2)