I'm sure someone will come back with counter examples, which is fine, but as we get set to meet Purdue, my thoughts turn to our poor non-con scheduling luck, particularly with grads to the Hoosier State.
Back in the '80s we had a 6 game series with Indiana. At the time the contract was signed we were still going to bowl games with regularity, and IU was a Big Ten bottom feeder. But when we got around to playing them, Bill Mallory had them playing much better football. And of course, we had entered the wilderness. Out of six games, I think we managed one tie. Anybody remember Ernie Jones and a missed Jeff Jacke kick?
Now we face a Purdue team that has challenged the Illini and Scarlet Knights for worst in the B1G the last several years. A scheduled win, right? Well, not so fast.
There have been others over the years: Hank Baskett's New Mexico team and more recently Alex Lemons's Syracuse come to mind.
Looking at future schedules, we often lick our chops mentally chalking up victories years in advance. We should know better by now.
Back in the '80s we had a 6 game series with Indiana. At the time the contract was signed we were still going to bowl games with regularity, and IU was a Big Ten bottom feeder. But when we got around to playing them, Bill Mallory had them playing much better football. And of course, we had entered the wilderness. Out of six games, I think we managed one tie. Anybody remember Ernie Jones and a missed Jeff Jacke kick?
Now we face a Purdue team that has challenged the Illini and Scarlet Knights for worst in the B1G the last several years. A scheduled win, right? Well, not so fast.
There have been others over the years: Hank Baskett's New Mexico team and more recently Alex Lemons's Syracuse come to mind.
Looking at future schedules, we often lick our chops mentally chalking up victories years in advance. We should know better by now.
