Northeastern's Sudden Streak Shocks Nation

The Northeastern Huskies may be the best team in the country with a losing record.

But you never would have guessed it with their 1-7-0 start to the season. After that nightmare beginning to the 2011-12 campaign, the Huskies have gone streaking. NU has won its last five games, outscoring their opponents 24-7. That's an average score, when rounded, of 5-1 victories.

These aren't pushover wins, either. They defeated current #20 Providence College 5-2. The shut down a struggling Vermont squad 4-1, and dealt the former #19 Michigan Wolverines a 4-1 loss at Yost Arena.
Not bad at all.

But then the shocker came.


Northeastern went into South Bend and blasted #2 Notre Dame 9-2. Yeah. Indescribable.
Kinda like when they came out the next night and completed the sweep. 2-1 Huskies.

Trying to figure out how a team with such a bad start could suddenly come out strong? Yeah, me too. But it's interesting to look at the 7 game winless streak the Huskies had near the beginning of the year. They lost twice to former-#1 Merrimack, and tied them once. They lost twice to now-#3 Boston College. They lost one game each to New Hampshire and UMass.

Was the lack of success only influenced by a schedule from hell? Not necessarily. But seriously, when you play two of the best teams in the nation FIVE TIMES in a seven game span, it's gonna be hard to pull off a victory.

And now the Huskies are through with the losing streak. Northeastern has deposed of the nation's best teams, and holds a five game win streak.

And it's going to take a heck of an effort to slow them down now.

Stanford Cardinal are Finally Champions

Stanford seniors Camille Levin, Teresa Noyola, Lindsay Taylor, and Kristy Zurmuhlen played their final game together on Sunday. At the end of that game, they accomplished something they had never done before. They became National Champions.

In 2008, they lost in the National Semifinal. Then, in 2009, they lost in the National Championship 1-0 to UNC. Last year, they suffered the same heartbreak losing 1-0 to Notre Dame in the championship game.

The halftime of Sunday's game saw Stanford and Duke tied at 0-0. Was history going to repeat itself again? When asked whether the Cardinal players were thinking about this, Levin said they weren't. I'm sure it was nagging them in the back of their minds.

In the 54th minute, Noyola used her head to dismiss any notions of that happening. Noyola actually started play with the ball at her feet. She switched fields nicely. After a battle for the ball, Levin emerged and sent in a booming cross. She found Noyola at the back post, who burried it.

Duke played hard trying to find the equalizer, but the Cardinal stood firm. When the final whistle blew, those seniors finally had the victory they had been seeking for four years.

The Stanford seniors finished with a career record of 95-4-4 and the first Women's Soccer National Championship in school history.

ESPN's Beth Mowins and Julie Foudy break down the game winning goal and the implications of the victory: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:7315721

The Real Big 12 Bowl Snub

Oklahoma State and their head coach Mike Gundy might feel like they got snubbed, but they didn't. Yes, they had more Top 25 wins than Alabama, but that has more to do with the mediocrity of the Big 12. The SEC was dominated by a handful of teams, which meant that Alabama was unable to face as many Top 25 teams. The bottom line here is you have to look at their losses. Alabama lost by 3 in overtime to the consensus #1 LSU Tigers. Oklahoma State lost to Iowa State, who finished 8th in the Big 12. I mean let's be honest. This is obvious.

What isn't obvious is how the Sugar Bowl committee overlooked the real Big 12 snub, the Kansas State Wildcats. The Sugar Bowl instead chose the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Michigan Wolverines. Let's compare the three teams (rankings reflect the final BCS poll):

#8 Kansas State Wildcats:

Final Record: 10-2 (7-2), 2nd place in the Big 12

Record vs. Top 25: 2-2; (Wins: Baylor & Texas), (Losses: Oklahoma & Oklahoma State)

Analysis: The Wildcats finished in 2nd place in the Big 12, by avoiding all the lower-tier minefield games. Their only losses were to Oklahoma State (BCS team) and Oklahoma, when Landry Jones and the Sooners were playing much better football. Overall, they turned in a great season.

#11 Virginia Tech Hokies:

Final Record: 11-2 (7-2), Won ACC Coastal Division, Lost ACC Championship 38-10 to Clemson

Record vs. Top 25: 1-2; (Win: Georgia Tech), (Losses: Both to Clemson)

Analysis: Who has Virginia Tech beaten that has any real talent? This depends on how good the ACC is. The Hokies best non-conference win was over Arkansas State. Not saying much to say the least. The one ranked team they beat, Georgia Tech, finished outside the rankings with a decent, but unimpressive 8-4 record. The Hokies had two big shots at Clemson and were blown out twice. How do you think they will fare when they play another really good opponent. Based on what I've seen, they are going to get blown out.

#13 Michigan Wolverines

Final Record: 10-2 (6-2), 2nd place in the Big 10 Legends division

Record vs. Top 25: 1-1; (Win: Nebraska), (Loss: Michigan State)

Analysis: The Wolverines responded well to new head coach Brady Hoke. They got a big non-conference win against Notre Dame. Then, they played well in Big Ten play. They might have lost to Michigan State and Iowa, but when they needed the two big wins at the end of the season they got the job done, blowing out Nebraska and holding on against archrival Ohio State.

In my opinion, Kansas State should have clearly gotten into this game over Virginia Tech. The Wildcats' body of work throughout the season is much more complete than that of the Hokies. Unfortunately, the Sugar Bowl we will have to settle for his Virginia Tech and Michigan. At this point, I would pick the Wolverines by two touchdowns. Kansas State has to instead play Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl, which should be a great game.