NIU

[BamaBobo]

Was it truly the fault of Coach Mike Shula that lead to the defeat of Alabama by this low program in 2003?:biga: Or can I finally blame it on probation? That was my REAL low point. Im only 22 now and I can remember that day like none other(well, except for the barn 05). It wasnt on tv but I remember listening to it on the radio when I was about 17 or 18 and being disguisted. Im a real lifelong fan and Ive seen everything Alabama but I just watched a video on youtube and it brought it all back to me. That was the real low point of my ALABAMA FOOTBALL life. I know that is kinda wild but this IS the offseason. :biga:

 

[WPtider]

We were a 10-3 team the year earlier and brought back a large number of starters (to include 3 future NFL OLineman, an future NFL RB, the game was at home and we had only been on probation two years. These factors couple with the fact that the best NIU team should never be good enough to beat the worst UA team mean this was a pretty terrible performance. This game was a serious warning that Shula's tenure would be short and not sweet (the HI and Ark games that same year should have also woke people up).

 

[Bama Reb]

My wife and I attended that game, and we were as disappointed as anyone else. Over 3 years have passed since then and I really don't remember all the details of the game. Thus I see no reason to lay blame for the loss on CMS. Leave it in the record books and move on.

 

[TupeloMD]

Namath was there

The only good memory I have of that debacle is meeting JWN. I was staying at the Capstone Sheraton. Right after the game, myself, wife, 12yo & 8 yo son walked back to the hotel. Namath was just outside talking to an Alabama State Trooper. My 12yo approached and waited until Namath noticed him. Namath was great. He took my son's football & sent him on an out route. He nailed him. Thank goodness he caught the ball. Namath then shook both boys hands & signed the football for them. I treasure that more than they do. I will always have tremendous repect for that man.

 

[Vinny]

I watched that game on PPV up here. I try to forget it, but it was so hard to watch them lose to a team with a direction in their name.

 

[crimsonaudio]

While it's easy to blame some of the team's performances on CMS, I don't think there's much in that first season you can blame on anyone other than Price - due to his 'behavior', we ended up hiring CMS after spring ball.

Granted, on a fundamental level we should have been able to draw up the game in the huddle and out-man them, but NIU actually had a decent team that year...

 

[Boclive]

NIU won about 10 games in '03. That team also defeated the University of Maryland and Iowa State University. Under Coach Joe Turner they continue to win football games.

Of every person in the stadium that day including my girlfriend and myself, I would say the ones MOST inspired by the entire Bryant-Denny experience particularly including the video of Coach Bryant were the Huskie players. While everyone was watching the video, I watched Northern Illinois. To a man they stood motionless and watched with heads raised to the Jumbotron.

We got beaten by a better football team that day, so I don't think I would consider that a low point for the program.

It is when you lose to inferior teams like Miss. St. in '06 that the program reaches a low point.

Now, would I like a coach that can steal a win about half the time he's the underdog? Yeah, that would be great for a change.:wink:

 

[bayoutider]

That was a good NIU team in '03. NIU went 10-2 and didn't even win their conference. The MAC in general had a Cinderella year in '03.

 

[IHateUT]

I wasn't able to watch or listen to that game. I went to one of the local establishments to watch some other games. All I could do was wait for the ESPN ticker at the bottom to show the game. I knew NIU would not be a push over, but as said before, a team like Bama should never lose to a MAC team.

Luckily for me it was $1 drafts all night.

 

[Bamadonk]

I watched that game on PPV up here. I try to forget it, but it was so hard to watch them lose to a team with a direction in their name.

It's difficult to watch us lose to anyone, but that's an interesting standard. North Carolina, South Carolina, etc. should be set apart from other losses?

 

[BigAL413]

Didn't Shaud Williams say that he was embarassed to lose to NIU?
And he should have been...

That same year Tennessee Tech, the same TTU that Auburn is playing this year, scored more points on NIU than Alabama...that equals pathetic!

Probation or not, brand new coach or not, no MAC team should beat an established SEC team...

 

[IHateUT]

Didn't Shaud Williams say that he was embarassed to lose to NIU?
And he should have been...

That same year Tennessee Tech, the same TTU that Auburn is playing this year, scored more points on NIU than Alabama...that equals pathetic!

Probation or not, brand new coach or not, no MAC team should beat an established SEC team...

Hey, don't diss my alma mater! 1-AA football....it's faaaaantastic.

 

[graydogg85]

NIU finished that season 10-2. They also knocked off Maryland, and they had a Heisman candidate at tailback (Michael Turner). Honestly, I think NIU was simply the better team in that game. Should they have been? Probably not. I'm sure we had more physical talent on our roster. But NIU was well-coached, motivated, and had some great senior leadership. Really, it wasn't that much of an upset, considering the circumstances.

 

[BigAL413]

Hey, don't diss my alma mater! 1-AA football....it's faaaaantastic.

It's my alma mater as well, and that is why I know it is pathetic for TTU to score more points on a team than Alabama...

I was a student there at the time and lived across the hall from some football players. They knew I was a Bama fan and they ragged me all year long about them scoring more points on NIU than Alabama....

I love TTU but they are no powerhouse in I-AA football, basketball on the other hand..

 

[TiderB]

Re: Namath was there

The only good memory I have of that debacle is meeting JWN. I was staying at the Capstone Sheraton. Right after the game, myself, wife, 12yo & 8 yo son walked back to the hotel. Namath was just outside talking to an Alabama State Trooper. My 12yo approached and waited until Namath noticed him. Namath was great. He took my son's football & sent him on an out route. He nailed him. Thank goodness he caught the ball. Namath then shook both boys hands & signed the football for them. I treasure that more than they do. I will always have tremendous repect for that man.

Was this going through your head as the football left Namath's hand?:

Please don't drop it! Please don't drop it! Please don't drop it! YES!!

 

[IHateUT]

I love TTU but they are no powerhouse in I-AA football, basketball on the other hand..

I'm aware. I wasn't being serious. I'm sorry to hear you had to stay in the dorms. I've been following Tech basketball since I was a kid. Grandad was a player/coach. Be sure you check out ESPNU tomorrow night at 6:00cst. Tech vs. APSU will be on. Or come on down and watch. Last I heard there were less that 100 tickets left in the lower bowl. Should be a goodie.

I graduated in Dec. 2003 - what was your major?

 

[TommyMac]

I think the Arkansas game was a bigger disappointment to me. When Shula chickened out of going for the 4th and 1 inside their 40 which would have likely broke their backs, I was screaming at the radio. The running game had been working fine up to that point and we owned the LOS. I'll always believe that his decision gave them the impetus wo win that game because it seemed to deflate us from that point on. That was also the first time I started having misgivings about him as a HC. Regardless of experience, real HCs instinctively know when to go for the kill. Shula never figured it out.

The NIU game sucked too, but they did have a pretty dang good team that year.

 

[Pachydermatous]

The NIU game was bad, but I can think of one far worse. This one was so beastly most fans have banished it from their memories. It happened in the 1987 season with Bill Curry as coach.

We lost to Memphis State U. and I still get a memory block when I try to recall the score. I do remember that after the game one of our linemen said: "We lost to the worst team I ever saw."

Strangely, that same year we beat Penn State, Tennessee and LSU. I guess it is true that sometimes games like NIU and MSU do serve as prophecies of a coach's future.

 

[bayoutider]

NIU finished that season 10-2. They also knocked off Maryland, and they had a Heisman candidate at tailback (Michael Turner). Honestly, I think NIU was simply the better team in that game. Should they have been? Probably not. I'm sure we had more physical talent on our roster. But NIU was well-coached, motivated, and had some great senior leadership. Really, it wasn't that much of an upset, considering the circumstances.

I agree with that. We were unfortunate to catch NIU when they were having a great season and we were under some unfortunate circumstances. The MAC had some giant killers in '03. Bowling Green (11-3) beat Big 10 Pudue and Northwestern. MAC Champions Miami, Ohio beat Colorado St., Central Florida and Bob Petrino's Louisville team in the GMAC that season. Toledo (8-4) defeated Marshall & Pitt. Some may think beating teams like Marshall, Pitt or Purdue is much of an accomplishment but all things considered it really is. I don't think we would have beat any of those three MAC teams in '03.

 

[BigAL413]

I'm aware. I wasn't being serious. I'm sorry to hear you had to stay in the dorms. I've been following Tech basketball since I was a kid. Grandad was a player/coach. Be sure you check out ESPNU tomorrow night at 6:00cst. Tech vs. APSU will be on. Or come on down and watch. Last I heard there were less that 100 tickets left in the lower bowl. Should be a goodie.

I graduated in Dec. 2003 - what was your major?

Wish I could be there for that...I've actually got a graduate class that night from 6-9..yuck!! Were you there on Saturday night for the Belton Rivers show vs. Northwestern St...great game! I got my degree in Elementary Education...

Also, I don't suppose there is Tennessee Tech board is there? We need to get one started if not