re: Time to claim 1908

quote:

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Mike, you have to know the 1908 season, Haskell plays x, x plays y and you're at Carlisle and other teams

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I get it that there are links to the top teams in those regions. The problem is that Haskell LOST to the teams that establish those links. LSU beat a team that lost to a team that lost to another team that lost to Carlisle does nothing to bolster LSU’s bonafides. I know that’s a little exaggerated since Nebraska does have closer ties. The best you have is Haskell “only” lost 10-0 to Nebraska who tied Minnesota who beat Carlisle who tied Penn (but also lost 17-0 to Harvard.) The problem there is that Nebraska connects directly to Carlisle through a 37-6 loss. The 10-0 loss was also played in a driving rain on a field that was a mud pit. It was actually Haskell’s best result of the season so the weather conditions do call in question its usefulness as a gauge of the level of the two teams. Likewise Nebraska’s tie with Minnesota wasn’t consistent with blowout losses to Kansas and Carlisle, the only other two legitimate opponents on their schedule. Minnesota beating Carlisle also did not match their 0-2 Western Conference performance (including a 29-0 loss to Chicago.) The direct loss by Nebraska against Carlisle seems more indicative of the level of both teams. As such the links don’t do much for establishing LSU’s level compared to Carlisle.