An Idiot's View of the Big Ten Conference

While trying not to shamelessly plug our own website, I was looking through the "Big Ten News" section on the right side of F&BT today, when I noticed an absolutely ridiculous headline...

How To Overhaul Big Ten Football!

Over at the Bleacher Report, they have an article up today about what the Big Ten needs to do avoid becoming irrelevant in the world of college football. What?! First of all, this is a ridiculous idea to write about, as the Big Ten is about as far from irrelevant as it can get. Just because the rest of the country hates us, doesn't make us irrelevant...it makes us hated. But as a fan of any team who has stayed on top too long will tell you, being hated makes you as relevant as ever.

For those of you who were too lazy to click on the link, I'll sum up the recommendations of this idiot writer:

1) Add Notre Dame to the Big Ten
2) Split into 2 divisions and have a title game
3) Re-invest profits from the Big Ten Network into high-school and junior high football programs throughout the Midwest, hold summer camps, and build up a talent base from the bottom up.

The first 2 are patently absurd to me. The 3rd one makes sense. For argument's sake, let's go through them one-by-one.

First, Notre Dame. This is an old argument from people who don't know jack about the history of the Big Ten. We tried. They didn't want to join. End of story. If anything, they would join the Big East, the conference in which all their other sports are affiliated. Also, Jim Delany has stated numerous times that adding a 12th team is not on the horizon....so this whole argument is pretty stupid. The writer's idea was that since both ND and the BT were down, they could join forces and revive themselves. This is as ass-backwards an argument that I can think of, but that should be expected from someone who obviously doesn't know much about the Big Ten.

If that wasn't bad enough, this guy also wants to hold a Conference Championship game. Why? So we don't have as long of a layoff between our final game and the bowl game? To make more money? While both might make sense, the only realistic reason would be the money. But we have the BTN now, and that should be enough to tide us over for a while. The whole myth about too long of a layoff is a common excuse for the team that has pulled 2 straght Suck-Jobs in the NC game. Also, and this is key here, but why would we want to guarantee another loss for one of our top 2 teams in their last game? The Big Ten has put 2 teams into the BCS numerous times over the last 10 years, probably as often as any conference out there. Why would we change that? The payout from going to multiple BCS games will make up for the lost money from a Conference Championship game, so the money argument is gone.

Finally, the 3rd point actually makes sense, and it is the smartest thing that this guy said in the entire article. Investing in the youth of our country is never a bad thing, especially when it involves a great sport such as football that can teach kids life-long lessons. Cultivating the talent in the Midwest is one thing, but helping develop that talent from a young age is another thing. Clearly, the South and West Coast have figured this out. Granted, their climate lends itself to spring football (hard to play when it's snowing in March!), but the Midwest states can do more to create talent. I'm all for this part of the plan.

But when it comes down to it, the reason we all love the Big Ten is the vast amount of traditions and historic nature of the conference. Three yards and a cloud of dust. Football at its purest, slowly being assimilated by advanced idealogies. Football in the cold weather, football in the rain, football as it was meant to be played. This is what is great about the Big Ten. This is why I love it. And I firmly believe that the Big Ten will come back to dominate the college football landscape at some time, and hopefully sometime soon. As with everything in life, conference strength is cyclical, and the Big Ten happens to be in a down cycle. But the pieces to bring us back to the top are getting in place. A lot of the struggle can be attributed to coaching turnover. In the last 4 years, the following schools have gotten/will be getting new coaches: Illinois, Purdue, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Minnesota. That is 8 out of 11 teams in 4 years, and when there is that much turnover in a conference...it is bound to struggle. The good news is that a plethora of good recruiters/excellent coaches have entered the league, and within a few years, will be fielding excellent teams that are sound fundamentally and more athletic than we're used to seeing. And when it all comes to fruition, I'll watch with a sh_t-eating grin as the ESPN pundits say the SEC/Big12/Pac-10 need to rework their structure.

For now, I'll keep my Big Ten as it is. And if you don't like it, move to the South like all the other idiots.

An Oddysey: Recapping the Big Televen's Progress in Changing the National Perception

I can't say that it was a good run through the non-conference schedule for the Big Ten Conference, but to borrow the motto of my old boss, "It could be worse!"

Let's recap the steps I thought the 11 Big Ten teams needed to take to improve the image of the conference:
1) Win the games you should ABSOLUTELY Win.
2) Win the games you are supposed to Win.
3) Beat Notre Dame.
4) Win MOST of the BCS Buster games.
5) Be Competitive in the Marquis Matchups.
6) Represent in the bowls.

Step #6 can't be accomplished until after the season, but as the non-conference schedule pretty much finishes up, I see a lot of lost opportunities for the Big Ten.

Step #1: Win the game you should ABSOLUTELY Win. CHECK. No Appalachian State this year. No North Dakota State this year. Good job on this one.

Step #2: Win the games you are supposed to Win. Almost a CHECK. The only hiccup here was Indiana's loss to Ball State. However, it can be somewhat disregarded in this category as Ball State is a significantly improved team this year and is actually undefeated right now. So, I will consider this part of Step #4 the BCS Busters. Witht that, Step #2 is a CHECK.

Step #3: Beat Notre Dame...FAILED. Let's face it, Notre Dame still isn't a great football team. Clausen isn't fully matured, their two-deep depth chart is littered with freshman, and Charlie Weis is still fat and sucks. But they absolutely embarrassed Michigan and Purdue this year, and that speaks volumes about the Big Ten's depth and competitiveness this year. The worst part is that this isn't the biggest failure of the Big Ten this non-conference season.

Step #4: Win MOST of the BCS Busters games...3-2 record...CHECK. Well, 3-3 if you count the Ball State beatdown of Indiana. However, UW beat Fresno, Iowa beat Iowa State, and Penn State dominated Oregon State. Iowa was even competitive at Pitt, although it turns out Pitt is a terrible team this year again. Michigan was embarrassed by Utah, and let's just move on...this step was a relative highlight for the Big Ten.

Step #5: Be competitive in the Marquis Matchups...FAILED. Sure, MSU was competitive at Cal, and Purdue took Oregon to the wire in overtime. The problem with those two games is that both could've and probably should've been wins...especially the Purdue game. You can't blow a 20-3 lead and consider it a success. The other major this step was a failure was that the most recognizable team in the conference laid an egg in a primetime game...again. USC absolutely embarrassed OSU in the colisseum, and the whole country watched.

So, looking back on the non-conference slate, I've got to give the Big Ten a C+ for their progress. The good news is that they took care of business in the games they should have won, and they managed their BCS Buster games relatively well. The big thing that has held them back is the primetime games. As long as Notre Dame plays on NBC and beats the Big Ten...as long as OSU keeps flopping on big stages...as long as Big Ten teams continue to lose non-conference games played at 8 EST on ABC...they won't gain too much ground in their oddsey back to respectability.

But in my old boss' words..."It could be worse!" The Big Ten could be the Big East or the ACC...that's just terrible football right there.

An Oddysey: BIG WEEK in the Big Ten

In case you didn't hear...there's a couple big games in the Big Ten this weekend. It was almost a tough choice for the Most Important Game in the Big Ten This Week (seen on the right), but alas, THE GAME OF THE CENTURY 2008 Edition! is happening this weekend. There has never been a better week for the Big Televen to stake their claim as a respectable conference. This is the week to turn around the "down" label that has plagued the conference since the infamous National Championship Game Suck-Job #1. Ohio State learned the hard way this week just how negative the rest of the country feels about the Big Ten. After a poor performance against Ohio last weekend, the buckeyes dropped from 2nd to 5th in the polls. After a Win! Rarely do teams drop after a win, no matter how ugly. Sadly, that is the state of the Big Ten's national perception. But fear not, 3 big time games provide an opportunity for the Big Ten to earn their way back into the nation's good graces:

Ohio State @ USC
This game has been hyped, talked about, disected, and predicted like no other game this year. And the crazy thing is, the circumstances keep changing. Tuesday we heard that Beanie Wells would be playing, and that he wanted 45 carries. Wednesday he practiced well. Thursday...he's doubtful. President Bush just declared the state of Ohio a disaster zone due to massive flooding from all the tears. USC on the other hand comes in with the full arsenal of talented skill players and an experienced defense. Call me stupid, but I don't expect a ton of points in this game. Ohio State will struggle without Beanie to pound the rock. Boeckman will show his big game struggles again, and the USC defense will be flying all over the field. On the other side of the ball, USC looked unstoppable against Virginia. But the OSU defense is better than Virginia's, and the USC O-line is young/inexperienced. Expect the Buckeyes to blitz early and often and try to throw the Trojans off their game. Ultimately, the Trojans will pull away, but not until a late touchdown seals it. USC over OSU 24-10.

Oregon at Purdue
Yards, Points. Yards, Points. That's pretty much how this game should go on Saturday. Both offenses are wide open and capable of putting lots of yards and points on the board. Both defenses leave much to be desired. Purdue will come out fired up, as they will for most games this being Joe Tiller's final year, and it will be on Oregon to match their intensity. After a long trip from Eugene, I don't think the Ducks will have it in them early. Expect Purdue to take a first half lead behind the arm of Curtis Painter, but the Ducks to come storming back. Don't be surprised at the final score. Oregon over Purdue 45-37.

Wisconsin at Fresno State
Pat Hill has been building this game as the biggest game in Bulldog Stadium history. Fresno State is known for their motto of "anyone, anytime, anywhere". Well, the Bulldogs are finally getting a big-name program to come into their house. The fans will come from all over the Valley to support the Bulldogs, and Wisconsin fans may show up too. (sidenote: yours truly will be there, and judging by the booster event in San Fran tonight, there will be tons of badger fans). I fully expect the Badgers to come out just as fired up as the Bulldogs. Look for the Badgers to go on offense first if they can, and use their big O-lineman and a punishing tailback trio to beat up the Fresno D right off the bat. Fresno will look for the big play early to get their fans into the game right away...and don't be surprised if the trick plays come out of the bag. Eventually though, the Badgers will pull away. Allan Evridge will start throwing on first down to soften the D, and after four quarters of pounding, the Wisconsin O-line and running backs will take control in the fourth. Badgers over Bulldogs, 31-21.

Other Games:
Michigan over the Domers 17-7
Penn State over Syracuse 56-10
Minnesota over Montana State 34-21
Michigan State over FAU 35-14
Illinois over Lousiana Lafayette 42-21
Iowa over Iowa State 21-17
Northwestern over SIU 27-10

An Oddysey: The Big Ten's Climb Back To Respectability

Newsflash: The Big Ten is down. Way down. And in case you didn't know it, an SEC fan is always there to remind you.

As I wrote earlier this week, the Big Ten's demise started in the fall of 2006 when Ohio State and Michigan were overhyped by ESPN for an entire year. Think about it...how long was the build up to "The Game of the Century" in 2006? Five weeks? Six weeks? ESPN built that game up for a long time in order to bump their ratings. And you know what, they should have. It was two good teams, and they had the rights to the game. The problem I have with it, is immediately after the game, when Michigan lost...ESPN kept hyping them. Because they put up a good game on the road, the voters kept them at #2. And the downfall of the Big Ten began.

Florida jumped Michigan in the polls. Florida destroyed Ohio State in the National Championship game. USC destroyed Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Those two teams from the "Game of the Century"...they got embarrassed. And so did their conference. All it took was a top 5 ranking for Michigan the following year, an historic upset by The Little Football Team That Could (App St.), a few more losses in games that should've been won...and there you have it. The Big Ten is down.

But fear not F&BT fans, the Big Ten is not down for the count. It is a long, steep climb back to respectability, but foundered by the hope of a season anew, the Big Ten can make the oddysey by following these few steps:

1) Win the Game You Should ABSOLUTELY Win. Big Ten teams play 9 FCS (1-AA) opponents this year. We all learned last year not to take those for granted, but on this climb up the BCS ladder of respectability...these are must wins. No more Appalachian State. No more North Dakota State. Win these games. Period.

2) Win the Game You Are Supposed To Win. Big Ten teams play some weak non-conference teams this year, and believe me...they are supposed to win these games. MAC teams included. Western Kentucky. Ball State. Central Michigan. FIU. Northern Illinois. Bowling Green. Florida Atlantic. Ohio. Syracuse. Duke. Temple. Miami Ohio. Toledo. Akron. Marshall. Eastern Michigan. Florida Atlantic. Louisiana-Lafayette. Western Michigan. Troy. All wins, and we're on the right pace.

3) Beat Notre Dame. Everyone hates Notre Dame anyways, and we all loved it when they sucked last year. Another sweep of the Domers doesn't necessarily help the Big Ten...but losses could hurt.

4) Win MOST of the BCS Buster Games. Wisconsin @ Fresno. Iowa @ Pitt. Iowa vs Iowa St. Michigan vs Utah. Penn St vs Oregon St. These are games versus "name" teams in college football that are either in, or close to, the Top 25. Solid BCS teams or WAC upset artists...taking three or four out of these 5 games is a solid foundation.

5) Be Competitive in the Marquis Matchups. OSU @ USC. Purdue vs. Oregon. Michigan State @ Cal. Illinois vs Missouri. These are the nationally televised games that the entire country will be watching. A split would be excellent, but a competitive game in all four is a must for the Big Ten.

6) Represent in the Bowls. This is where Big Ten fans need to drop their rivalry biases and cheer for their conference brethen. At no other point in the season will the nation be focusing on conference affiliation. The Big Ten needs some key bowl wins to capitalize on the momentum from their season-long climb up the respectability ladder.

If the Big Ten follows these six steps back to respectability, the season will be fun, exciting, and fulfilling. But SSSHHHHHH!!! Any chest-puffing, bragging, and big win crowing will decimate any respect the Big Ten earned throughout the season. And we all know what happened the last time our teams were too hyped...