1-8 in last 9 Rose Bowls

depends on how the question is asked.1-8 in the last 9 years or 1-8 for their last 9 appearances.
 
It's been a rough stretch for the Big 10, but the conference will bounce back.
 
33-52 since 2000 in all bowls 1 National title in that time
before that 1 shared in 97 and a long drought before that

1-9 the last 2 seasons on New Years Day Bowl games

This conference is not rebounding...it has been down for a long time.
One thing that is never discussed is in the south high school football players play more games, have spring practice, and most of them tend to stay down south. Not that this automatically means they are better but it can't hurt when we are talking about 1000's of players.

More games in junior high/high school will make more players better.
 
It is apparent there is a divergence between the major conferences. For that matter there is a divergence within conferences. If you examine the records of the teams from members of the American Association of Universities you will soon find that recent national champions do not occur with any regularity. Four of the last five will be won by non-members. In the prior five years to the last five Florida, Texas, Ohio State, and USC did win the national championship. But scandal surrounds two of the four mentioned.

If you look at conferences the ACC, Big Ten, and PAC 12 have more AAU members percentage wise than the SEC, Big 12 and others. Notre Dame is a shell of what it once was and its academic standards are being partially blamed for the decline. It is obvious that institutions more inclined to emphasize graduate education are less competitive on fall Saturday afternoons.

Look at the Big 12 conference and see real divergence. For most of its existence AAU members ISU, A&M, Mo, and Ks were lower tier in the standings most seasons. While Texas and Nebraska exhibited success and were AAU members it was Oklahoma that frequently ruled in football. The PAC 12 has a similar pattern.

This new period is very reminiscent of the 1960' and 70's. The Big Ten operated under vastly different rules, one team went to the Rose Bowl that was it. Each Big Ten team could recruit 30 players each year while every other conference could recruit 45. Academic entrance requirements for the conference were greater than the NCAA minimum and each university set higher limits than the conference minimum. The Big Ten was really reeling before it opened itself up to more teams going to bowls and the NCAA lowering the number of scholarships for football.

Many things could change by 2014, one is the institution of higher entrance and eligibility standards by the NCAA. The other is determining bowl eligibility based on the graduation rate in addition to w-l record. While some want this to be only about football it will never happen in the Big Ten.
 
The B1G has won only 2 national titles since 1969, so its inability to succeed at that level is hardly a surprise.
 
I wonder what northern based football program (i.e. anyone in the Big Ten) has the best record against teams from south of the Mason Dixie line in the last 15 years....
 
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