DiNardo has it right: Determine Division Champs by Games Within Division Only

[PlatypusMessiah]

I don’t necessarily disagree with that, but if they do squeak one out it would probably end up in monumental embarrassment a la 2015 Rose Bowl. Like this year with NW having a shot at the title. In no way was NW the second best B1G team.

I was so wishing that the conference champs decided the CFP, and NW would somehow get by OSU. Then they’d show the true state of the B1G when they got beat 94-3 by Alabama.

I just don’t think people realize how far back the Big Ten is (other than Ohio State) in talent compared to the top SEC teams. We aren’t even in the same solar system.

With the following bowl games this year:

Iowa-Mississippi St.
Purdue-Auburn
Penn St.- Kentucky
Michigan-Florida

Should give an idea how the conferences compare. I think last year they spit the two games they played. .

 

[guffus]

I like divisions because it gives Iowa a chance to be somewhat relevant the B1G. Its not out of the question Iowa could rise up and win the West division once in awhile and get to the B1G championship game and pull an upset.

Winning the B1G the old school way is highly unlikely (they're only had 1 outright championship in 40 years). Too many tough games and Iowa has a hard time winning games in a very easy division right now.

If the Big Ten goes with this new idea of going without divisions and having the 2 best teams play in the CCG, then I could see Iowa playing in the CCG about once every 7 years.

Just think if the old Big Ten had a CCG where the 2 best teams make the CCG

Iowa would have gone to the CCG

1981, 1985, 1990, 1991, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2015

That's 8 times in 40 years. Or once every 5 years.

 

[Xerxes]

If the Big Ten goes with this new idea of going without divisions and having the 2 best teams play in the CCG, then I could see Iowa playing in the CCG about once every 7 years.

Just think if the old Big Ten had a CCG where the 2 best teams make the CCG

Iowa would have gone to the CCG

1981, 1985, 1990, 1991, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2015

That's 8 times in 40 years. Or once every 5 years.

Fair point but in 2015 is pretty hard to gauge. Iowa didn’t play any of the top 4 teams from the east that year. Ohio St and MSU would have probably finished that year 1/2 had the entire conference had a more balanced schedule. Realistically Iowa would have been battling Michigan for 3rd/4th

 

[okeefe4prez]

It's still a better set up, everybody plays every body.
8 10 team conferences. Winners make the playoffs.

Fine, assuming our division is:

Iowa
Iowa State
Northwestern
Kansas
K State
Minnesota
Illinois
Indiana
Northern Illinois (gonna need to add some non P5 to get to 80 teams)
Ball State

 

[THawk122]

Fine, assuming our division is:

Iowa
Iowa State
Northwestern
Kansas
K State
Minnesota
Illinois
Indiana
Northern Illinois (gonna need to add some non P5 to get to 80 teams)
Ball State

Wed have Nebrakska and Mizzou
But that's a pretty weak looking conference motter how its split lol

 

[ohhawk]

Has me thinking about several potential West contender's 2019 BIG schedules:

IA - Home ......RU, PSU, PU, MN, IL - Away......MI, NW, WI, NE

WI - Home......MI, NW, MSU, IA, PU - Away.....IL, OSU, NE, MN

NE - Home......OSU, NW, IN, WI, IA - Away.....IL, MN, PU, MD

PU - Home.......MN, MD, IL, NE, IN - Away......PSU, IA, NW, WI

Crossover games:

IA - PSU, MI, RU
WI - MI, MSU, and OSU
NE - OSU, IN, MD
PU - MD, IN, PSU

Any takeaways?

 

[uihawk82]

Well they don't have enough teams to have divisions.....

You beat me to it. They cant keep enough teams in their conference maybe because Texas has there big money deal and OU soaks up a bunch more dough. The ACC has grown. I would say the Big 12 is the odd sister that needs to be absorbed into the other 4 conferences. OU, OK st, Kansas and KU or some such combination would go to the PAC 12. Texas and another couple to the SEC. Damn ISU and maybe one of the Kansas teams goes to the Big 10 and we only have to play ISU every third or fourth year but more meaningfully ISU would be a conf game.

 

[Xerxes]

Has me thinking about several potential West contender's 2019 BIG schedules:

IA - Home ......RU, PSU, PU, MN, IL - Away......MI, NW, WI, NE

WI - Home......MI, NW, MSU, IA, PU - Away.....IL, OSU, NE, MN

NE - Home......OSU, NW, IN, WI, IA - Away.....IL, MN, PU, MD

PU - Home.......MN, MD, IL, NE, IN - Away......PSU, IA, NW, WI

Crossover games:

IA - PSU, MI, RU
WI - MI, MSU, and OSU
NE - OSU, IN, MD
PU - MD, IN, PSU

Any takeaways?

Its an odd numbered year so that means Iowa has tough division games on the road. Probably not a popular opinion here but I think Nebraska is on the rise so that will make it even tougher. And speaking of Nebraska, their schedule looks the most manageable.

Wisconsin's crossovers are f'ing brutal.

 

[guffus]

Has me thinking about several potential West contender's 2019 BIG schedules:

IA - Home ......RU, PSU, PU, MN, IL - Away......MI, NW, WI, NE

WI - Home......MI, NW, MSU, IA, PU - Away.....IL, OSU, NE, MN

NE - Home......OSU, NW, IN, WI, IA - Away.....IL, MN, PU, MD

PU - Home.......MN, MD, IL, NE, IN - Away......PSU, IA, NW, WI

Crossover games:

IA - PSU, MI, RU
WI - MI, MSU, and OSU
NE - OSU, IN, MD
PU - MD, IN, PSU

Any takeaways?

That's the exact same schedule everybody had in 2016 with home
/away reversed. 2016 is the poster child for why cross-division games don't matter. Wisconsin had a tough schedule with Mich MSU, OSU, going 1-2. But Wisc still went 6-0 in the division and still won the West.

 

[kuhntz]

I don’t necessarily disagree with that, but if they do squeak one out it would probably end up in monumental embarrassment a la 2015 Rose Bowl. Like this year with NW having a shot at the title. In no way was NW the second best B1G team.

I was so wishing that the conference champs decided the CFP, and NW would somehow get by OSU. Then they’d show the true state of the B1G when they got beat 94-3 by Alabama.

I just don’t think people realize how far back the Big Ten is (other than Ohio State) in talent compared to the top SEC teams. We aren’t even in the same solar system.

That will be proven wrong during the bowls like every year. Likely a split between the two conferences.

Of course had the SEC gone 8-0 (Michigan wet the 2nd half bed) in bowls we would hear for years about how great the SEC is. Less than 12 months from the B1G dominating bowl season and the B1G sucks....

 

[hawkeyes87]

When would the West or East division champion ever have been different using this system? I can't think of a single case where the division champion would have been different.

Not that I agree w/ the OP, but you only have to go back to 2016...

OSU, PSU, and Mich all split w/ eachother, but Mich had the additional L to Iowa. That left OSU & PSU, and gave the div title to the Nits (beat OSU).

If the loss in Kinnick didn't count in the standings, I assume the ensuing 3-way tie would have given the edge to OSU due to a better overall record (OSU w/ only the 1 loss while the others had 2)..

 

[guffus]

Not that I agree w/ the OP, but you only have to go back to 2016...

OSU, PSU, and Mich all split w/ eachother, but Mich had the additional L to Iowa. That left OSU & PSU, and gave the div title to the Nits (beat OSU).

If the loss in Kinnick didn't count in the standings, I assume the ensuing 3-way tie would have given the edge to OSU due to a better overall record (OSU w/ only the 1 loss while the others had 2)..

Depends on how they would do the tie breakers. I would guess the tiebreakers would go like this

1. Division record
2. H2H
3. Record against all conference opponents
4. Overall record
5. Rankings in CFP poll.

PSU, OSU, Mich all tie for #1 and #2.
Mich would drop out at #3 because of conference loss to Iowa.

At that point it would revert to the H2H between PSU and OSU, which PSU won. So the division champ would have been the same in 2016. PSU