The Big Ten: How Ya Like Us Now?

JonDMiller

Publisher/Founder
The Big Ten Conference went into this bowl season looking for redemption, looking to repair their national reputation.

Fairly or unfairly, the league has been maligned over the past two years. I will admit to throwing a few stones myself back in the summer and in September, when I wondered if the league was the fourth or fifth best in the nation.

After seeing a few bowl games play out this week, the mission to repair the league’s reputation has been a success.

First, let me say that I am not huge on saying ‘since our league X this in bowl games, it means we are Y’. I have never placed a great degree of value in that stuff, but I am certainly in the minority, as most national pundits are swayed by the head to head matchups between teams from different leagues in bowl games.

I don’t think that bowl performance is necessarily a proper representation of what a team did during the season. The 2002 Hawkeyes come to mind.

Again, I am in the minority on this thinking.

So since the rest of the college football nation is going to draw conclusions based off of bowl results, I will jump in here and go along with them.

The Big Ten has gotten over.

Let’s start with the Champs Sports Bowl, the game between #15 Miami and #25 Wisconsin. The Badgers won that game 20-14 in a contest that was not nearly that close. Wisconsin pounded out 430 yards of offense to just 249 for Miami. The Badgers held the ball for 39:15 compared to 20:45 for the Canes.

Then, lets move on to the Capital One Bowl, played on one of the worst fields I have ever seen for a football game. The #13 Nittany Lions of Penn State beat #12 LSU. They had nearly 100 more yards of offense, they had 21 first downs to LSU’s 9, they converted 7-19 third downs to just 3-12 for LSU and they held the ball for 38:21 to just 21:39 for LSU. They also had just two penalties to 10 for LSU. PSU had numerous chances to blow the game open, but settled for field goals instead of touchdowns. The game really wasn’t that close.

Then the Grandaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl. #8 Ohio State beat #7 Oregon 26-17. Ohio State outgained the vaunted Oregon offense 419-260. OSU had 26 first downs to Oregon’s 12. OSU converted 11-21 third downs to just 2-11 for Oregon. Ohio State held the ball for 41:47 to just 18:23 for the Ducks.

In those three games, the Big Ten averaged over 39 minutes of time of possession, and that is three games where each Big Ten team was the underdog in Vegas going into the game.

Yes, Northwestern lost to Auburn in the Outback, but neither team was ranked and Northwestern isn’t going to garner much attention from the national pundits, win or lose, against an Auburn team that came into the game with seven wins and Northwestern was sitting there with eight.

HOWEVER, Northwestern put up 625 yards of offense against Auburn, had 33 first down and completed 47 passes on 78 attempts, had just three penalties to 12 for Auburn and ran a mind blowing 115 plays! They also had the ball for 34:11 to 25:49.

Folks, this has been a banner year for Big Ten teams in bowl games, to date. Since the nation is going to weigh these outcomes heavily, the Big Ten comes up as a Big Winner.

Two more games remain; Michigan State vs Texas Tech in the ‘Our Pre-Bowl Drama Has Been Worse than Yours’ Alamo Bowl and Iowa vs Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

While I don’t expect much from Michigan State, nor does the rest of the nation, if the Hawkeyes can close things out with a win, the Big Ten will have delivered a near flawless bowl season.

Even if Iowa loses, which is not something we want to see around these parts, the win by Ohio State is going to carry the most weight on this front.

AND OH BY THE WAY...

I am normally not one for comparative scores and performances in college football. While I think there are some things that can be gleaned, it’s not a scientific comparison.

When Iowa played AT Ohio State, it started a redshirt freshman quarterback who was making the first start of his career, and had only played two and a half quarters of football at the college level prior to that game. Iowa put up 300 yards of total offense and 16 first downs at The Shoe. Oregon, with Jeremiah Masoli under center, a player that will be on next year’s Heisman Watch, and an offense that took names in the Pac 10, managed just 12 first downs and 260 yards. Oh yeah, Iowa had just one running back available in that game, and the Hawks scored the same number of offensive points (17) as the Ducks did on a neutral field with five weeks to prepare for the game.

Yes, the Big Ten is better than I thought it was this year...and this sort of momentum is going to mean quite a bit for the league as it relates to preseason rankings next year.

Ohio State is going to be ranked in the preseason Top Five next year, and Iowa will flirt with a preseason Top Ten ranking. Wisconsin will be a preseason Top 15 team, and Penn State will be in the Top 20, although that might be a stretch to expect them to finish there.

The Big Ten will also be the only league in the nation to have four teams with 10 or more wins. Wisconsin is 10-3, Ohio State and Penn State are 11-2. The Hawks are 10-2; we’ll see where they finish up on Tuesday.
 
The Big Ten Conference went into this bowl season looking for redemption, looking to repair their national reputation.

Fairly or unfairly, the league has been maligned over the past two years. I will admit to throwing a few stones myself back in the summer and in September, when I wondered if the league was the fourth or fifth best in the nation.

After seeing a few bowl games play out this week, the mission to repair the league’s reputation has been a success.

First, let me say that I am not huge on saying ‘since our league X this in bowl games, it means we are Y’. I have never placed a great degree of value in that stuff, but I am certainly in the minority, as most national pundits are swayed by the head to head matchups between teams from different leagues in bowl games.

I don’t think that bowl performance is necessarily a proper representation of what a team did during the season. The 2002 Hawkeyes come to mind.

Again, I am in the minority on this thinking.

So since the rest of the college football nation is going to draw conclusions based off of bowl results, I will jump in here and go along with them.

The Big Ten has gotten over.

Let’s start with the Champs Sports Bowl, the game between #15 Miami and #25 Wisconsin. The Badgers won that game 20-14 in a contest that was not nearly that close. Wisconsin pounded out 430 yards of offense to just 249 for Miami. The Badgers held the ball for 39:15 compared to 20:45 for the Canes.

Then, lets move on to the Capital One Bowl, played on one of the worst fields I have ever seen for a football game. The #13 Nittany Lions of Penn State beat #12 LSU. They had nearly 100 more yards of offense, they had 21 first downs to LSU’s 9, they converted 7-19 third downs to just 3-12 for LSU and they held the ball for 38:21 to just 21:39 for LSU. They also had just two penalties to 10 for LSU. PSU had numerous chances to blow the game open, but settled for field goals instead of touchdowns. The game really wasn’t that close.

Then the Grandaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl. #8 Ohio State beat #7 Oregon 26-17. Ohio State outgained the vaunted Oregon offense 419-260. OSU had 26 first downs to Oregon’s 12. OSU converted 11-21 third downs to just 2-11 for Oregon. Ohio State held the ball for 41:47 to just 18:23 for the Ducks.

In those three games, the Big Ten averaged over 39 minutes of time of possession, and that is three games where each Big Ten team was the underdog in Vegas going into the game.

Yes, Northwestern lost to Auburn in the Outback, but neither team was ranked and Northwestern isn’t going to garner much attention from the national pundits, win or lose, against an Auburn team that came into the game with seven wins and Northwestern was sitting there with eight.

HOWEVER, Northwestern put up 625 yards of offense against Auburn, had 33 first down and completed 47 passes on 78 attempts, had just three penalties to 12 for Auburn and ran a mind blowing 115 plays! They also had the ball for 34:11 to 25:49.

Folks, this has been a banner year for Big Ten teams in bowl games, to date. Since the nation is going to weigh these outcomes heavily, the Big Ten comes up as a Big Winner.

Two more games remain; Michigan State vs Texas Tech in the ‘Our Pre-Bowl Drama Has Been Worse than Yours’ Alamo Bowl and Iowa vs Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

While I don’t expect much from Michigan State, nor does the rest of the nation, if the Hawkeyes can close things out with a win, the Big Ten will have delivered a near flawless bowl season.

Even if Iowa loses, which is not something we want to see around these parts, the win by Ohio State is going to carry the most weight on this front.

AND OH BY THE WAY...

I am normally not one for comparative scores and performances in college football. While I think there are some things that can be gleaned, it’s not a scientific comparison.

When Iowa played AT Ohio State, it started a redshirt freshman quarterback who was making the first start of his career, and had only played two and a half quarters of football at the college level prior to that game. Iowa put up 300 yards of total offense and 16 first downs at The Shoe. Oregon, with Jeremiah Masoli under center, a player that will be on next year’s Heisman Watch, and an offense that took names in the Pac 10, managed just 12 first downs and 260 yards. Oh yeah, Iowa had just one running back available in that game, and the Hawks scored the same number of offensive points (17) as the Ducks did on a neutral field with five weeks to prepare for the game.

Yes, the Big Ten is better than I thought it was this year...and this sort of momentum is going to mean quite a bit for the league as it relates to preseason rankings next year.

Ohio State is going to be ranked in the preseason Top Five next year, and Iowa will flirt with a preseason Top Ten ranking. Wisconsin will be a preseason Top 15 team, and Penn State will be in the Top 20, although that might be a stretch to expect them to finish there.

The Big Ten will also be the only league in the nation to have four teams with 10 or more wins. Wisconsin is 10-3, Ohio State and Penn State are 11-2. The Hawks are 10-2; we’ll see where they finish up on Tuesday.

Agreed...
 
September 11th 2010: Penn State @ Alabama
September 11th 2010: Miami (FL) @ Ohio
September 11th 2010: Michigan @ Notre Dame

These three wins would seal it. Big weekend for the B10 next year.
 
September 11th 2010: Penn State @ Alabama
September 11th 2010: Miami (FL) @ Ohio
September 11th 2010: Michigan @ Notre Dame

These three wins would seal it. Big weekend for the B10 next year.

Penn State will get smoked. Ohio State will beat Miami and it could be ugly. Michigan is better than what ND will be...they are going to be depleted on offense and their defense was clueless this past year.
 
The "experts" also don't take into account that the Big 10 usually has 2 teams in the BCS games, so the teams in the bowl are up one extra spot. the big 10 probably would have won all their bowl games if Iowa plays LSU, PSU plays Auburn, ect...
 
The "experts" also don't take into account that the Big 10 usually has 2 teams in the BCS games, so the teams in the bowl are up one extra spot. the big 10 probably would have won all their bowl games if Iowa plays LSU, PSU plays Auburn, ect...

This arguement no longer holds much weight since the addition of the 5th BCS bowl game in 2006. Other conferences now also routinely have the "1 UP" senario that used to be somewhat unique to the B10.

Wouldn't have looked good for the Big 10 to pit Iowa or PSU vs Auburn when both Florida and Bama are in BCS bowls.
 
Little early to claim victory, if we lose our last two games we are still 3-4 and if we win one were 4-3, that's not exactly big time bragging rights. 5-2 then I think we can get a little cocky. But if the Hawks win I guess we could claim our 4 elite teams and bowls we won which is something.
 
Disagree- the highlight games are OSU, IA, PSU, and UW.
If Iowa wins, the B10 shows real strength.
The BS about being a second class conference will be shed for a few years,
 
MSU wins today The hawks should take a big ten flag and stick it in the middle of the field after their win on tuesday. Would send a huge message of solidarity in our conference. I cheered for all of the teams this past week. Too bad minny had to lose to those idiots in Ames.
 
All we heard leading up to the Ohio St vs Oregon Rose Bowl was 'Oregon's speed on offense was amazing' Oh really? Where was it yesterday then? To me, they didn't look as fast as say, Michigan, or Florida, or Alabama, or, or on offense. They have a nice team. Fine. But give the 'speed team' crap a break, ESPN guys OK?
Arizona..........another 'speed' team. So much speed on defense. Huh?? WHere was that when Nebraska was scoring, at will on them. And Nebraska's offense was known to suck, this year. The speed hoax has been exposed, big time!

Go Big Ten. DE-FENSE!
 
All we heard leading up to the Ohio St vs Oregon Rose Bowl was 'Oregon's speed on offense was amazing' Oh really? Where was it yesterday then? To me, they didn't look as fast as say, Michigan, or Florida, or Alabama, or, or on offense. They have a nice team. Fine. But give the 'speed team' crap a break, ESPN guys OK?
Arizona..........another 'speed' team. So much speed on defense. Huh?? WHere was that when Nebraska was scoring, at will on them. And Nebraska's offense was known to suck, this year. The speed hoax has been exposed, big time!

Go Big Ten. DE-FENSE!

I think one conference has been exposed on the "speed" front...and that's the Pac-10...like you said, everyone mentioned the speed of the conference all season...we even heard it leading up to the Arizona game...but I guess the only reason the offenses of the Pac-10 looked so damn fast, was because the defenses of the Pac-10 are so damn horrible...and apparently slower than me, with boots on, running through a corn field...after the spring thaw...
 
Arizona's failure to show up for the game against Nebraska was embarrassing for the Pac-10. That was pitiful for stoops team, really
 
Guess I am in the minority, too, but I am not going to play that game.

I hate NW and Wiscy, and I want them to lose.

But I hate Miami, Nebraska, Notre Dame, LSU, Chizik, USC, Oregon, Pete Carroll, announcers who have no insightful comments--only stereotypes to spew, Bielema, Michigan, did I mention Notre Dame?

It gets tough to choose when these teams match up on the field.

I want Iowa to win, like all Hawk fans. But I do not care about conference "reputation." If the Hawks win, that trumps all.

I like Paterno and Penn State, mostly because we beat them like a drum. But Joe is a cry baby, and I don't like that. I admire Tressel; he wins our conference every year. He is intelligent and measured, much like Kirk. Still, I prefer Kirk, by a mile.

But if the B10 goes 1-6 in bowl season, and Iowa is the 1, that's great by me. Ferentz often talks about how important a bowl win is for a program as you head into the off-season workouts. Based on KF's opinion only, if possible, I prefer that all of our up-coming opponents have a rotten off-season. Arizona will. We should not fret about them prior to our game. They had a miserable performance in their bowl, they graduate many interior linemen, and they are losing the D-coordinator.;)

Ohio State and Wisconsin, not so much. Glad to have them at home. Need Spievey and Bulaga to return for their senior years.

Sparty can get drubbed by a hundred.
 
I never cared about the rest of the conference until the constant bashing started...then it became the situation I find myself in now..."root for the conference, but in no way am I broken up about it if everyone but Iowa loses"...because IF Iowa loses and the rest of the conference wins, I'm still going to be in a bad mood til spring football.
 
This has definitely been a more enjoyable bowl season than last year. Not many things the 'pundits' can bash the BT about with the performances so far.
 
I think one conference has been exposed on the "speed" front...and that's the Pac-10...like you said, everyone mentioned the speed of the conference all season...we even heard it leading up to the Arizona game...but I guess the only reason the offenses of the Pac-10 looked so damn fast, was because the defenses of the Pac-10 are so damn horrible...and apparently slower than me, with boots on, running through a corn field...after the spring thaw...

Agreed. 4.3-4.4 is the same no matter what conference you are in and the Big ten has plenty of guys that can run that. The main difference is that it is easier to have a track meet when guys don't get in your way. I would look a lot faster too if I could run 50 yards freely and not get hit after running 5 of them.
 
This arguement no longer holds much weight since the addition of the 5th BCS bowl game in 2006. Other conferences now also routinely have the "1 UP" senario that used to be somewhat unique to the B10.

Wouldn't have looked good for the Big 10 to pit Iowa or PSU vs Auburn when both Florida and Bama are in BCS bowls.

The SEC usually sends two, but the Big 12 sent 1 and so did the Pac 10. When was the last time the Pac 10 had 2 BCS Bowl teams? Then they go out and play WAC, Mountain West, Big East opponents. The Big 10 and SEC have the most competitive Bowls out there, hands down.
 
Iowa MUST win for the "Big Ten sux! Hur hur hur" meme to begin to wither. It won't die completely, b/c none of those games were blowouts - not on the scoreboard, anyway. None of them were nearly as close as the final scores indicated, but that's still what many will focus on. Fine by me. I LOVE IT when we (or any team I'm rooting for) wins a game in dominant fashion without doing so by a score of 55-6. It's sooooooo much more frustrating and demoralizing for the losing team to fall by a score of say, 24-16 when they really had absolutely no chance whatsoever to win.

Anyway, if Iowa and MSU win (or just Iowa, at least), the narrative will start to shift, but the conference will still need to get off to a hot and dominant start next fall for the meme to die completely. And really, I think the league will need to be tough for the entirety of the 2010 season for that notion to go away. Otherwise it will just be another case of the B10 getting lucky against superior competition that didn't want to be there or who came out a little flat, or who were slowed by a muddy field against inferior athletes, etc, etc...
 
Agreed. 4.3-4.4 is the same no matter what conference you are in and the Big ten has plenty of guys that can run that. The main difference is that it is easier to have a track meet when guys don't get in your way. I would look a lot faster too if I could run 50 yards freely and not get hit after running 5 of them.

As has been said here before, the 40 as a measuring stick for speed, was only used to determine who would be the best guys to have on punt coverage...and most guys at this level have speed within a few tenths of each other in that 40 yard span...find me some guys who know how to play football first and foremost and the "more speed" is just icing on top of that player's cake.
 

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