No one would buy an argument that the Big Ten is a juggernaut conference this season in college football—and it’s true, it isn’t. Still, this conference isn’t the redheaded stepchild of college football either—contrary to popular belief, especially among the voters that count most.
Stop pinching your nose and open up your eyes—the Big Ten conference is not at the bottom of the barrel. One should look no further than the Big East and ACC if looking for the power conferences that are at the bottom of college football’s totem pole in 2008.
Give the Big Ten a break—and quit playing the guilty by association card. There’s more to the Big Ten than Ohio State and Michigan.
It’s true, when the media thinks Big Ten, they think Buckeyes and Wolverines—and with the Wolverines not going bowling (but instead just throwing gutter balls) for the first time in over three decades, the Big Ten is taking a major hit. Then there are the Buckeyes, who were waxed weeks ago by the Trojans.
Combine that with the fact that Ohio State was blown off the field in back-to-back title games, and you have yourself a media mass that is turning the other cheek when it comes to the Big Ten potentially representing half of this year’s championship match. Plain and simple, the voting populace flat-out doesn’t want it.
Instead of consistently burying the Big Ten and basically referring it to a place where all other football players go to die, let’s instead point out some of the positives of the Big Ten in 2008.
Making A “Penn Statement”
The schedule may not be as strong as some other teams, but the Nittany Lions still steamrolled an Oregon State team that defeated USC and took care of business at Wisconsin and at Ohio State. The Buckeyes are a better team since getting beaten by USC, and while Wisconsin has tumbled after a few tough losses, this was once a top 10 team.
Also, it simply isn’t fair to lump this Penn State team in with the past two Ohio State teams that made the title game. The Nittany Lions are their own squad—and one that has more speed and a different spread-like scheme that can compete with some of the other greats in the country.
For the media to push Texas Tech past the Nittany Lions is simply an error in judgment. Give the Red Raiders credit for a great win over previously top-ranked Texas, but it was a win at home, while Penn State traveled to Ohio State and knocked off a top 10 Buckeyes team in a hostile environment.
For those that argue about Penn State’s non-conference schedule, one should look no further than Texas Tech’s non-conference schedule of Eastern Washington, Nevada, Southern Methodist, and Massachusetts.
A Sparty Spotting
Don’t wash those glasses—Sparty is still in the Big Ten title hunt after years of folding like cheap laundry midway through the season. Michigan State is 8-2, and despite an early season loss to Cal and a lopsided loss to Ohio State, the Spartans are eyeing a New Year’s Day bowl and remain in the top 20 in all polls, including the BCS.
With the nation’s top rusher and a defense ranked higher than Texas and Oklahoma State, the Spartans are no pushover.
Running With the Pack
For the critics out there that are high on guys like Knowshon Moreno and Glen Coffee from the SEC, Kendall Hunter from the Big 12, or even Trojan-killer Jacquizz Rodgers, take a look at the overall rushing stats in the country. Two Big Ten running backs join UConn’s Donald Brown in the top three.
Javon Ringer, who has earned limited chatter with his 1,427 yards and 18 TDs for Michigan State, sits on top, and alongside Ringer is Iowa’s Shonn Greene, who almost everyone has never heard of—even after amassing 1,257 yards, 11 TDs, and nearly 140 yards a game.
In addition, Penn State’s Evan Royster and Purdue’s Kory Sheets also crack the nation’s top 20.
Defending the Defense
Offense may be sexy, but defense wins championships. The Big Ten has two teams cracking the top 10 in total defense, with Penn State at No. 6 and Ohio State sitting in the eighth spot. On top of this, both the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions are balanced, cracking the top 15 in both pass and rush defense.
Bowling You Over
Think that Big Ten leader Penn State would roll over and die in a major bowl game? Think again. Keeping focus throughout the season (and into the postseason) takes discipline and veteran leadership. Penn State has both—ranked second in the nation in total penalty yards per game (26.4).
Combine that with a team packed with veteran leadership on both sides of the ball, and a hall of fame coach that has 23 bowl victories, including three straight against three different conferences (ACC, SEC, and Big 12).
In Conclusion
While the Big Ten may not quite hold the talent load that the Big 12 or SEC has this season, there’s no reason the voters should punish one team or turn the other cheek on certain players just because a conference’s strongest programs are not producing the way we expect them to.
Don’t like the Nittany Lions? Go watch that ferocious D on film. Go catch what they did to an Oregon State team that beat USC. Go watch how they shut down both Beanie Wells and Terrelle Pryor.
Don’t like Ohio State? This is still a team with talent and a top 10 team by year’s end.
Don’t like any of the Big Ten’s talented players? Go watch Shonn Greene and Javon Ringer bowl over would-be tacklers.
Hey, that Big 12 and SEC Kool-Aid might taste sugary sweet, but the Big Ten has a unique flavor all of its own—and one that’s not as bad as people think.
54 comments Last one added 7 months ago — Leave a Comment
Isaac Luber 8 months ago
Hey KP. How come when I make the same arguments everyone says that I'm a homer and I'm biased and I don't know what I'm talking about? Is it my age, the reason for me writing my latest article? It shouldn't be. I tried to make the same arguments and people didn't listen to me, but hopefully they will listen to you. Great article and great arguments.
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A to the H 8 months ago
Just an example, you claim that Penn State is the best and being sleighted for not being ranked #1 in the polls. I disagree. They are a great team this year and I think Penn State is ranked appropriately based on their schedule and the quality of play. Had they put up more offensive numbers against OSU, they probably would've been ranked #2.
I think all of us that enjoy Big10 football agree that the conference is down, but improving, Kevin's points above are to at least consider Penn State objectively and not based on media/other conference perceptions.
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Isaac Luber 8 months ago
Okay. I get it, but also, I don't think PSU should be #1 in the polls. In my poll, they will be, but Bama deserves the #1 spot for now. I am upset that TTU jumped 5 SPOTS and an undefeated team to take the #2 spot. In polls prior to this year, it would be Bama 1, PSU 2, and TTU 3. This year, they are putting too much weight on beating the current #1 team, and its stupid.
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Kevin Paul 8 months ago
Isaac,
My arguments weren't just for Penn State but for the entire Big Ten. I will say this too, I did want to clarify immediately that the Big Ten is not at the level of the SEC and Big 12 this year, but they should not be mentioned as a bottom feeder either. I think an argument could be made that the Big Ten is in a close race for third with the Pac 10.
College football the last few years is more on an equal playing field... which makes it more exciting for the fans because more upsets can and do happen.
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Isaac Luber 8 months ago
KP, check out Brett's article to see how the "mighty" Big 12's non conference schedules compare to ours...so who's really a joke? Is the Big 12 that good if they all play cupcaks and beat up on each other?
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/77335-penn-state-football-week-10-review-and-week-11-preview
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Kevin Paul 8 months ago
A to,
Yes, I have Alabama as #1 right now. Obviously, my argument was for the Big Ten as a whole, which you realize, but from a PSU at #2 standpoint, I think people should take a look at Texas Tech's schedule again. Both Penn State and Tech didn't have strong non-conference schedules, but at least the Nittany Lions played Oregon State. You could even argue that Syracuse, while very bad this year, is in a power conference - though that's a slight stretch.
The Nittany Lions can't help the fact that teams like Illinois and Wisconsin have beaten themselves down within the conference, and out of the polls. On the Texas Tech side, aside from the 'Horns, they haven't played their big games yet... they have OK State and Oklahoma coming up. Otherwise, Kansas to me is just like Illinois and others in the middle of the Big Ten... and teams like Kansas State and Texas A&M are weak this year as well.
All in all, I think we all agree that it would be nice if the Big Ten could get back on track - and there are some solid recruiting classes coming, so it could happen.
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Kevin Paul 8 months ago
Isaac,
Thanks for the tip, I'll go check that out. Yeah, quite honestly, I'm sure it is nothing special - I know Texas didn't play anyone, and I mentioned Texas Tech's above as well...
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Kevin Paul 8 months ago
When I said "nothing special" in the last comment, it comes off as vague... I meant about the non-conference schedule for the Big 12, which I'm sure is nothing special... and not challenging, but that many of the Big Ten schedules were, but I'm sure they are more comparable than people think. Just clarifying...
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Michael Inglis 8 months ago
It's in the delivery not your age.
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Tim Cary 8 months ago
Good stuff Kevin! My beef about the perception of the Big 10 has always been what you said; people assume the conference is strong when U-M and OSU have good years, and when either of those schools is down, all of a sudden it's weak.
Now, I don't think there's any doubt that the Big 12 has the best league this year...but looking at the Big Ten like you did...just because Northwestern, Minnesota, and MSU have replaced Wisconsin, Michigan, etc at the top of their league doesn't mean it's an awful year for the Big Ten Conference...
My two cents....you summed up the arguments well! Nice job...
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Kevin Paul 8 months ago
Thanks Tim, I appreciate it.
I'm glad you share similar opinions... and as I said, while the Big Ten certainly isn't elite this season, some critics are acting like this conference is garbage all the way down - and it just isn't true. There are plenty of great stories that are buried... Shonn Greene for Iowa, Minnesota and the job Coach Brewster has done, and even Northwestern creeping up into the rankings even without offensive star Tyrell Sutton.
Good chatting with you, stop by anytime... I'll go and check your latest out...
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Kristofer Green 8 months ago
Great article, KP! The BT is most definitely stronger this season than it has been the last two seasons overall.
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Kevin Paul 8 months ago
Thanks Kristofer...
And the Big Ten recruiting has been competitive, with Ohio State and Michigan cracking the top six in 2008, and so far in 2009, Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan are all in the top 15 at this point... so there's some promise for the conference in upcoming years.
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Greg Cox 8 months ago
Nice work KP!
It's shameful how the Big XII South has followed the SEC model of playing mostly cupcakes (at home) to pad their schedule, but no one calls them out on it.
Someone needs to figure out that Penn State played Oregon State - and beat them 45-14. The Beavers are in control of their own destiny to win the Pac-10! That OOC blowout win is better than a lot of teams in the Top 25 can claim. Forget the other 3, many teams play cupcakes, but at least they won those games in blowout fashion.
Who has a better OOC win than PSU at this point? Not Alabama (Clemson, please) Florida (Miami, FL) Texas (Arkansas) or Texas Tech (Nevada!) so in other words no team in the current top 5. So let's lay off the Nittany Lions shall we?
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Kevin Paul 8 months ago
Hey Greg,
Yes, the OOC was something I was going to write about as well, because while 'Bama's looked impressive in the early going, Clemson has fallen off the map just like some of the others.
I definitely think if Oregon State won the Pac 10, that would certainly help out Penn State's cause.
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adam blackburn 7 months ago
I do not get the point about out of conf. wins. I understand the teams pick these themselves. How does this make PSU better than anyone??there in conference shcedule is not at all good Texas Tech deserves to be #2 if not #1 bama will stay in front of PSU just for the fact that there remaining schedule is tougher and if they win out the pollsters will look smart and if they lose a game they will just put PSU in front of them no harm there. They do this year in and year out, where i am from they call this covering your A**. PSU remaining schedule is not as tough as Bamas COULD be so if they were moved ahead to #1 and bama and texas tech both win out and so does PSU then they would have to move PSU out of #1 to make way for either T.Tech or Bama due to strength of schedule(including conf. championship of course). this would look really bad and make lots of people angry,but if they leave it as it is either Bama or Texas Tech will most likely drop a game and then PSU will move into #2 spot and the pollsters look smart no matter what!
Thanks for allowing me to comment.and please overlook that i am an alabama fan i try to look at all sides regardless of where my heart is!!!
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Kevin Paul 7 months ago
Hey Adam,
It doesn't make them better, because their OOC isn't the greatest either, with exception to Oregon State, who has a big win over a top ten team. The point was more the countless people commenting on Penn State's OOC, but not that of the other top teams in the country. No one has a brutal OOC schedule this year. Also, Texas Tech's schedule has been weak this year except for Texas... their other two big games are coming up this weekend and next weekend. Otherwise, if all three went undefeated, it's fair to say that Penn State would be on the outside looking in... I agree with that. I don't think that's going to happen though...
Thanks for stopping by and adding to the conversation!
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Greg Cox 7 months ago
Adam - OOC doesn't make a team better, it just proves that team is willing to take on tough opponents. How many teams outside of the BCS do Cal and USC *COMBINED* play this season? One. Cal beat Colorado State 42-7. So is is more impressive for the best two teams from the Big XII piling up big records against sucky teams or Cal/USC taking on the likes of Michigan State, Ohio State, Virginia, Maryland, Notre Dame plus 9 conference foes and having a slightly worse (in Cal's case) record?
There's your answer. I would take Cal against probably 10 teams from the Big XII including all of the North. I would take them against at least 10 in the SEC. Argue if you want, but their defense would shut down anyone other than UF/'Bama in the SEC and in the Big XII only Texas/Texas Tech/OU really impress me. Cal would get one of them. The rest they'd crush. Before you respond let me counteract one of your arguments. I'll call it the "Washington State" comparison. Oklahoma State is a powerhouse right? They won 39-13 @WSU. Calculate the average win by Pac-10 teams over WSU this season (Cal won 66-3, USC 69-0) and get back to me. 39-13 is a rout, those are annihilation. Stanford won 58-0!
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Edmon 8 months ago
The Big 10 is weak! Just kidding...kind of. While I don't think Penn State is weak, they sure didn't do themselves any favors in the game against Ohio State.
If you really look around the BCS conferences, they are all down a little except the Big XII. Is it parity? Is it just a bad year for college football? Probably a little of both.
If Penn State wins out, they will likely be in the Champioinship. It's up to them then to prove the college football world wrong.
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Kevin Paul 8 months ago
Hey man.. how are things?
Yeah, it is up to them to prove college football wrong - and if you listen in to a lot of the players, I think they feed off the whole thing and almost want it to be this way.
As for the OSU game, a win is a win... they didn't light up the scoreboards, but they called a fairly conservative game with a smash mouth approach...
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Dan Boss 8 months ago
Thank you for this! The SEC and Big 12 fans are gang tackling all of the Big Ten fans on here. Most Big Ten fans on here agree they aren't up with the other two conferences this year. It's the fact that they can't just cheer for their teams and conferences. They have to degrade the Big Ten and their teams. Most of us Big Ten fans are only making arguments on here in defense. You don't see us going out of our way (there are exceptions) to degrade others. Most of our arguments are on articles of people who degrade the Big Ten. Some of the writers on here need to realize the topic is dried up. No one wants to read articles degrading the Big Ten anymore. There are many other topics to write about that involve more creativity.
Great article!
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Kevin Paul 8 months ago
Thanks Dan, I appreciate it.
Yeah, obviously, I get that there are some talented teams in both the SEC and Big 12 - I recognize that, but obviously, it was a constant hearing critics thrash the Big Ten and I thought it was wise to point some of the positive of the conference this year, because there are plenty. Take care...
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PHIL STOCK 8 months ago
Be carful of what you wish for;TEXAS,OU,USC,GATORS and a few others would just embrasure PS.
Schedule FOUR BCS NATIONAL CHAMPS like the gators, then i would agree that your schedule is not a joke.
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Kent Moore 8 months ago
Are the gators playing the actual teams that won National Championships?
Seriously...that argument is ridiculous.
If you are putting it that way....Ohio State is playing 5 teams that have won National Championships this season (USC, Michigan, Minnesota, Michigan State and Penn State). So there. Ohio State has Florida beat.
How awful.
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Kevin Paul 8 months ago
Don't forget The Citadel, the Gators scheduled them too. How many titles have they won?!
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Kent Moore 8 months ago
What about the notion of just getting rid of conferences all together?
What are they for really? There isn't a playoff system in Division I so why do you need to separate teams into conferences?
Why can't a computer just randomly pick a team's schedule every year? You could rig the computer to make sure that BCS teams don't play all MAC and Sun-Belt opponents throughout the season. You could even rig it so that the old rivalries stay intact.
Hey...I like the conferences. But if you think about it....are they REALLY necessary for playing football?
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Kent Moore 8 months ago
Great article by the way!
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Kevin Paul 8 months ago
Thanks Kent. I would guess one of the main reasons for them is not just generating rivals and things like that, but more so the travel... by having teams that are regionally closer together so that these kids don't have to travel all over the country constantly, especially when they don't just have football to worry about, but grades and class.
Otherwise, I hear you... I think many of us wish there was a better way to sort everything out... but it's an imperfect science. Think about it... so many of these schools have some of these teams on schedule already years ahead of time. For example, Penn State and Alabama face each other in a few years... this year, that would be a great match... but in a few years, one or both of those teams could have a down year. You know ?
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Brett Harper 8 months ago
PSU shut down Beanie Wells and Terrell Pryor. Is that suppose to be impressive?
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Isaac Luber 8 months ago
Yes. They average over 250 rushing yards combined per game, and we held them to 60...on 30 carries. We also stopped Jaquizz Rodgers of Oregon State, who ran all over USC.
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Kevin Paul 8 months ago
I would say so yes... considering for example that Phil Steele had Beanie as his number one overall ranked back - and just about every recruiting site had Pryor as the top recruit in the country. I would also consider the fact that Wells had over 1,600 yards rushing and 15 TD's last season, and while he was out a few weeks with the injury - he still is a solid back.
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A to the H 8 months ago
Absolutely. If I remember correctly, LSU didn't shut Beanie down like this last year. I thnk playcalling on both sides of the ball hurt OSU/PSU offensively, but I never expected to see Beanie shut down.
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Brett Harper 7 months ago
That is true but half of beanie's yards came from that 70 yard run on their first drive when LSU's defense looked like they should have been in the stands the way they kinda just stood around and watched.
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Kevin Paul 7 months ago
A to,
Yes, both teams didn't open it up at all, but instead chose to play the smash mouth card. I heard that other coaches were calling for Jay Paterno to open it up, but he wasn't doing it... Joe may have been doing that as well - I'm not sure. Could be rumors... but that was definitely the game plan the teams chose to go with in that game...
Brett,
Beanie did have one big run, that's true... what did he end up with though - still 150 yards or so right? So take that out and it's 80ish... I didn't look it up, but because I'm curious, I might just have to...
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Brett Harper 7 months ago
yea, it was about 150.
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Brett Harper 8 months ago
They average 210 yards a game combined and i'm still not impressed. Pryor threw for 266 against PSU. His 2nd best was only 140 yards in the air.
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Kevin Paul 8 months ago
He has the rushing yards on the ground as well. For Pryor it's more all-purpose yards because of his versatility.
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Brett Harper 7 months ago
The 210 yards a game combined is their rushing yards. I was commenting on a comment above when isaac said they are averaging over 250 rushing yards. Pryor is very versatile, and he will become an awesome football player. But he isn't there yet.
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Kevin Paul 7 months ago
Ahh OK, I gotcha... I didn't realize you were responding to Isaac's comment.
I agree, Pryor is getting better already, but he definitely hasn't reached his peak yet - and he won't this year either. But I do think he's going to be a great player...
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Nick The Only 8 months ago
First, all of this conference strength stuff is pretty ridiculous.
But if pressed, I would have to say Penn State's schedule is not that good. Here are some reasons.
1. Penn State's best win will have come against Ohio State, which is not a great best win. You can argue that Ohio State is much better now, Penn State had to play in the shoe, etc. But the bottom line is USC handled Ohio State and Penn State struggled against them. OSU is the only top 15 team that Penn State played or will play.
2. Penn State's second best win will have come against Oregon State (the other OSU). PSU definitely dominated OSU and OSU is a solid team.
3. In the next 3 games, Penn State plays only one not (low) ranked team. Compare Texas Tech - 2 high ranked teams and a possible Big 12 title. Compare Florida (still has strong teams like FSU, South Carolina, and possibly Alabama)) and Bama (still has strong games).
Penn State needs to give the voters piece of mind. Penn State should win its next 3 games by 3 scores or more each. Be dominant and you hard to ignore (that is why Florida is surging). If Penn State struggles and a team like Florida (or a Big 12 team) is blowing out better opponents then the 1-loss team could sneak past an undefeated Penn State. I have nothing against Penn State and I would like for Florida to play them. I just think if an undefeated team were to get jumped by a 1-loss team, the BCS would have to be fixed.
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Kevin Paul 8 months ago
Hey Nick - thanks for stopping by and adding some feedback to the discussion...
Penn State's schedule isn't the strongest on the planet, there's no disputing that - but in regards to OOC schedules, you can say the same for just about all of the top teams in the country right now. As for scheduling, in some cases teams will schedule opponents a few years in advance, and you can't know if a team will have a down year. You also can't fault the Nittany Lions for the drop off of teams like Michigan at this point either.
Penn State has Alabama on schedule in a few years, and I think they have Nebraska again in the near future. There was another legit program that I believe was supposed to be this season, but it fell through - can't remember all the details on that, but I read something about it somewhere a while back.
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Nick The Only 7 months ago
There are several top teams with better OOC schedules. For example, USC played OSU (the second best team in the in Big 10) and Virginia (one of the top teams in the ACC). USC also played 0 FCS opponents. Florida played Miami and will play Florida State, two traditional powers (and FSU is one of the top teams in the ACC and both of those teams could hang with Ohio State this year).
You cannot fault Penn State, but they may still be punished by voters. If other top teams win out, they will have several wins versus top 10-15 teams. PSU will have 1 such win. Whether it is fair to leave PSU out is another question, but there may be a few other teams with more impressive wins.
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Kevin Paul 7 months ago
That's an interesting argument because I can see half people coming back and saying Ohio State isn't that great, they're Big Ten - which is why I started the whole argument in the first place. Combine that with Virginia who was atrocious in an ACC that has struggled - but has come on lately and gotten themselves right back in it... but all in all, with the rest of USC's schedule and one loss, they are behind some of the Big 12 and SEC teams.
I still consider Miami down... they are a year or two away - an UF still hasn't played Florida State yet, but I think the Gators are in good shape.
But anyway, it comes back to your point that I agree with... that if Penn State wins out, and one of the other undefeated teams lose, they deserve a spot in the title game...
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Joe G 8 months ago
Great article Kevin.
I think a lot of the undeserved criticism the Big Ten takes comes as a result of Ohio State losing in two straight Nat'l Title games. First of all, you have to be pretty damn good just to get that far. I believe Oklahoma also lost two in a row, one of them by a 55-19 margin, and nobody called the Big 12 weak as a result.
I'm also glad that you brought up the fact that MSU has a shot at the Big Ten title still. This is where strength of schedule comes into play. If MSU and OSU win out, there would be a three-way tie atop the Big Ten. MSU gets the Rose Bowl berth by virtue of not having a single 1-AA team on their schedule.
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Kevin Paul 8 months ago
Thanks Joe, appreciate it...
Yes, we agree - those were different seasons and different teams. This year is a different team, and for example, Penn State is a different team that runs different schemes...
As for Michigan State, they have played well, with exception to the blowout to Ohio State. There is talent there, and they shouldn't be overlooked.
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Mark Eckhart Jr. 8 months ago
this is a good article, but i dont agree with your point that Penn Sate beat an oklahoma state team that beat USC, because that isnt a valid argument. Oklahoma state didnt play the same way in both games or they probably would have won both games, and i think many people would agree that if Penn State and USC were to play each other, which could happen in the rose bowl, that USC would handle Penn State just fine. Other than that, good argument.
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Kevin Paul 8 months ago
Hey Mark,
Thanks for stopping by...
I believe you mean Oregon State, not Oklahoma State...
Well, see that's the thing - you make a different argument, but not intentionally. Maybe Oregon State played better against USC... maybe they matched up better that night, maybe home field helped them a ton. That's the thing, they played better one night compared to the other - the same can be said for any team. USC didn't play their best game that day against Oregon State... and they likely didn't against Arizona, though they still won albeit by a small margin.
Therefore, if Penn State faced USC, who is to say the Trojans would handle them easily? Don't be so sure, it depends on game plans, how well a team plays, and so on... anything can happen, and that's why college football is so great.
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Mark Eckhart Jr. 8 months ago
thats very true, and again you make a good argument haha, and yes i did mean oregon state...oops
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Kevin Paul 7 months ago
Ha ha, no worries... I knew what you meant, so it's all good.
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Brett Lissenden 7 months ago
Great article Kevin. You make a really good point, but I also think you can go even further with this. What evidence is there that the Big 12 (or SEC) is really that much better than the Big 10? The Big 12 has no out-of-conferences wins to speak of, so how can you really compare it to other conferences. Sure these teams put up some great offensive stats, but last time I checked that doesn't make you a great team. See Tulsa losing to Arkansas last weekend. The bias against Penn State is totally unwarranted, yet I do sympathise with it because I was just as mad as anyone else that the Buckeyes made a joke of two straight National Championship games. It's not fair to pin that on PSU though, who has won 3 straight bowl games against each of the other top 3 conferences outside the Big Ten (SEC, Big 12, ACC). I talk about some of this more in my PSU article I posted this week, so you might want to check it out.
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Kevin Paul 7 months ago
Yes, I will go check out what you had to say Brett - thanks for adding to this discussion.
It pretty much sounds like we are pretty much on the same page.
And to your other point, the Big Ten has enough talent to beat some of these teams on any given Saturday... it can happen. Heck, Michigan knocked off Florida in the last bowl game, I'm sure most people never predicted that one to happen.
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Larry Burton 7 months ago
As a fervent College Football fan with a lean to the SEC and a TOTAL bias toward Alabama, let me give you my .02. What rankles us in the South is that Big Ten Schools always seem to start at the top and then work their way down, where many SEC schools have it the other way around. Yes I know Auburn and Tennessee were pre-season ranked and had the wheels fall off, but that is untypical compared to how year in, year out Big Tens schools always start there only to fall. (yes with some exceptions)
It's not envy but anger. I can only speak for myself, but I've always considered Penn State the anti-Big Ten team. Maybe is old school JoPa who we all respect and admire without question. Should Penn State go undefeated and NOT get a shot at the BCS, it would be a shame. All the players can do is win. They don't make schedules, they don't pick bowls, they just play.
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Kevin Paul 7 months ago
Solid points here Larry and great adds to the discussion... thanks for stopping by...
Hmm... you know I'm trying to think about this one over the past few college seasons. 'Bama certainly didn't start out at the top this year, but with that being said, I think a lot of people (myself included) thought they were a year away... needed some of that top recruiting class talent from 2008 to get some experience... but heck, they have played well under Saban.
Thinking further about this year though... the polls just change. It can come back to the argument that some people toss out there that plain and simple, there shouldn't be preseason polls for this reason. Teams like Clemson, Wisconsin, Auburn, West Virginia, and Tennessee were ranked too high... while teams like Alabama, Penn State, and North Carolina were ranked too low - just to name a few. I'm willing to bet that it occurs in all conferences...
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PHIL STOCK 7 months ago
TO KENT
(Are the gators playing the actual teams that won National Championships?
Seriously...that argument is ridiculous.
If you are putting it that way....Ohio State is playing 5 teams that have won National Championships this season (USC, Michigan, Minnesota, Michigan State and Penn State). So there. Ohio State has Florida beat.
How awful.)
I count only ONE (USC)BCS Champion in your list, not 5. If you have to go back to the leather helments days add the DOGS,MISS AND TIDE to my previous list. GATORS WIN,nothing new,SO THERE.
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