The Big Ten conference sent seven of its 11 teams bowling this holiday season, but maybe they should have sent them fishing instead.
It's Saturday night, Dec. 27, and the Florida State Seminoles have just overwhelmed their opponent, and Big Ten representatives, the Wisconsin Badgers.
Overwhelmed is a good word, but there are others that would certainly do justice as well, because ladies and gentlemen, it got ugly.
Florida State proved to be too much for a struggling Badgers team. Their defense was too fast, and while their offense didn't play to expectations, they did what needed to be done, and the Wisconsin defense was no match.
One Big Ten team up, one Big Ten team down.
The question is how far will this go? Will any Big Ten team walk away with a win this Bowl season?
I for one would hope so, but looking at the schedule for the next week, there is a possibility that the Big Ten teams go 0-7 in postseason play.
The next team to step up to the plate for this Midwestern conference is Northwestern. The Wildcats will face the Tigers from Missouri in San Antonio for the Valero Alamo Bowl.
Just hearing this matchup makes you wince if you're a Big Ten fan.
Northwestern is perennially at the bottom of the standings in the Big Ten, but finishing their season at 9-3 has the Wildcats in postseason play for the first time since 2005. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, they haven't won a bowl game since 1949.
Missouri finished first in the Big 12 North division and is powered by Chase Daniels and an explosive offense. The Tigers however proved to be inferior in big games and didn't beat a ranked opponent all year.
Two days after Northwestern takes the field, Minnesota takes on Kansas in Tempe, AZ for the Insight Bowl.
Minnesota started the season off strong, going 7-1 in the first 8 games, their only loss at the hand of co-Big Ten Champions Ohio State. And when the first BCS standings were released, Minnesota sat at the 24th position.
The very next week they lost to Northwestern and then proceeded to lose every game after that. The finished their regular season losing to Iowa 55-0.
Kansas is a struggling Big 12 team, but have momentum heading into this game after beating Big 12 North champ Missouri in the season finale. Aside from that victory, their season looks unimpressive, and the Golden Gophers certainly feel that they have a chance for a "W".
The first game of 2009 has South Carolina pitted against Iowa in the Outback Bowl.
Iowa started the 2008 campaign slower than anticipated, but have recovered some of their swagger after beating No. 3 Penn State in November. In fact, the Hawkeyes have won their last three games including the blow out game against the Golden Gophers, in which their offense put up Oklahoma-like numbers.
South Carolina has been mediocre at best, losing three of their final five games. The Gamecocks are making their third appearance in the Outback Bowl and have won both of their previous appearances. History might be the only thing on their side.
Before the South Carolina/Iowa game is concluded, Michigan State will begin their battle with the Georgia Bulldogs.
We're going to send you the most entertaining Ohio State Football articles, videos, and podcasts from around the web.
26 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete