Rebuilding the Big Ten Powerhouse: Fixing a Suffering Conference

Redesigning team uniforms and switching the home team side of the stadium are just two of the many tricks a coach might try in attempting to rid a program of recent turmoil. But what if the turmoil involves multiple teams and these lapses mostly occur in the postseason?

Well, then it’s time for conference officials to make a few changes. Let’s just hope the Big Ten is listening after its embarrassing bowl performance this season.

For its efforts during the 2008-2009 season the conference was granted bowl appearances for seven of its 11 teams. Of those, three teams—Michigan State, Penn State, and Ohio State—were ranked in the top 20. However, outsider Iowa was the only program in the Big Ten to win in the postseason.

Granted, the Hawkeyes were favored against a 7-5 Steve Spurrier squad in South Carolina, but they still showed up to play and took home the Outback Bowl victory in convincing fashion. Iowa’s win was just the fourth for the Big Ten in 15 postseason bowl appearances for the past two seasons.

The biggest disappointments this year for the Big Ten in postseason play would be the efforts of the No. 8 Penn St. Nittany Lions and the No. 10 Ohio State Buckeyes. Joe Paterno’s boys were looking to reverse the curse of Big Ten blunders at the Rose Bowl, but like their conference mate Illinois in the previous Rose Bowl, folded like a house of cards to Pete Carroll and Southern Cal.

The Buckeyes at least came out firing, but unfortunately squandered the lead late in the fourth quarter and lost in the Fiesta Bowl thanks to a dramatic drive by Texas.

So, what can the Big Ten do to reinvigorate its teams to make them more competitive, and more importantly, better prepared for the bowl season?

First, the conference needs to deal with its name and the ironic structure of the conference. The Big Ten actually has 11 teams, so it can go two routes—drop one school that seems to finish towards the bottom each season, or bring on another program in close proximity that will also provide a high level of play for other conference members.

Route No. 1

The Big Ten could give the Minnesota Gophers the boot. The Gophers won just three conference games in 2008, a drastic improvement from their 0-8 conference record in 2007. Three conference wins in two years just won't cut it.

With the cut, the conference is back down to 10 teams, and to solve the problem of teams winning one tough game and losing another from week-to-week, break up the conference into an East-West format and hold a conference championship.

In 2007, Illinois shocked the conference by toppling No. 1 Ohio State, capping an end to a string of wins over ranked opponents. They did, however, falter against a few unranked teams, so figuring out the final conference standings came down to a BCS system-like cluster to determine a champion.

A conference championship would benefit not only the conference and its added revenue for tacking on another televised contest, but also the teams, who will undoubtedly move on to one of the upper-tier BCS games.

A team that takes a few weeks off before a bowl game gets a chance to rest up, heal from a long season, and strategize for their upcoming game, but often times, the same team that was so fierce in the regular season is flat when it comes kickoff time in their bowl game.

The reason: They got out of the routine of practicing Monday through Friday, then smashing helmets on Saturday. Instead, they have to switch gears and endure weeks of film sessions, team meetings, walkthroughs, and scout defenses.

Giving a team another game to hone their talents, eliminate their flaws, and test their grit against another tough opponent will only benefit when it comes time for a bowl game. Lest we forget, a conference championship will also help tear away the "what ifs" and declare an outright champ.

Route No. 2

Bring in another team to make the conference numbers even. This would also almost force the conference to hold a championship.

The team best suited for the transition would be the Missouri Tigers. 

Given Columbia’s proximity to Big Ten country, compared to its locale in relation to other Big 12 schools, the shift would be a rather convenient one. It’s far enough east that it’s definitely a doable game for any conference opponent.

Missouri even has Big Ten history, having met up with Illinois during Week One of the 2007 and 2008 seasons. This annual game generates plenty of buzz in the Midwest and doesn't disappoint fans that crave a high-scoring shootout. Think of the possibilities if this game had more implications on conference standings. 

As for its comparison to would-be conference mates, Missouri would more than likely fall in line with other schools in terms of quality of football. In 2008, the Tigers ranked fourth in scoring offense in the Big 12, finishing the season averaging 42.2 points per game—16 more points per game than the Big Ten average.

Defensively, the Tigers struggled, giving up an average of 27.2 points a game. But look at the teams they played—Texas, Texas Tech, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, who averaged 60 points per game in their final five contests. The Big 12 is a loaded conference that loves to score.

Missouri’s high-scoring offense and its experience against top-notch opponents would only benefit a Big Ten conference that has one or two good teams a year, and a handful of others that are scraping the bottom of the barrel in FBS football.

You often hear the cliché, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” but if the Big Ten doesn’t grab some tools and get to work, the once powerhouse football conference will most likely crumble again in 2009.