Big Ten Football: Power Ranking The Most Hated Teams in The Conference
No matter who you are, if you're a fan of college football, there's always that one team you love, and that one that you can't stand.
In the case of the Big Ten Conference, hatred is built from years of tradition combined with new events that just rub some people the wrong way.
With the 12 teams in the Big Ten, Nebraska included, there is a large amount of disparity between teams that people hate with a passion and those than people are indifferent towards.
Here is a power ranking of the 12 teams based on their typical degree of hate.
12. Northwestern: Evanston, Illinois
1 of 12
Degree of Hate: Minimal to none. It's hard to hate a school with such high academic standards and still puts out a very competitive football team.
Besides, is there any doubt that any Northwestern football player would run through a wall for Pat Fitzgerald?
Reason for Hate: Other than having a very high rejection rate for applications, it's tough to hate on the Wildcats.
11. Indiana: Bloomington, Indiana
2 of 12
Degree of Hate: Barely existent. Indiana is a basketball school first and foremost, regardless of how good or bad the team is.
The students at times have seemed apathetic towards a football program that has only played in nine bowl games in its history by rarely selling out its stadium on game days.
Reason for Hate: Again, it's tough to hate Indiana football, but only because it's been irrelevant for so many years.
With only two Big Ten titles in history, Indiana has been a doormat for many years, and it may stay that way as they have been placed in a division with Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin in the new Big Ten.
10. Minnesota: Minneapolis, Minnesota
3 of 12
Degree of Hate: Minimal to mild. People who are casual football fans might not know that the Golden Gophers have six national championships to claim.
The university's last title came is in 1960, and the last of their 18 Big Ten championships came in 1967.
Since then, the Gophers have only played in 12 bowl games, and finished 2010 with a 3-9 record.
Reason for Hate: The only reason some teams might have hate toward the Gophers is the amount of rivalry games they play, including against Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
Other than that, the rest of the conference may be apathetic towards the Gophers who have not been very relevant in the Big Ten title picture.
Unless new coach Jerry Kill can turn the program around, the current reaction to Minnesota might not change.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
9. Purdue: West Lafayette, Indiana
4 of 12
Degree of Hate: The higher your ranking, the more the hate. The Boilermakers have the third-most upsets of No. 1 teams in football history.
Purdue did win the Big Ten in 2000 with Drew Brees running the spread attack, and have at times given the top teams in the conference a run for their money.
And they do share a pretty entertaining rivalry with Indiana in the Battle for the Old Oaken Bucket.
Reason for Hate: Purdue can be considered as one of the big schools that helped pushed the spread offense into the forefront of college football.
And that offense makes this team fun to watch at times, though some traditionalists believe it might have hurt the game a little bit.
This school as mentioned has been a kryptonite for the top schools in past years, most recently Ohio State in 2009.
Purdue has been capable of ruining seasons, leaving some fans to have scorn towards the Boilermakers.
8. Illinois: Champaign, Illinois
5 of 12
Degree of Hate: Mild. The Illini have been up-and-down in the Ron Zook era, with two bowl appearances in four years including the 2008 Rose Bowl Game.
Illinois has been fighting for respect in recent years, but has not established the consistency that a good program in the Big Ten needs to have.
Reason for Hate: Illinois came back from irrelevance in the mid-2000s with a bang, clinching a share of the Big Ten with a shocking win at Ohio State.
But the reason most fans have a bone to pick with the Illini is Zook himself. He has been accused of being a dirty recruiter although he has brought in a good deal of talent.
Fans might be more frustrated with Illinois except that Zook has showed that he has not gotten the most out of his team and his talent.
That inconsistency has kept an Illini team which has some talent from really competing actively in the Big Ten.
7. Michigan State: East Lansing, Michigan
6 of 12
Degree of Hate: Irritance/annoyance. For most of the last few years since the Nick Saban era, Michigan State has been the red-headed stepchild.
The program has sought the respect they felt they deserved, but lately have fallen victim to late-season collapses.
But since Mark Dantonio took over at MSU, Sparty has turned itself around, going 11-1 this year and being computer points away from its first-ever BCS appearance.
Reason for Hate: With rivalries between such schools as Penn State, Michigan and Notre Dame, MSU has long been looked at as little brother.
But after this past season, Sparty has done significant work to shed that image finishing in the top-10 in the country.
Fans of those other schools might be inclined to want to put Sparty back in its place.
Unfortunately for them and to their frustration, it doesn't look like MSU is going anywhere anytime soon.
6. Iowa: Iowa City, Iowa
7 of 12
Degree of Hate: Good amount. Iowa football has been big in the past few years from the Hayden Fry era to Kirk Ferentz's tenure as head coach.
The Hawkeyes own two Big Ten titles in Ferentz's tenure but have had in-program problems in recent years including the recent drug situation.
Reason for Hate: Who wants to play in Iowa City when it gets cold? The stadium is full of things that drive opponents crazy, from the pink locker room to the rabid fans.
But recently, people have been annoyed with the recent drug situation that has RB Adam Robinson suspended, in addition to the losses of RBs Jewel Hampton and Brandon Wegher.
Last year had to be maddening for some fans with all of Iowa's last-second victories on the way to the Orange Bowl.
But if nothing else, Iowa can be frustrating because they usually surpass low expectations or fail to meet high expectations as was the case in 2010.
5. Nebraska: Lincoln, Nebraska
8 of 12
Degree of Hate: Worse outside of the Big Ten than inside. For most of the Big Ten schools, Nebraska has been welcomed with open arms as the conference expands to 12 teams.
But Nebraska has been scorned upon by the Big 12 and other portions of the country because of their decision to jump ship.
Reason for Hate: Despite Nebraska being one of the smallest population states in the Big Ten, their fanbase is among the largest in the country, celebrating well over 300 consecutive sellouts of Memorial Stadium.
The school may also boast one of the greatest teams in sports history, the 1995 squad featuring Tommie Frazier, winning the national championship and holding a victory margin of 38+ points.
But with fans as passionate as Nebraska's, it may not be long before their energy rubs other opponents the wrong way.
4. Wisconsin: Madison, Wisconsin
9 of 12
Degree of Hate: All-time high. Most of the flack drawn towards Wisconsin has been a result of their surge to the Rose Bowl.
Reason for Hate: All season long, no one has been able to stop a Wisconsin offense which just batters people all game long, and that makes it so frustrating.
But what has really drawn a lot of ire Wisconsin's way is how often they have run up the score since beating Ohio State to move to first in the Big Ten.
Bret Bielema took no chances this season, and while some consider that just unsportsmanlike, he didn't have a choice if he wanted a shot to play for a national title should Oregon or Auburn have dropped a game.
And Bielema drew even more flack for going for two against an overmatched Minnesota squad.
Based on their play this season, hate for Wisconsin is at an all-time high, and it has nothing to do with their boisterous, wild fans.
3. Penn State: State College, Pennsylvania
10 of 12
Degree of Hate: High. Penn State was the original Nebraska of the Big Ten and has become a mainstay at the top for the past several seasons.
Reason for Hate: It doesn't help when you have a coach that has single-handedly outlasted dozens and dozens of Big Ten coaching regimes.
Joe Paterno's winning ways have created great frustration to other teams, especially in recent seasons with three top-ten finishes since 2005.
The students are as wild as any school in the country, and the White Out is a flat-out scary thing to witness if you are the visitor; just ask Ohio State in 2005.
But the biggest cause for hate is the amount of arrests that Penn State players have drawn in most recent years, most especially from 2002-2008 where 46 players were charged of 163 crimes.
The large amount of arrests have led to the unflattering nickname "State Penn" by opposing fans.
2. Michigan: Ann Arbor, Michigan
11 of 12
Degree of Hate: Very high.
Reason for Hate: Except for the past couple of seasons, Michigan has been dominant in so many ways on the gridiron.
Now people respond negatively as much to Michigan because of Rich Rodriguez's actions, from being a "snake-oil salesman" in the eyes of former Purdue coach Joe Tiller, to forcing an illegal excess of practice hours and for it to amount to a combined eight wins from 2008 to 2009.
And his recent tears to his "You Raise Me Up" speech drew groans from many people, including its performer Josh Groban, who criticized Rodriguez on Twitter saying, "Coach Rodriguez, I'm very flattered but crying to You Raise Me Up is SO five years ago."
Rodriguez is more heavily criticized by his own fans than other fans, especially OSU fans who wish he would never leave based on their last three matchups.
Michigan fans have not been able to hail as much as they used to, but people still hate them as much as ever.
1. Ohio State: Columbus, Ohio
12 of 12
Degree of Hate: Probably most hated in the country.
Reason for Hate: Unless you're from Ohio State, it's impossible to like the Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes have been the New York Yankees of college football for most of this decade, dominating their conference despite their lack of success in big games in recent seasons.
The recent suspensions of Terrelle Pryor and others do not help their cause of being well-liked.
In addition to being so good every season, Ohio State has an extremely lucrative Nike contract and get featured on national television almost as much as any team in the country.
Their alumni are everywhere in the world and always like to let people know how good the team is.
The fans are insane, the team is insanely talented, and yet their failure on the big stage against Florida and LSU in national championship games have drawn tremendous flack from almost everyone, including media outlets such as ESPN.
It's hard to find another program that has as much animosity towards itself as Ohio State.
For more college football information and news, visit The BCS Blitz and follow me on Twitter @bielik_tim.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
