Discrepancy within the Big 10

[columbusdude82]

Obviously there is much to be said, and there are as many opinions as there are observers. But these can be classified under two headings:

1. The Big 10 versus other conferences, bowl games, and Ohio State's national championship game woes. This isn't the topic of this thread.

2. Discrepancy within the Big 10, from Ohio State to Minnesota.

The aim of this thread is (hopefully) to diagnose #2 above. I am told that there was a time, long before I was born, back when Woody Hayes coached Ohio State, before Purdue became Purdon't, that Iowa were competitive, that Minnesota could play football, and the Big 10 generally was a far more competitive conference.

Nowadays, we have the spectacle of masochists like Minnesota and Northwestern coming to Ohio Stadium for their annual ass-whooping. This year OSU dominated these teams so badly that fans left the game early and/or passed the time following up on other games elsewhere.

The discrepancy was so huge that, even in a rebuilding year for the Buckeyes when the draft took away so much talent and left us with a young and inexperienced team, we were still able to dominate the Big 10.

To those that say that Ohio State pads their schedule with easy teams, well, we can't pick our conference partners or make them better teams than they are. We can only play them.

Perhaps next season things will be different, and more of the games in the Shoe will be exciting, rather than blowouts.

Put simply, what's the deal with Minnesota?

Discuss.

[Historian Yates]

Honestly, I think a lot of it is as simple as weather and economy. If you're a premier high school talent with a lot of options, why would you choose to spend 3 to 4 years in Iowa or Minnesota when Georgia, Florida and LA are options? Plus the economy in the midwest is not exactly experiencing double digit growth. The majority of players, even in major conferences, are going to have to consider what they'll do after school. The advtantage there goes to the south and west.

Ohio State has escaped that because Columbus is a fairly happening place to live and Ohio is still top five nationally in high school football. Wisconsin is the only other program that hasn't eroded, and that's mainly because Barry Alvarez did such a great job. Mediocre coaches and AD's won't cut when your state/region have major disadvantages.

I may be way off base on that, but it seems like a legit reason to me. One way or the other, Big 10 football is unwatchable...and in hindsight, the Buckeyes could have used a 9-4 season with a win in the Alamo bowl rather than the credibility crushing loss that actually happened.

[columbusdude82]

Good point on the weather, Historian Yates. I hadn't actually considered that. But I have to disagree: Big 10 football is very watchable, especially when Michigan is getting an ass-whooping

[Historian Yates]

LOL. This should tell you how bad the Big Ten is...Michigan breezed through the conference after getting whacked by a 1-AA team and Oregon, until they met Wisconsin and Ohio State. The only two programs that haven't gone to hell in the last decade.

I remember last year when Cal and Oregon played, with all the national hype and "game of the year" buzz. College Gameday was there, it was the major national game of the week on ABC. 4:00 rolls around and what do we  get in the midwest? Fucking Michigan and Northwestern. Just brutal.

[columbusdude82]

Yes, yes, but WHY? What happened?

[CalvinH]

How did Michigan do against the SEC in their bowl game?

[columbusdude82]

How did Michigan do against the SEC in their bowl game?

They won, but that's off topic. What are your thoughts on the Big 10 internal malaise?

[Historian Yates]

Yes, yes, but WHY? What happened?

I gave you my best guess.

How did Michigan do against the SEC in their bowl game?

They won, and it was a good win. They had a lot to play for...this was a senior class that never won a bowl and never beat Ohio State, with a retiring coach. It doesn't change the fact that Michigan has been down. With their team speed and style of play, though, I think they were better equipped to play an SEC team than Ohio State was.

[CalvinH]

They won, but that's off topic. What are your thoughts on the Big 10 internal malaise?

I think that besides Ohio St,Michigan,and Penn St.they are just not getting the recruits.
right now Cal,Texas,and Florida are the hot beds of recruiting and those kids hear the names of the SEC,Pac 10,in their ears.plus when do ever hear of a big 10 coach being a great recruiter like guys like Shiano from Rutgers,or the guy who's now coaching Michigan? The answer is you don't.

[columbusdude82]

OK, so we've identified two factors so far: weather, and recruiting abilities.

Keep up the good thinking guys

[columbusdude82]

So I did some inquiries in the university about why our out-of-conference schedule seems to consist largely of these small Ohio schools (Youngstown State, Kent State, etc).

It turns out there's not much the university can do here. The pressure comes from the Ohio legislature, who control the purse strings and want to have their say in all matters.

They basically twist the athletic department's arm to force it to play these small Ohio schools in the Horseshoe.

A couple of faculty members told me that this is entirely typical of the way the politicians downtown behave, they want to meddle in athletics, in the medical center, in research money, etc... I hate meddling politicians...