Posted on Jan 2, 2015
College Football: Big 10 back to being THE best conference?
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Big 10 the new SEC? Noting, of course, that the SEC has been way overrated for way too long, and with Ohio State looking to finish #1 or #2; with MSU looking to finish #3 (with its only losses coming to OSU and Oregon); with Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Minnesota looking to finish in the top 25; and with at least 7 teams winning bowl games, is the Big 10 back to being THE power conference?
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College Football
College Football
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 7
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Just because Ohio State has won a National Championship in this decade doesn't not make the Big Ten anything other than the overrated conference that it is. The SEC has won 7 Championships in the last ten years. Taking nothing away from Ohio State. They have a great football program and they should think about leaving the Big 10 to play where football teams show what it can do on the field, not what some sports writer thinks (Read Michigan Here). The weak conference allows teams like Michigan State to look better than what they are, because they can win conference games.
Since there is now playoffs games you can pretty much count out most of the Big 10 schools out of a championship spot with the exception of Ohio State.
Since there is now playoffs games you can pretty much count out most of the Big 10 schools out of a championship spot with the exception of Ohio State.
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LTC Paul Labrador
Michigan St has been winning bowl games and taking down top teams for a while now. If MSU can knock off OSU, which they have the capability to do, they absolutely deserve to be in the playoffs. Big 10 has been down the last few years, I'll admit, but they are starting to cycle up again.
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SGT William Howell
Bowl Games are no longer the National Championship. You actually have to play, and beat, good teams to win the National Championship. It is not longer about biased sports writers picking their favorite teams. Bowl Games are just that. People voting for teams that may not be able to play at the level of the other. Remember the laughtastic Alabama, Notre Dame game in 2012 where the cheerleaders were scoring on the Irish. In saying that the SEC did pretty bad in most every bowl game this year.
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As a diehard Ohio State fan (and Big 10 supporter), I will concede that top to bottom the SEC is the best conference in college football. But here's the kicker: the margin over the other conferences is not that big. The best teams in the other Power 5 conferences are just as good (if not better) than the best in the SEC. And tat was proven this past week. The issue is that the SEC gets a pass when it comes to close scrutiny on the quality of their teams simply BECAUSE they are in the SEC. I fully expect for the SEC to continue to contend for NC's. They have some pretty good programs after all.....BUT is also expect that they not longer get the free pass on the scrutiny simply based on the presumption that the SEC is so superior to everyone else.
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SPC(P) Jay Heenan
Oh sir, I didn't know you had that condition. Don't worry, Michigan is working hard at a cure...we know it is not your fault. Hahaha, see even when my team sucks, I still like to talk trash a bit.
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LTC Paul Labrador
I am happy that TTUN hired Harbaugh. Believe it or not, I want TTUN to be good again. It makes the B1G that much stronger overall as a conference, adds luster back into the rivalry and makes my Buckeyes look even better when we spank you yet again in The Game. If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best..... ;o)
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LTC Paul Labrador
SSG John Erny - yes, I think Nebraska and Texas A&M both leaving hurt the conferences. Those are 2 maquee schools with marquee programs. They are hard to replace. With both Texas and Oklahoma being down, TCU and Baylor have stepped up....but will they be able to sustain their success? Also neither school brings the name power as Nebraska or A&M.
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SEC I feel is not overrated; the topic is come up now that Bama lost to OSU. They simply lost to a better team. They were ranked correctly, had a decent strength of schedule and beat the teams they needed to beat. Keep in mind next year will be the same argument, with better recruits for 2015 (SEC has three of the top 10 recruiting classes in the nation). Basically the SEC is reloading with fresh talent and will most likely receive the better end of bowl bids again.
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MAJ (Join to see)
MSG (Join to see) Good points, but its bigger than the Buckeyes beating Alabama. The SEC's overall bowl performance this year has been terrible. (2 wins, 5 losses). Auburn lost to Wisconsin 34-31 (and OSU beat Wisconsin in the B1G Championship 59-0); LSU lost to unranked Notre Dame; TCU destroyed Mississippi; Georgia Tech manhandled Mississippi State.
On strength of schedule, Alabama's schedule looked good until the SEC lost most of its bowl games. Its a bit hard to defend SEC strength of schedule vs. B1G strength of schedule when a team like Michigan State loses to only OSU (and beats several ranked B1G teams) and Oregon, but Alabama's non-conference schedule includes Western Carolina and Florida Atlantic.
But I'll acknowledge the same argument will come up next year; the SEC is a good conference, with good teams, and good (great?) recruiting. But LTC Paul Labrador makes the same points about OSU (which will have arguably the three best quarterbacks in the country next year).
I will say I am happy with this year's playoff. My biggest concern early in the season when the SEC had three teams in the top four was that the playoff would be a rehash of the SEC West regular season. I'm glad that didn't happen, and the selection committee hopefully has learned their lesson (ie, three of the top four teams in the country aren't ever going to be found in one conference sub-division).
A question: What will post-season rankings look like? The selection committee has some reflection to do on its methods; so far this bowl season, 6 top 25 teams lost to unrated or lower-rated teams (#1, 5, 7, 10, 11, and 23). Post-season rankings will feed into next year's pre-season rankings. Looking back over this season, its pretty clear, when on average somewhere between 5 and 7 ranked teams lost to unranked or lower ranked teams each week (with the worst week being 11 ranked teams losing to unranked or lower ranked teams) that the bodies that make the rankings really don't know what they are doing.
On strength of schedule, Alabama's schedule looked good until the SEC lost most of its bowl games. Its a bit hard to defend SEC strength of schedule vs. B1G strength of schedule when a team like Michigan State loses to only OSU (and beats several ranked B1G teams) and Oregon, but Alabama's non-conference schedule includes Western Carolina and Florida Atlantic.
But I'll acknowledge the same argument will come up next year; the SEC is a good conference, with good teams, and good (great?) recruiting. But LTC Paul Labrador makes the same points about OSU (which will have arguably the three best quarterbacks in the country next year).
I will say I am happy with this year's playoff. My biggest concern early in the season when the SEC had three teams in the top four was that the playoff would be a rehash of the SEC West regular season. I'm glad that didn't happen, and the selection committee hopefully has learned their lesson (ie, three of the top four teams in the country aren't ever going to be found in one conference sub-division).
A question: What will post-season rankings look like? The selection committee has some reflection to do on its methods; so far this bowl season, 6 top 25 teams lost to unrated or lower-rated teams (#1, 5, 7, 10, 11, and 23). Post-season rankings will feed into next year's pre-season rankings. Looking back over this season, its pretty clear, when on average somewhere between 5 and 7 ranked teams lost to unranked or lower ranked teams each week (with the worst week being 11 ranked teams losing to unranked or lower ranked teams) that the bodies that make the rankings really don't know what they are doing.
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MSG (Join to see)
LTC Paul Labrador, I agree. If it wasn't for the SEC East doing their part in winning their bowl games, the SEC would be completely embarrassed. Maybe the lights got too bright for the SEC West teams, I'm not sure. I feel OSU, led by a former SEC coach in Meyer, was a better fit and I wasn't surprised at the outcome. Did the committee get it wrong by picking FSU over Baylor? Baylor definitely made a case for that as well. OSU also has a 10 top recruiting class, and it has been rumored that Miller is looking into transferring to FSU (maybe he saw "12-gauge" doing well in both Big 10 and bowl game championships and might have to fight harder for his spot.)
MAJ Jeff Jager, I think the playoffs went well, and the committee will learn from their choices as well. PAC 12 (as hard for me to say) did do well in their respective bowl games and make a case as well. It may open up for a bigger playoff down the road who knows. Either way an exciting topic, and some teams I feel got overlooked (Georgia, Boise State to name a few) will get better ranking love next year.
MAJ Jeff Jager, I think the playoffs went well, and the committee will learn from their choices as well. PAC 12 (as hard for me to say) did do well in their respective bowl games and make a case as well. It may open up for a bigger playoff down the road who knows. Either way an exciting topic, and some teams I feel got overlooked (Georgia, Boise State to name a few) will get better ranking love next year.
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LTC Paul Labrador
Miller is not going anywhere. And if he's scared of the competition from JT Barrett and Cardale Jones, then he's not going to do all that well in the pros where the competition is cut throat. Urban Meyers will let all 3 compete for the job, but if Miller's passing has improved, he'll be the starter.....but having those two as back-ups is very reassuring if/when Miller gets hurt again.
BTW, both Meyers and Saban coached at Ohio State long before they coached in the SEC..... ;o)
BTW, both Meyers and Saban coached at Ohio State long before they coached in the SEC..... ;o)
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SGT William Howell
No doubts. OSU is the team to beat this coming year. Is there anybody that can do it? I really don't think so. Still Big10 is not all that!
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Sir, I think you're right about that. I'm a casual fan of just about all sports, including college football. And I know that fans will be fans (just like boys will be boys, in that vein), but I have tired of the SEC fans talking s**t for lo these many years. It's good to see somebody else in the spotlight this year, very good. (The link to this article on ESPN was titled "Alabama Beatdown" and that warmed my heart a bit. I guess it's a classic case of Schadenfreude, and I am guilty. http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/106878/buckeyes-deliver-alabama-style-beating)
Being a casual fan, I don't really know who will prevail in the championship game, but I'm rooting for the Oregon Ducks. ESPN says not to bet against Ohio State, which I take to mean Oregon is the underdog, and I love me a good underdog. Whether that's true or not, I say ... Go Ducks!
Being a casual fan, I don't really know who will prevail in the championship game, but I'm rooting for the Oregon Ducks. ESPN says not to bet against Ohio State, which I take to mean Oregon is the underdog, and I love me a good underdog. Whether that's true or not, I say ... Go Ducks!
Ohio State Buckeyes deliver Alabama-style beating to Crimson Tide - College Football Nation Blog...
Alabama endures enormous beating against Ohio State, completely gets away from staples of Nick Saban's best seasons in Tuscaloosa
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MAJ (Join to see)
Seems like lots of folks are going for Oregon in the final. Lots of folks were going for Alabama in the semi.
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LTC Paul Labrador
Chief, actually Oregon is a 7pt favorite to win. The Buckeyes are considered a significant underdog in this game. They say don't bet against the Buckeyes because sports gamblers have lost A LOT of money on the Buckeyes this year. The Buckeyes have been underdogs in all of the major games they've played in, and not only covered the spread, but put up HUGE wins against teams they were not supposed to beat (Michigan St, Wisconsin, Alabama). So if you're interested in rooting for the "underdog", Ohio State is it...
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