Is the Big Ten overrated in football? it was not just one “historically bad Saturday”
… only two national titles in past 50 years
Last Saturday illustrated how far the Big Ten has fallen over the last few years. When BYU defeats the sixth-ranked team in the country, Wisconsin (24-12), when Troy (who?) overwhelms Nebraska (24-19), when Temple destroys Maryland (35-14), and Kansas — yes Kansas — humiliates Rutgers (55-14), and when Northwestern loses to Akron (39-34), you know that the Big Ten is in deep trouble top to bottom.
Overall, the conference lost seven games and won just six, and those seven losses were to unranked teams. According to the Associated Press, that is the first time that happened to the Big Ten since 1936, which is the first time that they started ranking teams.
The Wisconsin loss in Madison was particularly galling for the conference since the Badgers were ranked fifth and sixth in the two major polls. However, it feeds a narrative that the Big Ten teams are traditionally ranked higher than they should be in the preseason polls. And, that is reinforced when things like this happen.
Remember, Penn State, now ranked xxx, had to go into overtime at home in their opener to defeat Appalachian State, yes Appa State. And Ohio State had to battle from behind to defeat TCU, yes TCU.
Add to that Michigan’s humiliating loss to Notre Dame, and the Big Ten is 6-6 against the Power 5 conferences and Notre Dame.
The conference had four teams in the Top Ten in the preseason poll, but now only two remain. My prediction is that after Ohio State pummels Penn State in a few weeks, there may be only one.
The conference supporters point to 3-0 starts from Ohio State, Indiana, Iowa, Penn State, and Minnesota. The problem, however, is the weakness of those opponents for those teams.
Maryland’s loss to Temple, which was 0-2. was particularly puzzling since it knocked off Texas in the first week, a Texas team that upset USC last week.
Northwestern had expected to have a good season, but has now lost to Duke and Akron.
A USA Today story put the situation bluntly, “Maryland’s stumble was just the first blow in a rough afternoon for the Big Ten. Starting with the Terrapins’ loss, a range of scores on Saturday put an official end to the idea that the Big Ten is the strongest league in the country.” It did not say who had been calling the conference the toughest, primarily because that came from Big Ten enthusiasts.
The Wisconsin loss also pointed to the idea that the Badgers, who have been representing the Big Ten West in the conference championship game, play a perennially easy schedule. The USA Today article wrote that “… the loss to BYU feeds into the theory that Wisconsin was overrated heading into the regular season as a result of last year’s 13-1 finish, which was in turn built on the back of a soft schedule.”
Big Ten historically has not been strong
In the past 50 years, since 1968, the Big Ten has won only two national titles outright, both Ohio State in 2014 and 2003, and Michigan a shared title in 1997. So much for their being a strong conference.
So, that gives them about 5.5 percentage over that time. The best? You have to be kidding.
Here is my theory
The Big Ten media are like a pack, voting regularly for the teams in the conference even when they know that they are suspect, like Wisconsin is this year. Since the Badgers play in a horribly weak B10 West, they have a good chance of going undefeated since they play no one strong in their non-conference games [when was the last time that BYU was strong?].
Give Michigan credit. They played a tough team in its early games, and while losing, at least they played someone. Those 3-0 teams right now are not going to be powerful, unless they play in the west, in which case they have a shot at winning seven or eight games.
So, when the time comes for the playoffs, if Ohio State can skate past tougher opponents, most overrated like Penn State is now, then they can reach the NCAA title fray … and they will lose, like they did to Clemson, 30-0, in 2016. Last year, the Big Ten was so bad that no team made the final four. That outraged the Big Ten media, who pompously pointed out the unfairness of it.
However, the national selection committee was right. There were four better teams than Ohio State last year, and there were the year before, too.
In short, the Big Ten is overrated now and has been for years. The only reason that they are crowing is because their teams were 7-1 in bowls last year … but they ignore that they were 3-7 the previous season, one in which all of the eastern teams lost (0-5).
So, last week was not just one "historically bad Saturday," as a headline in the Star-Tribune in Minneapolis wrote. It is just that the Big Ten apologists' chickens are coming home to roost.
The conference supporters point to 3-0 starts from Ohio State, Indiana, Iowa, Penn State, and Minnesota. The problem, however, is the weakness of those opponents for those teams.
Maryland’s loss to Temple, which was 0-2. was particularly puzzling since it knocked off Texas in the first week, a Texas team that upset USC last week.
Northwestern had expected to have a good season, but has now lost to Duke and Akron.
A USA Today story put the situation bluntly, “Maryland’s stumble was just the first blow in a rough afternoon for the Big Ten. Starting with the Terrapins’ loss, a range of scores on Saturday put an official end to the idea that the Big Ten is the strongest league in the country.” It did not say who had been calling the conference the toughest, primarily because that came from Big Ten enthusiasts.
The Wisconsin loss also pointed to the idea that the Badgers, who have been representing the Big Ten West in the conference championship game, play a perennially easy schedule. The USA Today article wrote that “… the loss to BYU feeds into the theory that Wisconsin was overrated heading into the regular season as a result of last year’s 13-1 finish, which was in turn built on the back of a soft schedule.”
Big Ten historically has not been strong
In the past 50 years, since 1968, the Big Ten has won only two national titles outright, both Ohio State in 2014 and 2003, and Michigan a shared title in 1997. So much for their being a strong conference.
So, that gives them about 5.5 percentage over that time. The best? You have to be kidding.
Here is my theory
The Big Ten media are like a pack, voting regularly for the teams in the conference even when they know that they are suspect, like Wisconsin is this year. Since the Badgers play in a horribly weak B10 West, they have a good chance of going undefeated since they play no one strong in their non-conference games [when was the last time that BYU was strong?].
Give Michigan credit. They played a tough team in its early games, and while losing, at least they played someone. Those 3-0 teams right now are not going to be powerful, unless they play in the west, in which case they have a shot at winning seven or eight games.
So, when the time comes for the playoffs, if Ohio State can skate past tougher opponents, most overrated like Penn State is now, then they can reach the NCAA title fray … and they will lose, like they did to Clemson, 30-0, in 2016. Last year, the Big Ten was so bad that no team made the final four. That outraged the Big Ten media, who pompously pointed out the unfairness of it.
However, the national selection committee was right. There were four better teams than Ohio State last year, and there were the year before, too.
In short, the Big Ten is overrated now and has been for years. The only reason that they are crowing is because their teams were 7-1 in bowls last year … but they ignore that they were 3-7 the previous season, one in which all of the eastern teams lost (0-5).
So, last week was not just one "historically bad Saturday," as a headline in the Star-Tribune in Minneapolis wrote. It is just that the Big Ten apologists' chickens are coming home to roost.
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