thespun.com
I understand the motivation, but being honest, we definitely benefit from being in the West. It will really reduce our chances of going back to Indy anytime soon if they do away with the divisions as they are now.Apologies if already well discussed on the Rock. /s
Report: Big Ten Is Considering A Change To Divisions
This month, the Division I Council is expected to pass a resolution saying conferences no longer need to have divisions to hold a conference championship game.
Change is bad...very, very bad.Apologies if already well discussed on the Rock. /s
Report: Big Ten Is Considering A Change To Divisions
This month, the Division I Council is expected to pass a resolution saying conferences no longer need to have divisions to hold a conference championship game.
Yeah, I remember when the Big 10 had.....like, 10 teams.......
That's because you're older than dirt.
Likely to be OS and MI most years. How is that a good thing?
Except, Michigan has been basically on par with us for the last 15 years, until last year. Ped State and MSU (and Wisconsin, I suppose) have as much/more claim to being distant 2nd, behind OSU, as Michigan.
If they do away with divisions, wouldn't they also do away with Indy, or have a playoff?
No, Michigan has owned us. Michigan has won 7 straight.
Wisconsin is easily 2nd.
We need to go back to Legends and Leaders with protected crossovers over Thanksgiving.
Not true -- there were no hail mary's, and illegal procedure was called on the fg
Twice actually. That second game, we won, except the refs gave the game to Michigan. Literally set up a play that Michigan couldn't complete without fouling, which they did, and no call.
accurate. I was speaking about overall record, rankings, bowl wins, where we have had similar success from 2008-20. But you are absolutely correct - whether they slithered out of the game with a close win (often) or clobbered us (also often), we do not beat them. I believe I saw somewhere that, since 95, we have a .500 record, cumulatively, against the rest of the B1G but a stupidly poor record against Mich/OSU/PSU. OSU, I get it, nobody has a good record against them (Purdue?) but our 0-7 streak v Mich coincides with a) some otherwise decent success for us and b) probably their worst stretch of football since the 50s/early 60s. They average 4 B1G wins/7 overall wins per year 2008-20, same as us. We won 5 bowls, they won 2. We finished ranked 5 times, they did 6. Imagine if we had actually beaten them a couple of times during that period.
You sound absolutely giddy at this prospect. Are you really an NU fan? Just asking.
Yeah I hate NU football so much that my avatar is NU winning the BCS against Texas and I ensured my honeymoon came through Chicago so we could come to fan appreciation day. Or all the times I made my way back to Ryan Field including on Active Duty. Or the 12ft purple wall adorned with every ticket and laser etched NU logo on it in my $50K basement remodel. Or being a season-ticket holder, going to Bowl games, driving to Indy in '18 &' 20 and talking my neighbor's son into walking on. Plus post-grad.
Glad to hear it, but as someone who lived through the Dark Ages, why the sarcasm toward Fitzgerald, and do you think killing the divisions would really be good for NU?
Thanks for sharing. Honestly, I often laugh when fan nerds try to engineer their own perfect scenarios, as if the schools themselves don't get a say in how they participate, but this one was pretty solid and thoughtful.
Yeah, this is Michigan's first B1G title since 2003 or 2004 (can't remember which one) and right away they're supposed to be a constant contender. And let's be honest, the only reason they won last year was because of that putrid OSU defense which resulted in the entire OSU defensive staff getting fired (minus Larry Johnson). Wanna bet that OSU curb-stomps Michigan this year if they even field an average defense as their offense is being projected to be the best in the country
If they get rid of divisions we come out as a primary loser, as does practically any school in the West. OSU, PSU, and Michigan will vie for the top two spots virtually every year for a long time. Michigan St might be in the mix as well now. As far as we are concerned this needs to be shot down in grand fashion. Think about it, every team sans Michigan that I just named are expansion teams. The old school Western Conference teams will be left out of any title shot. If that occurs, I will lose even more interest in CFB, as it is just about the $$$$ anymore. NU being in a rebuilding mode, will make it even less fun for probably the next 2-3 seasons.
No, Older than dirt would be if he could remember the time that the BIG had less than 10 teams which was most recently between when Uof C left the conference (1939 for FB and 1946 overall) and MSU joined(1949)
You got to figure that they would still want a championship game as it means a lot of money
But what about schedule inequities? 14 team league and you play nine games. Schedule advantage could definitely be a factor. In addition, do you want to see Michigan-Ohio State play one week and then have a rematch the next for the Big Ten championship? How is that fair to the winner of the first game?
I can help. Schedule a 12 game conference schedule and skip playing Duke and Kutztown State.
So - picture OSU and Mich undeafeated and ranked 2-3 (I hate this scenario). they play last game of the year and one of them loses (let's say the #2 team). But they are still 1-2 in B1G so they play in the CCG and the other one wins. and They both have one loss and end up in the top 4 and play each other again in the playoffs. At last - a TRUE WINNER!
I witnessed the Dark Ages myself and also saw the '94 Cats become the '95 Cats. Fitz is not a "next-level" coach and here are my legitimate concerns with him:
I think 5 protected games, rotating in 4 of the other 8 teams every other year is the correct setup (for 9 total conference games). That still preserves a somewhat division-like schedule keeping a lot of the rivalries that have built up over time, but allows you to have more balanced scheduling and then can do the conference title on a 1 vs 2 basis which it seems like the East division constituents want to happen.
Yeah, who on either side wants a protected UM NU game?
