Posted on 08/02/2007 12:24:56 PM PDT by GOP_Raider
Bring up the Big Ten this off-season and you’ll get two topics of discussion: the schedules and the perceived lack of speed. While it might be the granddaddy of the conferences, it has a lot to learn from the younger, hipper leagues when it comes to scheduling, and to some, fielding teams with fast players.
Schedule-wise, forgetting the mega-gap between the end of the Big Ten season and the bowls (Ohio State beat Michigan on November 18th and didn’t play Florida until January 8th), the league that can’t add up its own teams continues to have a big problem with the configuration of the slates.
Having eleven teams makes it realistically impossible to have a round-robin schedule like the Pac 10 (no way the Big Ten teams are going to give up the cash cow of a third non-conference game), and not having twelve prevents the league from splitting into two divisions and settling things with a title game. Therefore you have a situation like last year when Wisconsin and Ohio State didn’t meet, and Purdue didn’t have to play Ohio State or Michigan.
Talk about your unfair draws, Iowa, a very good team, but not an elite one, doesn’t have to play the Buckeyes or the Wolverines meaning it’ll be right in the hunt for the Big Ten title, while other teams miss some of the lightweights. That still won’t change.
(Excerpt) Read more at cfn.scout.com ...
SEC.......You’re saving the best for last..........
Monday is the big day.
After adding a twelth team you'll have the trouble of how to split the divisions and what to name them. I propose calling them the Buckeye Division and the Wolverine Division. In the unlikely event that the annual Ohio State vs. that school up north game doesn't serve as the year's conference championship game an additional game can be played between the division winners.
Cheaters always go last.
GRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!I’m going to ignore that...............
What Will Happen
- Wisconsin will get out to a 9-0 start before losing to Ohio State in Columbus. The Badgers will bounce back to hand Michigan its first defeat of the year before beating Minnesota in the season-finale to go 11-1 and off to the Rose Bowl. Michigan will also finish 11-1 (helped by a win over Ohio State).
- Ohio State will start out hot thanks to its defense, and then will suffer a collapse at Purdue in a shootout. Losses at Penn State and Michigan will make Jim Tressel’s team an also-ran (but it’ll bounce back in a big way in 2008).
- Wisconsin, Michigan, Penn State, Iowa, Ohio State, Purdue, Northwestern and Minnesota will go bowling.
You killed JoePA! You Bahstahd!
The SEC motto, “If you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’. LOL
I got that from a Vol fan, Harry the Hat.
I was wondering how long it was going to take before you posted that. :)
See #13.....
The “deer in the headlight” look on Ron Zook is perfect.
I thought Terry Hoeppner died earlier this year?
He died back in June, obviously they put this out before then.
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