tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13718554.post4022267728760629315..comments2023-10-10T03:21:23.580-04:00Comments on Motown Sports Revival: Big Ten Championship Game is PerilousJakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16208921021297172480noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13718554.post-52900552330927161922010-01-05T00:46:15.810-05:002010-01-05T00:46:15.810-05:00Probably not. The Big XII geographically just spl...Probably not. The Big XII geographically just splits up so well N/S. Texas and OU would never want to give up their annual game in Dallas, so if you did split them, you'd have to create some permanent rivals, which doesn't make sense for Tech, Baylor, or A&M (who had essentially never played a North team before). And you couldn't do OSU vs. OU, unless you had two permanent rivals.<br /><br />Having been at school at the time of the change, there was really very little to lead one to believe OU would be a South power. They hadn't made a decent bowl since 1988 and Switzer had long left town. It was supposed to be Nebraska from the North (with CU and KSU challenging) with A&M and Texas for the (admittedly weaker) South (one or the other had won every SWC title since 1984, saving a couple of Arkansas titles).J.R. Ewinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03025764913047432098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13718554.post-57573137734740086872009-12-30T23:30:37.850-05:002009-12-30T23:30:37.850-05:00Dave,
It looks like we would've seen a Michig...Dave,<br /><br />It looks like we would've seen a Michigan vs Ohio State rematch three times since 2002. Assuming Michigan gets back to where it was, I would guess three times in eight years would be on the low end. One thing is for sure, the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry would be at an all time high. I don't think there is any risk of saturating it. The risk is having to beat Ohio State (or vice versa) twice to get to a National Championship game.<br /><br />Here is a question for you, do you think if the Big XII could do it all over again that it would put Texas and Oklahoma in opposite divisions? It's hard to argue that having them in the same division has hurt in any way except it has resulted in weak Big XII Championship Games.Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16208921021297172480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13718554.post-50631855823437196952009-12-29T23:52:04.435-05:002009-12-29T23:52:04.435-05:00I'm with you, you don't cost yourself BCS ...I'm with you, you don't cost yourself BCS game berths, just maybe national title berths. You can even gain a BCS spot (i.e. like if Nebraska had upset Texas this year) or in a rare case, a title berth (perhaps a boost to SoS if you were in 3rd but close to 2nd).<br /><br />One thing to think about, when these games happen (speaking from experience), you get all the travel and expense of a bowl game (including ticket price close to $100) to present a matchup you typically see at home regularly for your usual season ticket price. And don't forget the Jerryworld $6 coke or $8 hot dog. But I digress...<br /><br />You probably did this as well, but I put a little pen to paper to see how your division breakdown would have played out in Conference Title Games. In any given year, you never know how the power may fall.<br /><br />So I looked at final standings, threw how Pitt might have done in there, applied reasonable tiebreakers, etc.<br /><br />Great games<br />2006 - Michigan vs. Ohio State (thriller last game of season replayed, many wanted this in Glendale).<br />2002 - Iowa vs. Ohio State (both 8-0 in conference)<br /><br />Good games<br />2009 - Iowa vs. Ohio State (rematch w/o much national implication, but regular season game was OT)<br />2007 - Michigan vs. Ohio State (rematch of 21-10 OSU victory in AA)<br />2005 - Michigan vs. Penn State (PSU looking to avenge only conference loss)<br />2003 - Michigan vs. Ohio State (rematch w/o much national implication)<br /><br />How did this happen games<br />2008 - Michigan State vs. Penn State (PSU crushed them by 31 pts the last game of season and it wasn't a fluke)<br />2004 - Michigan vs. Purdue/Pitt<br /><br />2004 and 2005 featured great N/S imbalance, but in different directions.<br /><br />2004 had Ohio State and Purdue at 4-4 as the best in the South. Pitt was 4-2 in the 7 team Big East and got the Big East BCS berth by virtue of 4-way tiebreaker. Four North teams finished ahead of OSU/Purdue, and a fifth (MSU) had the same record.<br /><br />2005 had Iowa, Michigan, Northwestern, and Wisconsin all tied at 5-3. Michigan gets the tiebreaker by being 2-1 vs. others, and 1-0 against Northwestern (also 2-1 against others).<br /><br />As for how this compares to other conferences...due to Big 12 North ineptitude, I would say that the Big XII has had about one really good matchup (2007 Mizzou vs. OU) over that timeframe. 2003 was a great upset of OU, but nobody really was thinking KSU vs. OU was some sort of epic matchup. This years game seemed a mismatch on paper, but at least featured two ranked teams that hadn't played each other.<br /><br />The ACC about the same, FSU vs. Virginia Tech (2005, inaugural) the only noteworthy game. For the ACC, not even a BCS Title game sniffer in a decade (lots of Wake and BC).<br /><br />The SEC, has had decent matchups every year except maybe 2002 (UGA d. Ark). The last four I would say were "great" (BCS title in the balance for one or both, evenly matched teams). 2003-5 were "mediocre" (all 10 pts or more and weren't expected to be close).J.R. Ewinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03025764913047432098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13718554.post-57808376410588289442009-12-29T22:21:37.774-05:002009-12-29T22:21:37.774-05:00Redhog,
Putting Michigan and Ohio State in the sa...Redhog,<br /><br />Putting Michigan and Ohio State in the same division wouldn’t be the end of the world. In fact, it could be argued that stacking one division might benefit the conference. Just look at the Big XII. Whoever wins the Texas-Oklahoma game pretty much has a guaranteed win in the Big XII Championship Game and the loser generally has an easy route to the conference’s 2nd BCS bid. It wasn’t meant to be that way but I don’t think the Big XII is complaining. I just don’t think a conference would ever intentionally stack one division with the best teams in the league. Plus, the Big Ten will more than likely look to divide the divisions geographically like every other 12-team conference has done. That leaves North/South or East/West. East/West is just not a good idea with Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State all in the same division. That leaves North/South which does a pretty good job of keeping existing rivalries and balancing the divisions equally. <br /><br />The one drawback is the Michigan-Ohio State situation. I would be all for manually creating divisions irrespective of geographic location. <br /><br />If you want Michigan and OSU in the same division, you’d have to stack the other division with Wisconsin, Penn St., Iowa, and Michigan State. <br />It might look like this…<br /><br />Division 1<br />Ohio State, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Purdue, and Northwestern<br /><br />Division 2<br />Wisconsin, Penn St., Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota, new team<br /><br />I would be fine with this. I think it’s OK for Michigan and Ohio State to be in the same division if the other division is stacked. However, manually creating divisions would mean the Big Ten would have to ignore precedent set by every other conference (meaning ignore geographic relevance). I don’t see that happening.Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16208921021297172480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13718554.post-25739747935766378612009-12-29T12:36:39.747-05:002009-12-29T12:36:39.747-05:00I've read your posts closely. You just not ha...I've read your posts closely. You just not have convinced me that Mich and THEosu should not be in the same division. Your main assumption seems to be that Michigan and THEosu are so superior to the rest of the conference that it would be unfair to place the two superpowers in the same division. I just don't see enought support for that to outweigh the many "traditional" and "logisitical" issues (meaning the logisitical challenge of getting to NC game playing THEosu twice in a season). It seems if you just accept that WE-R-U (i.e. PSU) and Iowa and then a spattering of others are occasionally worthy, then this huge issue Mich-THEosu goes away. thougths?redhog1https://www.blogger.com/profile/02523002552458977581noreply@blogger.com