Posted on 08/05/2008 6:24:42 PM PDT by GOP_Raider
The Big Ten isn’t as bad as you think.
Because of the geographical location, media coverage, and history, the Big Ten is the most popular conference in college sports. Big schools, big fan bases, big rivalries, big stadiums, its own network … big, big, big. It’s such a big league that it has too many teams for its name.
Since there’s so much attention and so much coverage, fans from other leagues love to pile on when things aren’t going so well. However, for all of the bad PR and all the shots the Big Ten has taken over the last few years, it’s getting a bad rap. No, it’s not as good as the SEC, but it’s been better than the ACC and Big East and it’s been every bit as good as the Big 12 or Pac 10, if not better.
First of all, it’s time to stop punishing Ohio State for losing the last two national title games. There’s no shame whatsoever in losing to the national champions.
Second, it’s not fair to impugn an entire conference because one of its teams loses to USC every year. USC would’ve beaten at least 116 other teams in the last six BCS games its been in; there’s no reason to rip on the Big Ten just because it keeps getting in the way of the steamroller.
Third, the league simply hasn’t been as bad as you think.
(Excerpt) Read more at cfn.scout.com ...
Hey Gator fan...I have a question for you in please answer in total honesty. Lets say around 7 o’clock in AUgust 30th you find out that Appalachian State in beating LSU by say 3 points (maybe 23-20). Here’s the question. Are you gonna root for LSU to lose? Will you root for the upset (like most people would certainly every football fan outside of Ann Arbor was rooting for App St last yr)? Or will you be one to say “oh no LSU is losing to App St, this is gonna kill our SEC BCS rating, come on SEC.”? Just curious.
Oh, don't get me started. Go gators!
IIRC, Alabama might have won it that year, let me look that up...
I was thinking that may some been one of those years when to AP poll and the UPI poll (back then the UPI poll was the coaches poll) picked different #1 teams.
Hawaii sure did get a big head under the June Jones era. Booking Florida at Florida as their opening non-conf game. LOL!! Talk about a massacre.
And USC will get off with a slap on the wrist. Meanwhile, Indiana's basketball program will be given the death sentence because they hired a coach who likes to make too many phone calls.
I don’t know about Gator fan, but I hope LSU loses that game and will cheer for App St all the way.
Must be a Clemsux fan.
Practically impossible. The #1 Big Ten team goes to the Rose Bowl, #2 and #3 go to Outback and Citrus Bowl (vs. SEC) #4 team goes to Alamo Bowl (vs. Big 12). Maybe if Michigan was a #5 team in big ten they might go to some lesser bowl. I think the only way it happens is if both teams finish 6-6 or 7-5 and they both go to one of the pre-new years day games. Maybe the Sun Bowl usually played on New Years Eve. Not sure who the big ten team plays in that bowl game.
I believe June Jones resigned after last season. My prediction for that game something like Florida 77 Hawaii 3.
“Maybe if Michigan was a #5 team in big ten they might go to some lesser bowl.”
I believe thats pretty realistic for them this year.
..and I think thats a 5 AM start Hawaii time. That’s gotta be tough.
UH loses the majority of their offense from last year (at least if you consider Colt Brennan the majority of their O last year). On top of that, they needed a payday of some kind because they have what many believe are “inadequate” facilites for a D-IA program, whatever the hell that means.
Watching what I have of the WAC the past few years, June Jones had a tendency to run his mouth in the press way too many times—he mentioned to the Honolulu Advertiser (I beleive) that if the ‘Bows went unbeaten last year Brennan should get the Heisman.
Yes, he did resign. But the game was booked when he was still there. I think your being too kind with that score. The guy that was supposed to be the starting QB at Hawaii this year is a no-show.
I think if you double that Florida score you posted, that’s going to be closer. I can’t see how Florida doesn’t score on every trip down the field. Its going to look like that Matt Hasselbeck All-State insurance commercial were his offensive line is the size of 4th graders.
You're still squirming over that App. State incident aren't you? Nobody in the SEC is worried about LSU losing to App. State, btw.
But besides that, Jones did have a big mouth and he tried to foster a thuggish attitude with the program which carried over into making Aloha stadium into one of the most unfriendly places for traveling fans to visit. Fans were picking fights all over the place last season. It got soo bad, the school had to run tv and newspaper ads asking fans to stop it. Really embarrasing.
Jones also had a lot of problems off the field as well too. He's a notorious drinker and almost killed himself in a car accident a couple of years ago. Word is around the time of the accident, he was involved with a female student athlete as well. He was spotted regularly at some of the seediest clubs on Oahu. I don't know if that school in Texas completely understands everything they get with the guy.
My parents live on Oahu and I go back there during the holidays. I know the program well enough. I went to the washington vs. hawaii game last year. It was very ugly in the parking lot with the hawaii fan tailgators. They were going out of their way to harrass the UW fans and be drunk jerks. For the loyal UH fans, I was glad they got to see the team get to a BCS game, but I didn't shead any tears when they got massacred in the Sugar Bowl.
There's an 11 in the Big Ten logo: http://www.tarapfeifer.com/archives/2006/12/04/big-10-logo/
BCS rating be damned. SEC is the best, perennially. Southern boy don't need some nerds behind a keyboard crunching numbers to know that.
WHO?
“I don’t care who he is or where he comes from”
Are you ready to see Michigan run the spread offense?
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