Effects of B1G Realignment (aka Rutgers Ruins Everything)
So, in the aftermath of the Penn State and then Notre Dame games, I got to thinking about how individual events can have an outsized impact. Better officiating in the PSU game, or one additional catch and Michigan's right in the hunt for the Big Ten East title. Instead...
Then it hit me: This is all Rutgers' fault. Legends and Leaders went away in 2014 with the introduction of Rutgers and Maryland. Suppose it hadn't. Now, granted, teams' schedules would have changed, but...
If you keep everybody's records the same, these are the title games we'd have had:
- 2014: MSU (Legends) vs. OSU (Leaders) -- was OSU vs Wisconsin.
- 2015: Iowa vs OSU -- was MSU vs Iowa
- 2016: Michigan vs. PSU -- was PSU vs Wisconsin
- 2017: Northwestern vs. Wisconsin -- was OSU vs Wisconsin
- 2018: Michigan vs. OSU -- was OSU vs Northwestern
Now, I'm not saying Michigan would have won both of those games (although I'm sure Don Brown would have loved another shot at OSU last year). But the narrative would sure feel different if they'd won even one. (And Michigan did beat PSU by 39 points in Ann Arbor in 2016...)
Anyway, this is obviously academic; Michigan needs to play the hand they're dealt (and geographic regions do make more sense than Legends & Leaders ever did).
Still, if you were looking for one more reason to be angry with Jim Delany.. or with Rutgers... here you go.
October 30th, 2019 at 10:54 AM ^
Also to your 1st point. A bad call that ends the game shouldn't matter to you either because the team had all game to pull ahead or play better in order to prevent themselves from even being in such a close game.
Of course this is true, but that doesn't mean that not having that bad call also wouldn't change the outcome. I wouldn't suggest UM should have won the game. I'm suggesting the game was really close between two evenly matched teams and the call was really close and could have logically gone either way. UM was not good enough to overcome the calls. But, they were good enough to win had the 4th down call gone their way, which is unlucky and not necessarily meaning OSU was the better team IMO.
October 30th, 2019 at 9:15 AM ^
force all P5 conferences to have 12 teams, no divisions, no out of conference games, play everyone once
So you're advocating for an 11 game season?
October 30th, 2019 at 12:50 PM ^
Yes, in order to accommodate the extra time for added playoff games. The alternative is to have one non-conference game against a non-P5. But, I wouldn't recommend the P5s play each other outside of the conference until the playoffs, which will force ND to join a conference.
October 30th, 2019 at 9:52 AM ^
If there were no OOC games, then it gives an unfair advantage to a school like Clemson who plays in a cream puff of a conference. They would waltz into the playoff every year. At least now, they can schedule a tough OOC opponent to give the opportunity for a quality win. Can you imagine if the toughest team they had to play in the regular season was Miami FL (F/+ combined rank 40)? Compare that with Oklahoma who has 6 other teams in the Big 12 with F/+ rankings better than 40. Or Michigan with 7 other teams in the Big Ten with F/+ Ranks better than 40.
Eliminating OOC games would help some teams and really hurt others' chances of making the playoff.
October 30th, 2019 at 12:52 PM ^
If there were no OOC games, then it gives an unfair advantage to a school like Clemson who plays in a cream puff of a conference. They would waltz into the playoff every year.
I don't think so. I'd be surprised if FSU stays down. They are a blue blood with elite recruiting. I also would predict ND would join that conference if P5 teams stopped playing other P5s out of conference.
October 30th, 2019 at 10:21 AM ^
"My hope for conference alignment...force all P5 conferences to have 12 teams, no divisions, no out of conference games, play everyone once, top two winning percentages play in conference championship."
These takes are just the worst. Please stop with forcing everything to change in order to make a neater playoff setup.
October 30th, 2019 at 12:55 PM ^
These takes are just the worst. Please stop with forcing everything to change in order to make a neater playoff setup.
This is already happening. It happened the minute we decided to start playing conference championships and made a playoff system. If you're going to have a playoff system it needs to be equitable, otherwise go back to bowls and no playoff. You're choosing between traditional bowls or a true NC. If you're going to have a playoff it should be equitable for all.
October 30th, 2019 at 2:57 PM ^
The spot in the 2016 OSU game was not the only thing that happened, I know everyone likes to focus on it but the bigger problem with that game is the whole game was officiated lopsided. Numerous PI's, hold etc were ignored against OSU, while dubious things were called on UM. The penalties were 6-2 and OSU had 6 total penalty yards. And then we find out the officials who did the game had Ohio ties and one had been barred from doing UM games prior. Reducing the officiating down to just the spot is really doing a disservice to how fucked up that officiating job was.
October 30th, 2019 at 3:22 PM ^
Numerous PI's, hold etc were ignored against OSU, while dubious things were called on UM.
I don't know if I'd say numerous. I recall two non PI-calls that should have been called against PSU.
Reducing the officiating down to just the spot is really doing a disservice to how fucked up that officiating job was.
Just to clarify are you saying it was 2 PI non-calls and the 4th down or are you saying it was more than that?
I agree the officiating seemed one sided. But, I don't want to go so far as to say 2 missed PI calls and one 50/50 spot is a hack job. That seems within the realm of human error unless there's more I'm forgetting.
October 30th, 2019 at 3:34 PM ^
Michigan lost that game because of BAD coaching. I was at that game and I still vividly recall the shock on everyone's face when Speight (from 9 yards deep in his end zone) threw the TD pass to Malik Hooker. Dumbest playcall of Harbaugh's life. UM only up 3 at the time but had the edge at that point.
As for officials, go back to UM's 2Q 4th and Goal from the one when the UM blocking back jumps the snap count. NO CALL. Instead of 4 & 6 and settling for 3, UM got 7.
Oh, and lets not forget after UM went up 17-7. How many yards did UM gain from that point to the end of regulation? 30? 20?
I swear, some of you guys will go to your death beds whining about officiating.
October 30th, 2019 at 7:39 AM ^
Pitt should have been the one. Way larger fan base than Rutgers. Equal if not better academically and athletically. Fuck what Penn State says.
smfh
October 30th, 2019 at 8:37 AM ^
No access to the NY markets. Auto-disqualification.
October 30th, 2019 at 7:48 AM ^
Need to do away with divisions altogether. Top two teams at the end play it off for the championship.
October 30th, 2019 at 8:26 AM ^
The Michigan AD should have fought for more equal divisions, or at least some method for realignment, if things got to skewed.
October 30th, 2019 at 11:53 AM ^
Dave Brandon was the AD when the divisions were both made and realigned. He couldn't fight for shit because the rest of the conference didn't respect him.
October 30th, 2019 at 8:27 AM ^
Interesting take and I have a serious question that hopefully someone can answer.
I remember how comically foolish the names of those divisions were and I'm not sure if I've ever met anyone who thought that was a good idea. No doubt that "Leaders" was born of - The Victors. And in Delany's warped hatred of all things Michigan we were not in that division. Maybe I'm getting old and my memory is fading - as much of a Michigan fan as I am I do not know the title of OSU's fight song and certainly wouldn't know any of the words. I do know their fans have many songs they sing vocalizing their disdain (and envy) of Michigan and know the words to some of those.
Question - did "Legends" have something to do with OSU and their fight song?
My ignorance on this is somewhat blissful so a simple yes/no will suffice. Thanks.
October 30th, 2019 at 8:42 AM ^
No. (I think "Leaders" was just a coincidence, also.)
October 30th, 2019 at 8:49 AM ^
Thanks.
And no chance on coincidence. "The Victors" is recognizable anywhere you go in this country.
October 30th, 2019 at 9:25 AM ^
I sort of doubt most people know the words, though. I can pick out On Wisconsin and whatever Notre Dame's fight song is called after hearing three notes, and I'm sure others can do the same with The Victors, but the lyrics? I'd be surprised if one in ten opposing fans can recite them.
October 30th, 2019 at 1:56 PM ^
I don't know the lyrics to anyone else's fight song.
Not important to me.
October 30th, 2019 at 8:36 AM ^
We should hang 70 on Rutger the next time we play to show our displeasure.
October 30th, 2019 at 8:37 AM ^
Just talking about this issue this morning.
You gotta fix these divisions. You can't have Michigan, Michigan State, OSU, and Penn State in the same conference. Put OSU or Penn State on the other side, and give us a crappy team.
October 30th, 2019 at 8:47 AM ^
Here's my suggestion for realignment:
West Division:
Michigan, MSU, PSU, OSU, IU, Purdue, Illinois, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska.
East Division:
Maryland, Rutgers.
West Division teams will play eight games against each other and one crossover. East Division teams will play six crossovers apiece and a best two out of three for the division championship.
There will be no championship game.
All fixed.
October 30th, 2019 at 11:55 AM ^
Your ideas intrigue me, and I would like to sign up for your newsletter.
October 30th, 2019 at 8:40 AM ^
LOL. Classic.
Leaders and Legends.
Never gets old.
October 30th, 2019 at 8:46 AM ^
I miss playing real Big Ten schools on a regular basis. There was something about an Illinois or a Minnesota or Northwestern game that resonated, even when they weren’t very good. I really don’t care about Rutgers, Maryland or Nebraska, other than its good to stomp Nebraska now and then based on the 1997 “throw a farewell trophy to the coach” vote.
October 30th, 2019 at 9:12 AM ^
Rutger fielded a crew that resembled a football team when Schiano was there.
Its highly likely that he ends up coaching there again, and Ruger regains their "s".
A decent team in NJ is good for the big ten (why aren't we the big 14?)
October 30th, 2019 at 9:58 AM ^
What heady days those were when the biggest concern on here was that thered be an OSU-Michigan rematch in the championship game alllll the time.
October 30th, 2019 at 11:58 AM ^
FYI - points work again.
October 30th, 2019 at 11:43 AM ^
Yeah but by the same token, if you'd kept things the way they were, people would've been complaining that the UM-OSU game last year would've been virtually meaningless because they would've been meeting the following week in Indy anyway. I mean don't get me wrong, it sucks, and if the divisions had stayed the way they were, Michigan likely would've had at least one Big Ten title by now. But they didn't, and Michigan just has to play the hand its been dealt.
Honestly, the only reason any of this is even coming up is because all of our goals go through OSU, and no matter what we do we just haven't been able to beat them. So we're trying to rationalize our anger and frustration over it and blame Rutgers for it. I get it. But the geographical breakdown is what makes the most sense, and OSU is not going anywhere anytime soon. So Michigan's got to find a way to deal with that and win a damn game against these guys. Talent disparity, uber-athlete OSU QBs and losing streak be damned. You can't wait these guys out and hope for a window of opportunity, because you've only gotten one in the last 20 years. And that was the worst OSU team in half a century.
October 30th, 2019 at 11:59 AM ^
I have a simpler solution...
JUST WIN!
October 30th, 2019 at 1:01 PM ^
The Big Ten should do what the Big 12 does. No divisions and the top 2 teams go to the conference championship game. Or I’m all for no conference championship game and expanding the playoff to 16 teams.
October 30th, 2019 at 1:02 PM ^
Everything in this post is regarding football.
What about basketball?
Shouldn't we talk about that when thinking about divisions? Or is football the only thing to think about?
October 30th, 2019 at 1:25 PM ^
...
Big Ten basketball doesn't have divisions. AFAIK, they exist only in football.
October 30th, 2019 at 1:42 PM ^
My totally bats idea is that the five power conferences make a mega conference (that they call something like The Mega League for Major College Football or the D1 Power Conference) and you split the 65 teams (and maybe add in Boise, Memphis, BYU, UCF) into "mini-leagues" that don't extend past 11 teams. Every mini-league champ is a true champ (everyone plays everyone) and then do whatever the heck you want for the playoffs and your out of conference games.
There would be some sadness and happiness - Rutgers would be gone (and Maryland), but so too would Penn State. The three of them would form a zombie big east with Pitt, Cuse, BC, and maybe add in the Virginia schools to get them to 8. Throw in WV and Louisville and you're at 10. Throw them ND too, I'm ok with it. Call it the "this league exists so we have TV rights in New York" conference. I'm sure everyone else can figure out the rest, can make some sexy TV contracts that make everyone happy, can make rotational schedules so everyone gets to play the wannabe NYC conference, can figure out a playoff system that continues to frustrate everyone, but at least we'll get to play for the jug every year. Also I'm sure there'd be lots of money made.
October 30th, 2019 at 2:29 PM ^
Nobody’s leaving the conference, or is going to be kicked out of the conference. If PSU didn’t get tossed, and MSU didn’t get tossed based on what happened at each school, it’s hardly likely that Rutgers or anyone else is going to be thrown out, especially if the reason is that they’re not competitive in the games - after all, that runs in cycles. When Schiano was there, they had some competitive teams.
So let’s get over the thinking that Rutgers is a pariah outlier and will be let go.
Michigan, OSU, PSU and arguably, MSU should not all be in the same division. I don’t much care what division you put each one in, but the current divisions have seen lack of competitive balance. With the resurgence of Minnesota this year, it’s a little more competitive, and maybe that continues. Who knows.
For me, the cool thing about The Game was that for so many years for the Big Ten championship and the right to go to the Rose Bowl was on the line.
I won’t say it’s meaningless now, but unless divisions are changed, it will never be about the league championship, it’s only an elimination game. That kind of takes a chunk of meaning away. Maybe that’s OK. I’d sure like to see it mean more. I’d even be willing to not see the teams play the last game of the season every year to make it that much more interesting, but I realize that’s never going to happen.
October 30th, 2019 at 3:03 PM ^
I'm actually kinda bullish long term on Rutgers' chances of being a successful team in the Big 10. The biggest issue they have obviously is the division they're in, but their trajectory looks an awful lot like South Carolina's in the SEC: got into the league because they needed an even number and not much else, were way behind the rest of the league in athletic department revenues, got slaughtered for a long time. But eventually, South Carolina was able to attract big name coaches that elevated it because 1) there's only so many P5 jobs and 2) they eventually had way more revenue from their SEC TV deal than they'd ever had in the past.
Some really good coach is gonna take the Rutgers job because of 1) and 2) and they're gonna make Rutgers a respectable program. Whether it happens this offseason or in 10 years is anyone guess (probably not any time soon because smart money says the donors at Rutgers are forcing them to rehire Schiano and lol at what his defense is gonna look like when he DOESN'T have Ohio State talent).
October 30th, 2019 at 2:58 PM ^
Here's the other thing to consider: the East West divisional format won out but they also strongly considered an Inner/Outer format that had votes. Divisions in Inner/Outer:
Inner:
Michigan
Ohio State
Michigan State
Indiana
Purdue
Northwestern
Illinois
Outer:
Penn State
Rutgers
Maryland
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Iowa
Nebraska
I think if they had known Penn State would get it together and become a contender program under Franklin, they would have gone with Inner/Outer, which gets back to why divisions suck so much and should be replaced with rivalry pods: every division change is fixing yesterday's problems, never accounting for what tomorrow will look like. Still, Michigan's record in that inner division would be pretty dang good.
October 30th, 2019 at 3:38 PM ^
This is debate is fun but meaningless. As soon as the first domino falls, conferences will move to 16 teams. When? 2022? 2023?
Who are the 2 teams that should be added?
Rutgers should step down and agree to the AAC to replace UConn. I believe UConn is going back to FCS for football and Big East for all other sports.