Big 10 much tougher than thought?
Is anyone else trying to convince themselves right now that the reason we went 5-7 last year was because the Big 10 was much tougher than in recent years?
Any chance that we actually did improve a good amount more than we think and that the competition this year is also better so it makes our improvements seem less impressive than they truly were?
I can't be the only one caught in the moment?
January 6th, 2010 at 11:20 AM ^
Except that that team played only one OOC opponent with a pulse - 6-5 ND. Our other wins came against a mediocre MAC team, an absolutely horrible MAC team, and a I-AA opponent.
January 5th, 2010 at 11:56 PM ^
Does anyone else like the idea of conference challenges in football, similar to the B10/ACC challenge in basketball? I think it would be a cool way to initially gauge the strength of one conference vs. another. Suppose you did this, and rotated the conference matchups every year... or maybe even play TWO conferences in a given season and include a couple of the mid-majors (ehem... Mountain West). So for instance, one year the Big-10 plays a comparable Big East and SEC team, ND, and a patsy. It could result in a few brutal non-conference matchups, but I think it would be cool to see. Oh, and there should be a playoff.
January 6th, 2010 at 12:41 AM ^
I'm always hesitant to judge a conference on a bowl season, with 5+ weeks of preparation for a team, you'd damn well better have the best game plan of the year ready. So I think sometimes things can be misleading, I know when we beat Florida a few years back it may have been a different story had we just faced Georgia the week before instead of having so much time to rest and prep. But that remains unknown.
I will say, selfishly I was hoping the Big10 would get trounced in the bowl season and then make a comeback behind a resurgent Michigan team next year, with much credit falling to the Wolverines.
January 6th, 2010 at 1:50 AM ^
Dude I have been saying it all along. The Big Ten was not particularly top-heavy but full of strong teams throughout. Our team has improved leaps and bounds from 2008 and man, anyone who can't see that is really clueless.
January 6th, 2010 at 2:02 AM ^
Two of the bigger wins have come on uncharacteristically cold nights (Wisco and Iowa). Coincidence? No, it is the will of the gods!
Gods of the great northern pantheon have bellowed breaths of frozen wind yonder south-- a blessing! And from its bitter fecundity our heroes have reaped a mighty harvest.