Big Ten and bowl games
Personally I believe if we take care of business as a conference we will cement ourselves as the second best conference going into next season. More specifically if Wisconsin, M, and msu win it will justify our conference.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:22 PM ^
the conference performing well in bowl games would help raise the profile of the B10. In practice SEC and B12 bias are so ingrained into the minds of the voters and the process that frankly I don't care very much about how the conference does in the bowl games, since other conferences' teams will be ranked in the pre-season top 5 year in and year out and there's nothing we can do about it.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:26 PM ^
If we beat the hell out of VT, there's a good chance we're rated really highly to start the year in Texas, especially since Alabama will be rated right up at the top as well.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:33 PM ^
It's certainly easier to raise the profile of a "sleeping giant" like Michigan than a whole conference, especially when things have been trending against the B10 in terms of "prestige" for a decade before our flagship program of the 2000s got busted for rampant systemic cheating. Boy is our face red about that one.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:25 PM ^
I personally don't care how the Big Ten does. I want OSU,MSU and Wisconsin all to lose. If the rest of them win thats great,if not oh well. I only care about Michigan.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:35 PM ^
Amen! Take care of ourselves. Worry about ourselves. Win for Michigan not the big ten.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:39 PM ^
that was fine the last few years, but now that michigan appears to be back into national relevance, we can benefit from a strong big10 reputation.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:44 PM ^
Srsly. Would you, (very) hypothetically, want to be okie state next year just cause we're not from the eeeesss eeeee sssseeee
December 4th, 2011 at 9:48 PM ^
Your not changing the ESPN love for the SEC no matter how the Big Ten does in their bowl games. Thats just a fact and one you can partially blame on OSU and their hack jobs in the NC games.
December 4th, 2011 at 10:16 PM ^
yes OSU choked in the NC games.
But ESPN through the SEC Network has an entirely vested interest in the success of their conference. They, through spinning media, have controlled the BCS more than any other variable out there. That will never change, because the dollars trump sense.
December 4th, 2011 at 10:22 PM ^
Bingo!
December 4th, 2011 at 11:25 PM ^
The media has a horse in the race!? Who knew?
December 4th, 2011 at 10:04 PM ^
We benefit when we win all of our games and recruit better when other teams are down.
December 4th, 2011 at 10:50 PM ^
Wisconsin? Why?
Obnoxious fans v. Conference Presitge?!
December 4th, 2011 at 9:26 PM ^
Who cares. Seriously, the conference ranking stuff is so overblown and bowl games are not the best measure anyway. The Big Ten will almost always be an underdog in the Rose Bowl because half the time it's a home game for USC. We'll always travel the furthest, and until this year we always had an extra week of inactivity.
The conference is fine. Once the NCAA clamps down on oversigning, you'll see the SEC memes fade.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:27 PM ^
I have a feeling they're about to get pasted by Georgia, who had a strong finish to their season. Hopefully Wisky can slow down O enough to keep up.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:36 PM ^
Georgia had a strong finish because they played a weak schedule. They beat one top-25 team: #25 (and 7-5) Auburn. I think MSU can win this game.
December 4th, 2011 at 10:00 PM ^
MSU also played just about the weakest schedule of anyone in the top 25 down the stretch.
December 4th, 2011 at 10:28 PM ^
...but also got to the point they are now by beating OSU in columbus, beating Michigan (who is in the sugar bowl), and beating Wisconsin (who is in the rose bowl). everyone has to play the crappy teams in the B1G at some point
December 4th, 2011 at 9:54 PM ^
Georgia is nothing but an average team that gets the public rub because they play in the SEC. Change their colors to Iowa or USM and nobody cares, even though they are about the same team. MSU might lose this game, but it won't be because Georgia is some sleeping giant.
December 4th, 2011 at 11:24 PM ^
Agreed. UGA has a lot to prove. Their signature wins are against 7-5 Auburn and 8-4 GT. They also struggled against lousy Florida and Vandy teams. It's a very winnable game for MSU.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:32 PM ^
like the B1G is going to have an exciting bowl season playing some good games. That being said, there are a lot of tough games out there for the league.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:35 PM ^
Since the Big 10 leads all conferences with the most teams in the bowls, with 10, we will either have the best chance to get the most wins or the most losses for that matter.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:36 PM ^
Win and we're top 10, maybe top 5 next year...Alabama will be a top 5 team and they'll hype the Michigan/Alabama game like it's a BCS Bowl Game to start the year.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:36 PM ^
I differ I actually want the big ten to do good, and yes I care. Michigan was 10-2 this year and we barley made it into the top 14; a 9-3 Baylor team jumped us. If the big ten reestablishes credibility maybe the next time were 10-2 in this scenario we wont have to worry.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:41 PM ^
The conference rankings do matter. They matter a lot. It's gone so far to the extreme that 2 SEC West teams that have already played are chosen for the National Championship game.
It's only a matter of time before they cancel the National Championship game entirely and just give the title to the SEC winner.
If Michigan ever wants a shot at a NC, we need to be perceived as playing in a strong conference.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:47 PM ^
Or we go undefeated...cause if Wisconsin hadnt lost two games by two Hail Mary passes we wouldn't be having this OK State/Bama conversation right now.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:53 PM ^
If Wisconsin was an SEC team, they would be playing in the NC. The two Hail Mary passes would be overlooked, because losses within the SEC don't seem to actually count in the media . . . "Wisconsin is undefeated in the first 59:30 of every game!"
December 4th, 2011 at 9:43 PM ^
The good thing is .... it doesn't matter if we start out next year ranked 5th, or if we start out next year ranked 20th. If we go into Dallas Texas Stadium and knock off Alabama .... we will cement ourselves near the top of the standings.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:43 PM ^
The good thing is .... it doesn't matter if we start out next year ranked 5th, or if we start out next year ranked 20th. If we go into Dallas Texas Stadium and knock off Alabama .... we will cement ourselves near the top of the standings.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:44 PM ^
The best thing about M getting into the Sugar Bowl -- aside from, you know, getting in -- is that M actually gets an easier draw than Wisky and Sparty do.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:44 PM ^
If you care about Michigan you should want all the B1G teams to do well in their bowl games. The higher the prestige of B1G means better players coming into the conference and better preseason rankings. I hate OSU but I want them to win every game except their last game of the B1G season.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:48 PM ^
This is Michigan fergodssakes.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:52 PM ^
Absolutely agree. We should want all the Big Ten teams to win because it makes our wins (and losses) look better. By example ,,,we lost to Iowa. I want them to smoke OU.
I want the SEC to lose everyone of their games just like I always root for North Carolina and Duke to lose in basketball.
December 4th, 2011 at 10:21 PM ^
Beating Alabama in the jerry dome will accomplish the most.
December 4th, 2011 at 9:57 PM ^
December 4th, 2011 at 10:08 PM ^
Let's look at the matchups:
M vs VT: we win
Urban Meyer future vs Urban Meyer past: toss up. if Ohio plays like they did against us then they win.
MSU vs Georgia: both have the choking mentality down to a science. i give Sparty the edge here.
Wis vs Nike U: The quacking Knights win big.
Nebraska vs SCAR: The ol' ball coach wins this one decisively.
Illinois vs UCLA: The coachless horsemen ride again! I think the Illini show up for this one and stop punting the ball inside the opponent's 20 yard line.
Iowa vs Oklahoma: Boomer Sooner. 'nuff said.
WMU vs Purdue: Beating Ohio saved Danny Hope's job. Losing to WMU will put him back on the hot seat.
Houston vs Penn State: Could Houston have looked any worse yesterday? Penn State plays with some pride and pulls this one out.
TA&M vs NW: Both teams play so poorly in the 4th quarter. It's a push, so I'll give the edge to the team with a head coach. Go Cats!
So the B1G maybe goes 6-4. Seriously 10 teams got bowl games. Craziness.
December 4th, 2011 at 10:13 PM ^
I dunno, Iowa always plays well in Bowl Games and Oklahoma hasn't exactly been playing hot lately
December 4th, 2011 at 10:26 PM ^
when they don't play us, but they were just horrible this year. Their only decent win was over Michigan and unless Iowa gets the same officiating crew, I have to think that Landry Jones and Ryan Broyles light up Iowa's secondary. OU has had some good wins this year too.
But, you're right, never underestimate the ability of a Bob Stoops team to underachieve in a bowl game.
December 4th, 2011 at 10:53 PM ^
I'd give Georgia the edge against Sparty. Dantonio is 0-4 in bowl games, while I believe Richt's bowl record is pretty good.
December 4th, 2011 at 10:59 PM ^
Including 2-1 in the Sugar, 2-0 in the Capital One and 1-0 in the Outback. He's also 3-0 against Big Ten teams in bowl season (and beat MSU in the 2009 Capital One Bowl).
December 4th, 2011 at 11:19 PM ^
but I was thinking along the law of averages (i.e. Sparty is due to win one of these).
I did hesitate in choosing Sparty, though. As part of my second-guessing, I intentionally phrased the outcome as "both have the choking mentality down to a science. i give Sparty the edge here." The double entendre is that you could interpret that to mean that I give the edge to Sparty in winning the game or that I am thinking that Sparty is the bigger choker.
By the end of my post, I flipped a coin and gave it to MSU. I'd say it's because I feel bad for them after yesterday's game, but I don't and I savor their inner self-flagellation.
December 4th, 2011 at 10:14 PM ^
Only because I'm tired of the second guessing after B1G team loses...I want to see the league excell this year. That even includes lil brother...yuck!
December 4th, 2011 at 10:20 PM ^
Maybe Ohio, but I hate them and at 6-6 they don't matter a whole lot for our conference prestige. Yet it'd be nice to go undefeatted on Jan 2 after losing every game on NYD last year.
We've got some challenging matchups, but I don't think we're playing against teams that outclass us (like last year when Sparty took on Bama). I think we've got a good shot at making a statement and this is the one time every year I'll root for all the B1G teams.
And yes, I hope the SEC gets freaking owned. I've felt all year long they're overrated past LSU and Bama, and that overratedness lead to this ridiculous rematch. So I hope the the B1G proves it by beating them in every other bowl game. And I don't care about the outcome of the SEC West Title Part II - LSU deserves the national title regardless, and OK St is a more legit #2. So I'm not watching.
December 4th, 2011 at 10:25 PM ^
Can't stand Ohio but don't care for Charlie Weis either. I will be cheering for both to lose. I hope it's an epic meltdown for one or the other.
December 4th, 2011 at 10:40 PM ^
ever wish for an Ohio victory..........except against al-qaida
December 4th, 2011 at 11:39 PM ^
I will not watch it. The only replays I watch are Michigan games on BTN.
December 4th, 2011 at 10:27 PM ^
I'll be rooting for the B1G teams in every bowl game. I might have to cough while I cheer, but too many lost bowl games does reflect poorly on the conference, and ultimately, that helps shape Michigan's reputation.
December 4th, 2011 at 10:38 PM ^
Sorry, not worth its own thread but I had to put this somewhere
In case the embed doesn't work: http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/4678/mediocremarky.jpg
December 4th, 2011 at 10:42 PM ^
I can't root for either ohio or sparty, no matter how much I loathe the SEC.
Feel very good about our game. Will be tough, don't see Wiscy, Iowa or NW winning. Very tough for Neb and Illini as well.