Is the Big Ten having a down year?

Submitted by Sommy on October 23rd, 2021 at 10:37 PM

I’m thrilled that this team is 7-0, but also am cautious because the Big Ten appears to be exceptionally bad this year. Does anyone else agree? I mean, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Northwestern have all been incredibly underwhelming, MSU is probably also a pretender, and I have serious doubts that there are any truly good teams in this conference outside of OSU. 

JHumich

October 23rd, 2021 at 11:15 PM ^

B1G had non-conference wins over Auburn, Miami, Iowa State, and Washington—all of whom were supposed to be good.

That's how we ended up with 5 in the top 11. By ruining multiple seasons of teams from other P5 conferences.

It's like people like you aren't really paying attention.

LB

October 24th, 2021 at 8:18 AM ^

Harbaugh's fault. He should have immediately realized playing Washington would cause angst among a segment of the fan base and just forfeited the game in the spirit of competition. Next to eating chicken, playing a team with a bad loss has to be the very worst thing imaginable.

Brainstorm93

October 23rd, 2021 at 10:45 PM ^

You might say the Big 10 is having a 'down year' only because it's not the end of the year and we still don't know how good all of the teams are. By the end of the year we should know. The bowl season will tell us a lot, especially if we get a team or two in the playoff. Until then, it's all speculation.

JHumich

October 23rd, 2021 at 11:30 PM ^

Because we have outscored every team we've played.

Every week, the excellent content on this board shows how great the game planning has been.

The OL has been great.

The RB room may be best in the country.

The DL is great. The LBs are great. Dax is great.

It all makes sense to the people who are paying attention.

UMForLife

October 24th, 2021 at 12:02 AM ^

You probably need glasses or better glasses. Stop trolling. May be they are just that good. They are going to win every game and win the championship. Then you can create another thread and talk about how every team in the country is bad because Michigan does not pass YOUR eye test. sheeeesh.... Are you a Michigan fan? If you are, have some faith.

bhughes81

October 24th, 2021 at 12:20 AM ^

Will we lose 3 games? It's possible. To expect to lose to a team that struggled to score any points against Illinois in 4 quarters and 9 overtimes is an extremely moronic take. Yes we could, but nobody that isn't a troll would expect that. There's obviously no debating someone like you. The only comment that should be left is, you're an idiot. Enjoy being down-voted into oblivion. Please keep crying and commenting so that we have that ability. 

bhughes81

October 24th, 2021 at 9:11 AM ^

Thank you for the permission. *downvote*

Illinois and Penn State are straight trash. PSU could barely get passed a Wisconsin team that we thumped. Auburn looks like a mediocre team, and I'll remind you again that psu lost to a trash Illinois team.... with Artur Sitkowski at the helm for much of the game throwing for under 40 yards.

gsquared2123

October 24th, 2021 at 9:26 AM ^

I dont see anyone saying winning is a probable outcome, but it is definitely a non-zero probability. I think you are being unrealistic to say there is "literally zero" chance. There is definitely a chance.

I think this team is better at home than a 2 loss Oregon team playing in the shoe (read toilet)

rs207200

October 24th, 2021 at 9:49 AM ^

If you’re including the bowl game, I’m with you on 3 losses. If you’re just including the 12 regular season games, this team is not going to finish 9-3. 
 

They will lose to Ohio State (of course!) and game will likely be Michigan +13

Sparty is a toss up as both teams haven’t beaten anyone and their games against Nebraska and Northwestern were fairly similar results. 

Maryland and Indiana are going to be 20-point spreads, so a loss is highly improbable.

Penn State is just broken right now and Clifford doesn’t look right. With it being a road game, I’m going to guess Michigan -3.

I really think most likely result is 11-1, but it’s going to be a “weird feeling” 11-1, because the loss will be 49-21 to OSU. Which means the gap isn’t closing, not to mention that Ohio State has 5(!!!!) mid season freshman all americas couples with another too recruiting class  

 

 

thedayiscoming

October 23rd, 2021 at 10:46 PM ^

I think the BIG qb play is down overall...but most teams seem to be pretty solid in the front 7 on both sides of the ball. So it kinda balances out. I'd imagine the BIG will be  considered the second best conference after bowl season like normal.

LSAClassOf2000

October 23rd, 2021 at 11:07 PM ^

Do I think that the Big Ten is having a down year? Not particularly, no, at least not as I would define it. The problem is that all of us have quite different ideas on what constitutes "down", I am sure. I suppose the question requires your definition of the term to facilitate discussion. 

Do I think that we, as a conference, have a rather significant imbalance across divisions that might confound the picture, as it were? Yes.

WalterWhite_88

October 23rd, 2021 at 11:09 PM ^

What a terrible post. Mich is undefeated, MSU is undefeated, OSU has 1 loss and looks dominant, Iowa has 1 loss and PSU would be undefeated if Clifford doesn't get injured in the Iowa game. Wisconsin is rebounding pretty well recently and doesn't seem as bad we thought previously. 

Piston Blue

October 24th, 2021 at 9:20 AM ^

While often overlooked, I think the B1G West is stronger than average this year as well. Minnesota is starting to turn things around, they have a real shot at winning that division IMO. Purdue was ranked this past week and has a pulse (only on defense though), Nebraska seems like a decent team that can't get out of its own way. While they're still significantly worse than most teams in the East I think any of those teams would make a decent amount of noise in another (non SEC) conference this season.