Decline of the Big 10
There was an interesting article on ESPN about how the "decline" of the Big 10 was because of quarterback play.
http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/other/01/03/0103…
Michigan is mentioned a few times,
"Michigan recently lost one of its quarterback commitments to, gulp, Tulsa. "
But some good ones, too
"Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez might ultimately be the best thing to happen to the Big Ten since Ohio State coach Jim Tressel. Rodriguez will revolutionize that conference with a dynamic spread offense like Penn State and Northwestern now feature. But it could take time."
"Other than Michigan, Big Ten schools rarely recruit nationally, preferring to stay largely in their geographic footprint. "
So yeah. Opinions?
January 3rd, 2009 at 3:55 PM ^
-The Big Ten is not declining. It's not great right now, but it's not dying. If anything, guys like Zook and Brewster are helping make the conference less top heavy with their recruiting and we'll eventually be a deeper, more competitive conference.
-Most of the ire for the Big Ten comes from OSUs failings in the BCS. The Big Ten more than holds its own against the SEC in the Outback and Cap One/Citrus Bowls.
-Spot on about Michigan and RichRod.
January 3rd, 2009 at 4:37 PM ^
the facts don't really bear out that view, as discussed on an earlier thread. Yes, any team can beat any team, as Utah showed last night. And no, the B10 isn't dead, but it is clearly, without any real debate, much weaker in talent than at least two conferences in the country. We haven't won a Rose Bowl in 10 years, our top teams aren't just losing, they are getting embarrassed by large margins vs. other top teams consistently over the last 2-3 years, and the bowl records overall this year and 2 of the last 3 years previously are very poor.
That doesn't mean we can't come back, or that this is a permanent state. But to say it hasn't declined significantly is IMO wearing blinders.
January 3rd, 2009 at 4:05 PM ^
the recruit quality & quantity of the B10 has fallen off over the last 30 or so years, i think. partly due to the decline of the rust belt (manufac., etc). Ill doesn't have the recruits they used to, even penn and ohio to a certain extent.
the southern exodus has contributed to the SEC recruiting dominance... not just FL, but GA, MISS, carolinas... lots more recruits from the south than midwest.
January 3rd, 2009 at 4:34 PM ^
"Other than Michigan, Big Ten schools rarely recruit nationally, preferring to stay largely in their geographic footprint.">>>
I don't buy that this year.
Commits coming from outside of a BigTen state as of today:
Purdue 16 of 16
Penn State 15 of 22
Michigan 13 of 21
Minnesota 8 of 18
Northwestern 6 of 16
Illinois 7 of 20
Wisconsin 5 of 18
Ohio State 6 of 24
Iowa 3 of 12
Indiana 0 of 14
Michigan State 0 of 18
That really isn't "rarely" recruiting outside of its borders. Granted, much of Penn State's recruits are from nearby Maryland. However, I doubt that other conferences are much better at getting players out of its recruiting area.
Look at Purdue, not one kid from our region. Only MSU and Indiana are not getting kids from outside of the region.
January 3rd, 2009 at 4:49 PM ^
Art imitating life or life imitating art?
Has the constant bashing of the big ten the last 5-10 years had an affect on public opinion and thusly on recruits?
I think the big ten is definitely down this year, and but I also think that bowl matchups carry -some- weight. For instance, you cannot discount Florida getting their butt kicked regularly by the big ten (except for MNC game against a rusty, out of shape, over-confident tOSU team).
It's been the big 2 little 8 forever and the big 2 will be there and I think back in a big way in 2010 and 2011 and beyond. the rest of the conference? never will be elite on a consistent basis.