Brimley

July 3rd, 2014 at 10:04 PM ^

Stopped reading after "Hoke on the hot seat".  I'm already goddamned tired of it.

Think I'll drink beer and blow off some Indiana fireworks to let off some hot seat steam.

JayMo4

July 3rd, 2014 at 10:04 PM ^

If they'd like sparty in their division, they're welcome to it.  I always thought Purdue should be in the east with Indiana and UM/MSU should be the only locked-in crossover game.  We already have OSU and Penn State with Michigan in the east as it is.  God help the Big 10 if Wisconsin ever loses steam.

alum96

July 3rd, 2014 at 11:43 PM ^

It is sort of funny everyone has accepted MSU as a world power now and too tough for our division and making it unbalanced.  MSU is coach dependent - when they have a very good coach they can be very good.  When they don't they suck.  Yes every program is coach depdendent but ours and about 10-12 others have a much bigger buffer.  You truly need to stink or try to change the entire culture to torpedo a blue blood.  ND, Tenn, and us to a lesser degree have been the main ones to accomplish it lately.  But even with "moderately good" coaching at these programs you will churn out 8-9 win seasons.  If MSU or similar ilk progra, has "moderately good" coaching its 5-6 wins.

I don't know ages of people of course but I think people 25 and under have a very different view of MSU than those of us over 25.  MSU was a laughingstock for long periods of times.  8 win seasons were their ceilings for 9 out of 10 years.  They had losing years often - like half the time.  For decades.  From 1967 to the 3rd year of Dantonio they were what Minnesota or Illinois is.

So viewing these divisions with current MSU with Dantonio is very different than viewing MSU over 40 years or the next 40 years. 

I am a big believer in coaching and just like UM basketball will stay at a certain level with Beilein, so will MSU football despite the protests by some here.  When he leaves however, unless they make a splendid hire - they will go back to being MSU.  Which is Illinois of central Michigan.  And these divisions will make more sense. 

Think of MSU as the South Carolina of Big 10.  Spurrier makes SC - once he is gone they will go back to being SC.  The same will happen here.  But in the near future it is creating unbalanced divisions for sure.  Their coaching is top notch, esp on defense and it will continue to be a major headache until he goes.  He also changed the culture there - last year when they went behind or made a Sparty error they didnt go into tailspin like they did for decades.  So it stinks for now but they will ebb eventually and in time PSU will be the 3rd wheel.  Iowa Neb and Wisconsin are a pretty good trio.

Now one caveat could be MSU pulls a Wisconsin but other than Wisconsin I cant think of any once national also ran that has gone through 3 coaches and stayed pretty consistently good for 20 years.  So it would be a rare feet if MSU can copy that when their next coach shows up.

Pit2047

July 4th, 2014 at 3:30 AM ^

But I think they have a better winning tradition than Purdue. For the foreseeable future I would put MSU above Iowa as well. If MSU had been put in the West, the divisions would be pretty even with Wisky, NE and MSU matching with UM, Ohio and PSU, the Iowa and Maryland I think might be about the same tier once MD starts getting that B1G money and gets smart of enough to really start taking advantage of their UA connection the way Oregon does with Nike. After that the Illinois and Indiana are about the same and Minnesota is probably better than Rutgers but not lopsidedly better. Right now the B1G West is an after thought with only 2 solid programs, if defending Rose Bowl Champs MSU was there it would look a bit more even. I agree with the article, switch MSU and Purdue.

mgobleu

July 3rd, 2014 at 10:11 PM ^

has definitely jumped the shark. Nebraska was a great addition and made perfect sense, but (and this is no new revelation,) the closer it gets to happening, the more and more it seems like Maryland & Rutgers are just going to muddy the waters. They dilute whatever traditional identity the conference was clinging to and make it clear that it's only become dollars and decimal points. Delany got greedy and cocked this one up good, imo. The fact that the conference hasn't been particularly successful lately either makes the addition look an awful lot like desperation.

snarling wolverine

July 3rd, 2014 at 10:36 PM ^

I think it's time to just accept them already.  They weren't my first choice (I didn't even want to expand at all), but they're here.  The plus side is that we do add some fertile recruiting group, and it is good for East Coast alums.

 

gwkrlghl

July 3rd, 2014 at 11:43 PM ^

being an east coast alum, I'll appreciate having home-away-from-home games in either College Park or Piscataway every year, but those two schools combined don't bring the prestige Nebraska brought with them. I hope they both suck forever. Just give us your best high school talent and don't annoy me

LSAClassOf2000

July 3rd, 2014 at 10:28 PM ^

Yeah, the non-analysis of Hoke and hot seat talk definitely inspired an eye roll, but the larger point of the East being the more interesting division regardless probably stands.

As for how interesting things are in the West Division, the author probably could have marked this as the most telling statement regarding that:

Iowa? The biggest news from the “319” this offseason was Kirk Ferentz’s recruiting coordinator resigning so he could open a Culver’s. He’s spending the summer at ButterBurger University. (Not a joke. It’s a 16-week training course in Madison, Wisconsin.)

We knew that, of course, being a resourceful blog, but I do agree - when you have a division where few people know exactly who coaches the Badgers and Iowa has a coordinator who thought Culver's was a greener pasture, an outsider would definitely get the impression that it isn't terribly interesting because, well, it isn't. 

ThadMattasagoblin

July 4th, 2014 at 1:53 AM ^

The conference should be viewed by Nebraska, Michigan, Ohio, and PSU. These are the teams that have won national titles within the last 30 years. Wisconsin and MSU have had a good run but I doubt they'll be up with these 4 in 2030 or 2040. By then it could be Iowa and Northwestern instead of MSU and Wisconsin or 2 other random teams.

Wolfman

July 4th, 2014 at 4:08 AM ^

to declare them the Real McCoy. MSU, since joining the conference, has continuously experienced periods of highs and lows and in the early years laid some pretty good whoopings on us. That didn't last, needless to say. They really haven't been this successful for a sustained period since the sixties and they have a number of seasons yet to prove they'll continue eating at the grown ups table.  WI, on the other hand, has been a tough out since Barry arrived from Lincoln,and that was three coaches ago. I think they've more than proven themselves. Even whem UM was the flag bearer for the conference, with OSU riding our tails, WI. first with Barry, then with Brett B. was able to establish a pounding offense, produce a Heisman winner, go to three straight Rose Bowls and is not a stranger to a top 5. ranking. Dantonio, despite not coming across as personable, has established himself as having built a good program in EL. He came at the perfect time, but give him credit for taking full advantage. He should stay put. He's popular there and I don't know if he's capable of repeating such a turnaround at another school outside our conference. If he goes, it will hasten MSU's fall. 

The four you name are obvious and that's why they're all in the top ten programs of all-times. All the elite of cfb - top ten all-time programs - have experienced tough times but unlike the others, they have been able to rebound. Reasons are many, but so much of it has to do with tradition, dollars, fan base, etc.  Certain programs may take a respite but they'll never be dormant for extended periods. Others come and go, thereby separating themselves from the pack.  Whereas the SEC has obviously separated itself from the pack, they've done so at the expense of actually having "student-athletes" and they actually don't try and hide it.  They continue doing what they do, the NCAA continues not doing what they don't do, so who knows how long that ride will go? It's always been a great conference, perhaps the best with normally five teams - prior to expansion - ending in the top twenty each year. Even with such a rich history, there is simply no resemblance to what was and what is. I doubt sincerely that Bear would ever have thought of S.Carolina as anything more than an annual W, but since the SEC has gone Triple A on the rest of cfb, Carolina actually determines champions now. That ride will end someday though and things will return to a semblance of normalcy. If that doesn't happen, and I hate to say it, we will see the teams that have earned their place among the greats for decade upon decade take a similar path simply due to the fact the importance placed on cfb has grown to unprecedented heights. Let's face it, not everyone has the $$ to keep up if it does come to that.

Blarvey

July 4th, 2014 at 8:37 AM ^

I agree with the gist of the piece but of course there are more articles about teams in the east. Aside from the two biggest fanbases being in that division, PSU getting a new big-name coach and the addition of two new teams probably are the biggest stories right now. When was the last time there was preseason buzz for Iowa or Illinois?

Personally, I think an overlooked theme is the overall returning starters. This should be one of the better seasons for top-to-bottom depth in the conference, at least on a relative basis.

ChicagoB1GRed

July 4th, 2014 at 2:02 PM ^

and its good teams and traditional powers will get the most consistent attention, good season or bad.

Let's face it, the new B1G is now an eastern/east coast oriented conference in many ways. The majority of schools are in the Eastern time zone. The eastern division is by far the most populated. All the major media is there. Men's BB tourney moved there. The B1G's even set up shop there. I don't see any of this as temporary.  And with the new scheduling, the 2 divisions are almost like separate conferences in football. The West....meh, unless Nebraska or Wisconsin have a good season.

On another point, I think many of you are too harsh about MSU and their place as part of the strength of the East. Their WP is 25th all-time among all D1 programs. Their WP since joining the B1G is 32nd among all D1. They've won more games than Florida St or Miami. That's pretty consistent.

Happy 4th to all!

Wolfman

July 4th, 2014 at 4:31 PM ^

I am quite certain, merely by the level of intelligence indicated in your writing, that I don't have to define consistency for you. MSU is anything but. If fact, they are the opposite and I would have to say their history points strongly to the dictionary's definition of the word inconsistent. 

Beginning in elementary school and continuing until I was 17 I had no real interest in cfb. I watched the lions every Sunday. You might not believe it, based on the last 50 years, but they were good at one point.  I first became aware of MSU program during the mid-60s, most notably their "Game of the Decade" vs. ND. Am glad the written media has reduced in numbers. Too many Catholic writers in those days.  They were, of course, coached by Duffy Daugherty and just beginning my h.s. playing days, I thought it would be fun to play for him. He was very personable, and knowing nothing about recruiting, a fact that would remain that way for years, it did not surprise me that he was able to bring Bubba Smith, George Webster, Clint Johnson, Gene Washington and many others together to form one of the greatest teams of that time period. Because the state of Mihigan is divided in half, I'm stall somewhat surprised I did not become a State fan inasmuch as they were so good during my impressionable years.  But that particular period lasted for about two more seasons. 

I accidentally watched the '69 UM vs. OSU game because I had time to kill waiting for my buddy to get ready for whatever is was we ended up doing that night.  I saw this team with these strange, but very cool helmets, take the field led by a coach with a difficult to pronounce last name. What I saw them do to what was supposed to be the greatest college team ever seriously gained my attention. And of course, who could forget those wonderful helmets? Understand fully why some kids actually choose M as their favorite team  I began to research this team, and when I started I wasn't even aware of their glorious past.  They had just come off two mediocre decades with a winning percentage that hovered around .580. Not that impressive. Well aside from the last couple of Carr years and what has transpired recently, we are all aware of how successful they have been since '69 and more to the point, since the inception of the game.  Even more impressive is the fact they have done so, according to the College Football Warehouse, agaist the all time toughest SOS.

That is a very long period, and until the past two, three years, MSU has basically been missing from even being included in conversations among most consistent winners.  But historically, that has been their M.O. Have some great years, coach moves on, similar to Saban, and teams falls back into the crapper.  As I stated earlier, you could use the letters MSU to define the word, inconsistecy. 

Clark Griswold

July 5th, 2014 at 12:12 AM ^

I think Maryland can develop a good program. They have Under Armour backing them hard core. Get them some facilities and they may turn into Oregon. Without the cheating that is.