Smith Leaning Towards Michigan and Ohio in the Same Division
Per ESPN, Gene Smith favors the concept that Michigan and Ohio should be in the same Division, nothing new for Mgoblogers. Not locked in stone, but leaning in that direction as DB feels similarly.
Smith said he has had informal discussions with Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon about the two teams being in the same division and that both sides were open to the idea. In an email to ESPN.com, Brandon said, "I would certainly not be opposed to being in the same division as OSU if it was in the best interest of our conference. I look forward to the discussion with my colleagues and our conference leadership."
"Going into the meetings, we would be leaning toward being in the same division," Smith said. "But there might be something that comes up in the [AD meetings] that could change our minds."
http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/70120/smith-favos-osu-michigan…
January 18th, 2013 at 4:40 PM ^
Brandon said, "I would certainly not be opposed to being in the same division as OSU if it was in the best interest of our conference..."
Wrong answer, you demand we be in the same division as it is the best interest of The Game and our rivalry. If the little ones have a problem with that, life is tough.
January 18th, 2013 at 5:06 PM ^
I think DB is just being political with his statement. If Michigan and Ohio being in the same division is best for the conference, well, he doesn't have to "fight" for it. If they aren't, then he can speak up as to why that's the best thing for everyone and throw his weight around.
January 18th, 2013 at 6:01 PM ^
Agreed. If DB were to say "I want UM and OSU in the same division and I don't really care about every one else" then he would polarize the rest of the schools against him, and he needs their support on this. His best angle is to say that being in the same division is good for the conference.
January 18th, 2013 at 5:45 PM ^
January 18th, 2013 at 4:41 PM ^
Only makes sense. As it stands the last game of the year could be meaningless as teams are in shield mode preparing for the BIG championship.
January 18th, 2013 at 4:48 PM ^
but I do think it is better if we are both in the same division. I don't like the idea of playing twice in one year. Now, Wisconsin, Nebraska and others are going to joke like that is never going to happen anyways. However, with the way Hoke and Meyer are recruiting I see that possibility of us meeting twice being very strong. It sounds good in principal, but I think it would not be fun, especially if the team that won the BIG championship game was different from the team who won the regular season finale.
January 18th, 2013 at 4:51 PM ^
This has more to do with you hating Gene Smith than the rest of your comment. But I cannot stand Gene Smith, I still think he should've been canned for the Tressel debacle. In my opinion, Smith knew a heck of a lot more about that situation than was led to believe and he used Tressel as the Scape goat. No respect for him. As far as the divisions, i agree with you as well. Playing twice per year would not be as special as having one Saturday all year that we all circle on our calendars.
January 18th, 2013 at 7:05 PM ^
Why do you hate Gene Smith? I have a lot of reasons to hate him, but I am a Michigan grad.
January 18th, 2013 at 9:12 PM ^
Let me count the ways;
1) When he announced that Tressel had a 10.1 NCAA violation he should have then announced that he had fired Tressel. He didn't. He backed him w/o reservation.
2) When the media heat came down on Tressel/OSU Gene The Weak immediately folded and fired Tressel. (Smith's word means nothing).
3) When Gene The Weak started taking heat he didn't have the balls to face the press. So he did a YouTube video and released that.
4) When he announced OSU's self-imposed sactions he said, due to his vast NCAA experience, that he had hit the "sweet spot." How'd that work out Geno?
5) Instead of doing the obvious, self-imposing a bowl ban on a 6-6 team, he challenged the NCAA to do it. They did...on what turned out to be a 12-0 team. Moronic.
6) The guy is nothing but a bureaucratic weasel, exactly what you'd expect of a Notre Dame grad.
January 19th, 2013 at 8:04 AM ^
I find it odd that any OSU fans would "hate" Gene Smith. You can view his tenure one of two ways: first (the OSU slappy way)-- he has been responsible for/at the helm of what has been a "Golden Age" of OSU athletics (read: Football and Men's basketball) where OSU has been a dominant program for a decade plus. The second way (the correct way) is that he is an unethical weasel who has overseen the AD while OSU has been cheating like a motherf*cker in both Football and Men's basketball for a decade plus thus allowing them to cheat their way to elite status in the two programs. Because of his past NCAA connections, he was still beneficial in keeping OSU from getting the punishment they truly deserved from the NCAA for their decade plus of cheating in Football.
January 19th, 2013 at 11:15 AM ^
One thing you might not know about Gene Smith is that he is one of the few people on the selection committee for the NCAA. In 2011 when we were the number one overall seed, fans believe he put us in the hardest bracket with SEC champ, ACC champ, 2nd best Big East teams and good midmajor. I bet you if Michigan gets the #1 overall seed and he screws you over you'll be on the hate wagon too. Don't worry their is more than enough room.
January 18th, 2013 at 4:44 PM ^
But, but what about Rutgers?
Hasn't anybody considered for a minute how this interconference realignment might impact them?
January 18th, 2013 at 4:44 PM ^
misfire - @phork.
January 18th, 2013 at 4:46 PM ^
January 18th, 2013 at 4:46 PM ^
About damn time
January 18th, 2013 at 4:51 PM ^
I hate myself for asking this, but it may come up: Would you rather have Michigan and Ohio State in the same division, or the Michigan vs. Ohio State game the last game of the regular season. If they blackmailed us with one or the other, which would it be?
January 18th, 2013 at 4:54 PM ^
Always and forever. No question for me.
January 18th, 2013 at 4:54 PM ^
January 18th, 2013 at 4:56 PM ^
January 18th, 2013 at 5:03 PM ^
January 18th, 2013 at 5:30 PM ^
I really do hope that you are right.
I always presumed, without anybody formally acknowledging it, that Michigan and Ohio State were separated into different divisions by the will of the other schools, who could not in good conscience go back to their alums, donors and fans and explain why they might be in a division in which neither Michigan or OSU would be an every-year game. For what it's worth, I still think that could be a problem.
But whatever it takes to insure that the last game in November will always be Michigan and Ohio State is all that I care about.
January 18th, 2013 at 8:17 PM ^
I think it is possible. As it stands now the last games of the season are
- Ohio State vs. Michigan
- Indiana vs. Purdue
- Northwestern vs. Illinois
- Iowa vs. Nebraska
As for the other teams it might be best to do the following for their rivalries
- Minnesota vs. Wisconsin -This was actually the last game of the season for quite some time before it got moved. Its not too hard to get this moved to later in the season.
- Rutgers vs. Maryland - Battle of the new kids on the block
- Michigan St. vs. Penn State- They do play for a trophy, but poor Sparty really has no meaningful rivalries outside of Michigan and Notre Dame (not in the B1G).
January 18th, 2013 at 5:21 PM ^
It's a silly hypothetical, because the league almost certainly wants the November games to be intradivisional. It doesn't want teams to play in the last or next-to-last game of the year and then playing right after in Indianapolis. The best chance of guaranteeing that the Game will be always at the end of the regular season is for us to be in the same division.
January 18th, 2013 at 5:22 PM ^
Last game of the season, absolutely no doubt. The chance of a scenario where both teams have already locked up a spot in the B1GCG before the last week of the season is miniscule. Chances are far, far better that at least one team will have the division on the line, if not both teams.
January 18th, 2013 at 6:00 PM ^
January 18th, 2013 at 8:29 PM ^
The Game was meant to ruin the other teams season after teams worked so hard and developed their teams. Furthermore, changing the date disturbs other natural things that happen behind the game. These include:
- OSU vs. Michigan Blood Drive
- Hate week (I'm curious though as to what Michigan students do to prepare themselves should anyone care to share).
- Mirror Lake Night
- Inset whatever else goes on at Michigan
Lastly, I don't think anyone can stomach losing twice a week. If we all had to choose between the following, should both teams make it to the title game, it would be to win twice.
- Win-Win
- Lose-Win
- Win-Lose
- Lose-Lose
Losing sucks and from experiece I can say the depression that results from it last for about a good month!
January 18th, 2013 at 5:13 PM ^
This is my biggest concern with the new divisions. I also think that 2 of either Nebraska, PSU, or Wisconsin should also be in the division with UM and ohio (and presumably MSU). I know it is hard to pick who will be the best teams in the future but I can't stand the idea of having UM and OSU in one division with Indiana, Illinois, Purdue, Minnesota, and Maryland. Not only is the schedule boring but it could also lead to a year where one of the teams has cross-division games against some other bottomfeeders.
January 18th, 2013 at 5:30 PM ^
Why have a championship game if all the best teams are in the same division?
January 18th, 2013 at 5:51 PM ^
Yea i have to say, that makes absolutely no sense. Competitive imbalance anyone?
January 18th, 2013 at 8:35 PM ^
My vote goes to Wiscosin mainly because they have the best stadium and gameday atmosphere that I've been to of the three. Moreover, I will say that since Wisconsin is getting better over the years it would serve them well to face the better teams in the conference more often. Iron sharpens iron.
January 18th, 2013 at 5:35 PM ^
January 18th, 2013 at 5:18 PM ^
Excellent news. As for Brandon's (non-)statement, I hope he is being PC and fighting for it more behind the scenes.
January 18th, 2013 at 5:29 PM ^
The problem is Michigan and Ohio State are the two league powers -- at least on a consistent basis.
Since the 1960s, if they were separated into divisions today (obviously as well as we can, given the Neb/PSU additions), OSU and Michigan would've won division titles and met in the championship game 40 some times.
Do we really want to put both powers in one division?
I know it makes sense from the perspective of THE GAME, etc. and I think overall I agree they should be, but the above is about the only argument otherwise that I can think of.
January 18th, 2013 at 5:35 PM ^
Texas and Oklahoma were in the same division.
USC and UCLA are in the same division.
Alabama and Auburn are in the same division.
Florida and Georgia are in the same division.
Rivalries belong in the same division. That way the two schools compete for everything - on the field and in the division standings. Their game carries the utmost significance that way. The SEC, Big 12 and Pac-12 understand this. The only conference that doesn't (besides us for the time being) is the ACC. Which model do we want to follow?
January 18th, 2013 at 5:37 PM ^
Nebraska has been an equal power, if not a greater power over that same time period. 4 national titles (5 if you count the one they didn't earn) since 1970. We shouldn't discount that just because they weren't yet in the Big Ten.
January 18th, 2013 at 5:44 PM ^
January 18th, 2013 at 5:47 PM ^
January 18th, 2013 at 5:58 PM ^
Since the 1960's, we have aquired two more national powers in Penn St and Nebraska. Wisconsin has also developed into quite the program in the past decade.
Edit: in response to Soulfire
January 18th, 2013 at 6:25 PM ^
January 18th, 2013 at 6:37 PM ^
Yes, but if that'e the case, think about how bad the national draw will be for a game that happened just one week prior. Does a national audience want to watch the same two teams play for the second consecutive week, or would they rather see the winner of that game take on another team who is likely pretty good (and also at least a semi-power)?
Point is, whoever wins the UM-OSU division will likely be a top team, probably with play-off implications every year, so whoever they play in the BTCG will make for a big game nationally.
Your point about the second best team finishing third in the conference makes no sense. Who says they're third? In fact, they'd most likely get the BCS bid over the champ game loser in your scenario.
January 18th, 2013 at 5:35 PM ^
f'ing Rutgers and f'ing Maryland is WAY stronger than my desire to be in the same division as OSU. As long as the Game is the last weekend of the regular season every year, I just don't feel that strongly about being in the same division.
January 18th, 2013 at 7:12 PM ^
If we're not in the same division as Ohio, I don't think we can be assured that the Game will stay where it is. It definitely makes more sense for the league to have the division rivals play each other in November, so there are no rematches within a week or two.
January 18th, 2013 at 6:02 PM ^
January 18th, 2013 at 6:06 PM ^
I feel its in Michigans Best Interest to be in seperate divisions.It makes our path to the Conference title game easier..A Loss to OSU is out of Division and that matters in a tie breaker. Playing them twice? How many times have you wished to have another crack at them? its novel, wont happen often, just every once in a blue moon...I vote for seperate but equal divisions
January 18th, 2013 at 6:19 PM ^
Division record is only the second tie-breaker in the event of a (rare) three-way tie.
The issue of playing OSU every year, while no one else has to is a much bigger disadvantage.
I want a 'second crack' at OSU only sometimes, and only when we lose. In 1997, in 2012, I did not want a 'second' crack to occur.
January 18th, 2013 at 6:29 PM ^
Yep, I agree with this. Also, during the RR years, I didn't want a second crack even after those losses. Hell, I didn't even really want the second half a couple of those years.
January 18th, 2013 at 6:32 PM ^
They should be. It's not reasonable to play in back to back weeks when only one of those games earns you a ticket to the Rose Bowl. If we won the first game and lost the second, and OSU was sent to the RB because of that result, I think this board would meltdown.
January 18th, 2013 at 6:37 PM ^
We could lose to them play them again a week later win and go to the Rose Bowl
January 18th, 2013 at 9:34 PM ^
Sorry, but to me that would just feel like false accomplishment.