So I've been reading Wisconsin's Scout Board about division split
Why are they so high on Iowa they every 5 posts is how Iowa is going to win the the "west" division every year. Seriously they feel Nebraska is living off it's 90's hype and we're on the way down, but Iowa the luckiest team in the B10 last year is gonna win the division again and again.
September 2nd, 2010 at 1:24 AM ^
Or do you actually pay to read the Wisky board?
September 2nd, 2010 at 1:33 AM ^
neither it was a link in the post about what others think about the divisons and it's the free board I'm pretty sure.
September 2nd, 2010 at 1:30 AM ^
I went to some Wisky blog, and they were all boohooing about the splits for various different reasons.
Bottom line is that they are upset with how things went for them, so they are saying all kinds of crap.
Iowa very well could end up winning the division a fair number of times in the early going. But over the long term, they will not be able to keep pace with the recruiting done by Michigan and Nebraska.
Don't get me wrong, Iowa definitely makes the most of the talent they get. But that will only get you so far, and eventually you will come back to earth.
September 2nd, 2010 at 1:46 AM ^
A lot of them seem to have a complex about us, like it's socially unacceptable to say anything positive about Michigan. I doubt any of them actually believe, deep down, that we won't bounce back.
September 2nd, 2010 at 1:55 AM ^
in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes were basically Northwestern without the history.
September 2nd, 2010 at 2:12 AM ^
Yeah, they're punching above their weight class right now. They've had two outstanding coaches in a row in Fry and Ferentz. I don't think they can get by with just an average coach, given their limited recruiting base. If Ferentz leaves for the NFL, it could be all over.
I think most most neutral observers will agree that long-term, this division is set up for UM and Neb to dominate.
September 2nd, 2010 at 2:42 AM ^
Wisconsin Football was atrocious until Barry Alvarez turned things around in the early '90s. They could go back to sucking again. Wisconsin doesn't exacly bring in top-15 classes every year and Bielema, though he seems to be a reasonably good coach, is not Ferentz.
September 2nd, 2010 at 8:40 AM ^
Does Nebraska have any long term inherent advantage over Iowa or Wisconsin? Both Iowa and Wisconsin seem closer to civilization (or at least Chicago). Madison is a cooler place than Lincoln. If Iowa and Wisconsin can stay good for a while longer, nobody will remember Nebraska's national championships and Iowa and Wisconsin will have as much mind share among a generation of kids as Nebraska does.
September 2nd, 2010 at 10:34 AM ^
If you look at their roster you'll see they bring a lot of kids from the West - Texas, Cali, Colorado. Those kids don't identify with Iowa or Wiscy
We've done well out that way over the years, and becoming a divisional rival should help. Keep the FLA pipeline open, dive back into OH, and recruiting landscape looks good for us in the future. Provided we win
September 2nd, 2010 at 12:32 PM ^
In theory, Nebraska shouldn't have any recruiting advantages over Iowa or Wisconsin, because their state doesn't have many people, but they are an established national program. Kids in California will open a letter from Nebraska. Iowa and Wisc might not have that street cred.
(I do think Wisconsin's situation is decent, though, being the only program in a state of 6 million people and also being close to the huge Chicago area.)
September 2nd, 2010 at 1:55 AM ^
Wisky is almost as annoying as Sparty with their recent hooting and hollering. Sure, they've had a good run against us over the past 5 years, but prior to that they'd only beat us once in a frickin' decade. When we start kicking their ass again, I don't think anyone will care what Wisky thinks.
September 2nd, 2010 at 2:07 AM ^
No one cares what they think now
September 2nd, 2010 at 3:12 AM ^
They got screwed. They don't get to play Iowa every year anymore and they missed out on Nebraska as well. They have no real rivals in their division. I don't blame them in the slightest for being upset.
September 2nd, 2010 at 4:04 AM ^
thing is until recently they didn't play Iowa every year anyways. Since Iowa used to rotate off schedule.
September 2nd, 2010 at 11:20 AM ^
Because I thought the trio had protected rivalry games with each other like we had with 2 teams (MSU, OSU). But I could be wrong on this one. Especially if you're going back far enough.
September 2nd, 2010 at 1:26 PM ^
I don't but a few Wisconsin fans on the board were talking about it. So I'm assuming they are correct about their own team.
Edit: 93 and 94 are the only years with penn state that they didn't play
September 2nd, 2010 at 3:49 PM ^
Are we talking Penn State, or Iowa?
September 2nd, 2010 at 6:14 AM ^
I generally like Alvarez (and he's the best thing that ever happened to WI football), but he was pushing too hard to split OSU and UM so he got exactly what he deserves. Like they say, be careful what you wish for.
I think they should have left UM and MSU in the East and WI and IL in the West. That would change the competitive balance only slightly, but WI would be much better off and we could play PSU every year. WI has had a great run the past 15 years and it cannot be good for the B10 to ignore their most logical and natural rivalries with IA and potentially NE. Also, if NE became our guaranteed cross division rival under that divisional split, we would play ND, OSU, PSU, NE and MSU every year. We would also still play IA and WI on a rotating cross-division basis. That's the kind of schedule that can get you into the BCS Championship game even with one loss.
September 2nd, 2010 at 7:48 AM ^
I thought Minnesota was a fairly important rivalry game for them. No? I realize it is somewhat akin to our rivalry with Minnesota for the Jug; not necessarily competitive, but you still look forward to it.
September 2nd, 2010 at 11:21 AM ^
It's the longest consecutive match-up in college football. I can see the value in wanting to keep that going every year. But, yeah...
September 2nd, 2010 at 12:49 PM ^
It's a much bigger deal than Michigan-Minnesota. IIRC, those two states have tuition reciprocity, so a Minnesota kid can pay in-state tuition to go to Wisconsin and vice versa. So in practice, it's like Michigan-MSU, with Wisconsin being the more prestigious school.
September 2nd, 2010 at 8:21 AM ^
I have been living in Madison for 3 years now teaching undergrads as I work on PhD, and have been surprised which rivalries they care about. They want to beat Minnesota pretty bad, but do not seem to hate the state or school much (maybe because of tuition reciprocity agreement that brings many Minnesota students to UW? maybe because Minnesota hasn't exactly brought it lately?). They talk about Iowa the way I talk about Ohio, though. To hear them tell it, the whole state is nothing but murderers and molesters. Had no idea how much they have against U of M either. Yikes. We are one of their top rivals, many say. I don't have the heart to tell them that Wisconsin is so far down the rivalry chain for us that I never thought much of it as a rival at all.
September 2nd, 2010 at 8:26 AM ^
OSU
ND
MSU
PSU
Maybe Minn if you're a juggist.
Edit: and soon to be Nebraska. That's going to be a fun series right there, let me tell you what.
September 2nd, 2010 at 8:37 AM ^
I agree with you. I was a bit apprehensive when I first saw the split, but after some thinking on the topic, I think the Nebraska game is going to spark a new and exciting rivalry for us. I'm excited to see what the future holds for us in that series. Plus, we owe them one for 1997 and 2005.
September 2nd, 2010 at 12:46 PM ^
Illinois? Lol jk.
September 2nd, 2010 at 8:35 AM ^
Badger fans are unbelieveable malcontents. By most accounts, their "revenue sports" have been exceptional the last 10-12 years, and they still cry when they aren't undefeated every season.
Goodbye...Columbus nails it: these guys actually believe they are rivals with Michigan. So many times I've had to explain to my Badger friends that they will never leap TUOOS, ND, and MSU.
September 2nd, 2010 at 9:03 AM ^
That is the biggest problem Michigan faces; everyone plays Michigan like a rivalry game. And now there is no fear factor involved, either. I think the most important thing RR and the team need to do, starting this year, is to start making teams fear Michigan again.
Still, what it comes down to is that Michigan's entire BT schedule is "rivalry" games, at least to the opponents. But it will make the "revenge tour" much more entertaining, because we will get to watch the same teams that make their entire season when they beat Michigan hang their heads after they lose.
September 2nd, 2010 at 11:23 AM ^
They might not remember that for the longest time they were looking up at Indiana in the standings.