Alabama and Ohio State are the national championship that people want to see, I think.. There are NO OTHER TEAMS IN THE US that I can think of that have the same pressure to succeed of those 2 programs.. Ohio State and Alabama ARE EXPECTED to win their conference championship at the 2 BEST CONFERENCES IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL, year in and year out, and if they don't do that, the season is a disappointment.. Both programs are elite level in recruiting and have some of the best recruiters/coaches in the country.
The perception of the Big Ten is that it is a DOWN YEAR. I would say that it is more accurate to say that the "marquee programs in conference", outside of Ohio State, had down years. Michigan and Penn State, specifically. Indiana had a magical season like Minnesota did last year, and I thought they should have had a shot at Texas A&M more so than North Carolina(though there may be affiliation issues with conferences and bowls that made North Carolina a better choice). But perception is still a tough thing for the Big Ten to overcome. COVID did not help anything this year.
I know this is a pain in the side of Minnesota fans but I think it has to be pointed out. Iowa and Wisconsin have basically played 30 years of really successful football at the college level, but they don't get the credit.. Those programs have had good coaching that is pretty consistent. You could say that Iowa has had closer to 40 years of pretty decent football. But it is not the same as the tradition of Michigan and Penn State. That is why I tell people, for the sake of perception, I hope that Michigan and Penn State re-establish their success and brand. It helps the conference though I cheer against those teams on a consistent basis.
Those teams like Iowa have had Hayden Fry and Kirk Ferentz, which are/were pretty darn good coaches.. Wisconsin had Barry Alvarez, Brett Bielema, a blip with Gary Anderson, then Paul Chryst who have been pretty good. Randy Walker, Gary Barnett, and Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern.. All excellent football coaches. ALL THOSE PROGRAMS are getting mostly 3 star kids as opposed to the marquee 5 star kids, so they dont get the press.. Those teams have excellent programs that coach up players BUT THEIR MARGINS OF ERROR ARE SMALL when it comes to depth(injuries and off the field problems) so they arent going to consistently get those 10 win seasons. So they will never get the same respect as the traditions at Michigan and Penn State. Just wont happen. Iowa being pretty good for 30-40 years and Wisconsin for the last 25 years ought to be proof that tradition with the national audience and press is HARD TO ESTABLISH.
Northwestern is interesting as they are in the large metro of Chicago.. But Chicago is a pro football town and the tradition of recruiting kids from the Chicago metro is more focused on Notre Dame and the Michigan schools than on Northwestern.. Northwestern has always been a "CHICAGO AFTERTHOUGHT" so the respect is not there by the press, on a national scale.
The SEC is "top heavy" with Alabama, LSU and Florida(most years), and Georgia.. I think that the matchups of most other SEC teams with the rest of the Big Ten teams are pretty good matchups, normally. But if you look at how teams like Iowa and Wisconsin have done in SEC country for bowls, over the last few decades, they have been pretty good.. Just the Big Ten has NOT DONE WELL with the marquee matchups between teams in the respective 2 best conferences. Plus CBS and Disney(ESPN and ABC) dominate the airwaves in showing college football on TV and there is no doubt a SEC bias to showing those games. So the Big Ten's reputation is not going to be as good as the SEC.
That said, the Big Ten has a good chance at going undefeated in bowl games this year, up to the national championship game.. I think Indiana wins today plus Wisconsin and Northwestern's bowl wins.. Iowa was sabotaged by COVID in their bowl game.. Unfortunately, a lot of average to below average Big Ten teams so the conference "WAS DOWN" in that respect. Michigan State 'nose dived' after Dantonio left so they are picking up the pieces.. Nebraska and Purdue cant seem to get it together.. Rutgers is building slowly and Maryland is a program you never know what you are going to get.
Lots of work to do but considering the circumstances of the year, the Big Ten has still proven itself formidable on the national scale and this year it was shown by the teams in the bowl games.
The perception of the Big Ten is that it is a DOWN YEAR. I would say that it is more accurate to say that the "marquee programs in conference", outside of Ohio State, had down years. Michigan and Penn State, specifically. Indiana had a magical season like Minnesota did last year, and I thought they should have had a shot at Texas A&M more so than North Carolina(though there may be affiliation issues with conferences and bowls that made North Carolina a better choice). But perception is still a tough thing for the Big Ten to overcome. COVID did not help anything this year.
I know this is a pain in the side of Minnesota fans but I think it has to be pointed out. Iowa and Wisconsin have basically played 30 years of really successful football at the college level, but they don't get the credit.. Those programs have had good coaching that is pretty consistent. You could say that Iowa has had closer to 40 years of pretty decent football. But it is not the same as the tradition of Michigan and Penn State. That is why I tell people, for the sake of perception, I hope that Michigan and Penn State re-establish their success and brand. It helps the conference though I cheer against those teams on a consistent basis.
Those teams like Iowa have had Hayden Fry and Kirk Ferentz, which are/were pretty darn good coaches.. Wisconsin had Barry Alvarez, Brett Bielema, a blip with Gary Anderson, then Paul Chryst who have been pretty good. Randy Walker, Gary Barnett, and Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern.. All excellent football coaches. ALL THOSE PROGRAMS are getting mostly 3 star kids as opposed to the marquee 5 star kids, so they dont get the press.. Those teams have excellent programs that coach up players BUT THEIR MARGINS OF ERROR ARE SMALL when it comes to depth(injuries and off the field problems) so they arent going to consistently get those 10 win seasons. So they will never get the same respect as the traditions at Michigan and Penn State. Just wont happen. Iowa being pretty good for 30-40 years and Wisconsin for the last 25 years ought to be proof that tradition with the national audience and press is HARD TO ESTABLISH.
Northwestern is interesting as they are in the large metro of Chicago.. But Chicago is a pro football town and the tradition of recruiting kids from the Chicago metro is more focused on Notre Dame and the Michigan schools than on Northwestern.. Northwestern has always been a "CHICAGO AFTERTHOUGHT" so the respect is not there by the press, on a national scale.
The SEC is "top heavy" with Alabama, LSU and Florida(most years), and Georgia.. I think that the matchups of most other SEC teams with the rest of the Big Ten teams are pretty good matchups, normally. But if you look at how teams like Iowa and Wisconsin have done in SEC country for bowls, over the last few decades, they have been pretty good.. Just the Big Ten has NOT DONE WELL with the marquee matchups between teams in the respective 2 best conferences. Plus CBS and Disney(ESPN and ABC) dominate the airwaves in showing college football on TV and there is no doubt a SEC bias to showing those games. So the Big Ten's reputation is not going to be as good as the SEC.
That said, the Big Ten has a good chance at going undefeated in bowl games this year, up to the national championship game.. I think Indiana wins today plus Wisconsin and Northwestern's bowl wins.. Iowa was sabotaged by COVID in their bowl game.. Unfortunately, a lot of average to below average Big Ten teams so the conference "WAS DOWN" in that respect. Michigan State 'nose dived' after Dantonio left so they are picking up the pieces.. Nebraska and Purdue cant seem to get it together.. Rutgers is building slowly and Maryland is a program you never know what you are going to get.
Lots of work to do but considering the circumstances of the year, the Big Ten has still proven itself formidable on the national scale and this year it was shown by the teams in the bowl games.
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