Big 10 Is A Joke

[jjc58]

James,

Quit bringing up OSU's schedule. Last time I recall, we played Texas "home and home" the last two years. The next two years, we have USC "home and home." You can't knock OSU for having a few cupcake games--every team in the nation schedule's a few gimmes. We try to have one incredible non-conference game a season...this year did not work logistically.

 

[James]

Playing Texas at Texas with a Freshman QB playing his first game is hardly worth mentioning, you played them and won AFTER they lost tons of players to the draft. When you guys play a team on top of there game, you havent beat them, did you beat a loaded Texas team? No. Did you beat a loaded UF team? No.

 

[Erbium]

Pretty quick to dismiss OSU with these posts. Granted their schedule is weak this year (as was a number of BCS teams' schedule for about the last 5 years), but we are simply suffering from an off schedule year. We are lined up to play USC home-away the next two years, Miami home away the two years following, and then Oklahoma the two years following that. These schedules are made so far ahead of time there are often times you can't guarantee your big game out of conference will actually be "big". We owed Washington a home game from a few years back. Now the Pac-10 looks strong, and Washington is nearly ranked, so by years end, a Washington victory may be more then just a "cupcake" game, but is too early to tell.

As far as playing in state opponents, it is all money driven. By playing teams in state, all $$ stays inside Ohio, and they can schedule these MAC teams and not give them a home game in return. It results in 7 home games this season, and an increase in revenues. Before about 10 years ago we hadn't played in state opponents for years and years.

Basically, it's as obvious to OSU that their schedule stinks this year as it is to you. OSU isn't doing this to sneak into the National Championship game. They are a top 5 program in the nation, and can get huge national television revenues if they play big time opponents (like the TX night games the last two years). OSU has also come out and said they do not plan on playing in state opponents much after this year. They are talking about rejuvenating a yearly Cincinatti game, who, now that they are in the Big East, would be a tough in state game year after year.

 

[Style]

With your poor excuse of a schedule, it wouldnt be a surprise, but if you drop the 2 games against the 2 teams even worth mentioning on your schedule, itll be curtains.

Does the Big-10 schedule any Pac-10 teams? Or even SEC teams for non-confrence? Stop playing these weak sauce MAC teams and step up.

Actually, finishing 10-2 we still have a great shot at getting into the BCS. In 2005 we had 2 losses, and then whipped ND in the Fiesta Bowl. In 2003 we had 2 losses, and then whipped KSU in the Fiesta Bowl. Don't be surprised if it happens again.

And OSU did schedule a Pac 10 team, which we play this week actually.

As Erbium said, these games are scheduled far in advance. When Washington was put on the schedule, they were a top 10 team. Right now OSU has Oklahoma lined up for a home and home series in 2016 and 2017. Oklahoma is looking like one of the top 3 teams this year, but who knows what they'll be like 10 years from now? All you can do is just put quality teams on your schedule and hope for the best. Which is what OSU is doing.

The funny thing is, Washington, while no longer a top 10 team, is still very good. They're ranked #22 in the country, and so far this year have whipped both Syracuse and Boise State. Plus, we're going to their house. That is not a cup cake.

Playing a ranked team from a BCS conference on the road is pretty stout as part of your non-conference schedule. If OSU schedules one of those every year, along with three Mac games and the standard B10 games, I'm completely fine with that. My only exception with OSU's schedule this year is YSU. OSU should not be playing Div I-AA teams.

And to top it off, saying the Big Ten is weak b/c OSU plays a weak non-conference schedule doesn't make sense. The two have nothing to do with each other. It's a flawed argument.

Keep that in mind, and then look at the top 25: half the teams play schedules as weak or weaker than OSU's. It's not like OSU is doing something any different from most of the other schools. Look at the top 3 teams in the Big East that you rank ahead of the B10. If scheduling "weak sauce" opponents makes for a poor conference, then the Big East is at the bottom. OSU's schedule is better than WVU's, Ville's, and Rutgers. Here's a laugh, look at Rutger's non-conference opponents: Buffalo, Norfolk State, Navy, Army. Now that is weak sauce.

 

[Style]

For the 15 Buckeye commitments of the Class of 2007, only Jermale Hines is stumbling toward the finish line. You want to see some non-qualifiers? You want to see true travesty? Check out the SEC with 45 non-qualifiers! Not surprisingly the SEC leads the nation with nearly twice the number of non-qualifiers that any other conference. Half the schools in the SEC had more non-qualifiers by themselves than the entire Big Ten combined. The Big Ten, so far, only has 4 non-qualifiers.

Who are the worst abusers in the SEC? Auburn leads with 10, Mississippi State and South Carolina have 7 and Tennessee has 5. To put that in perspective, if OSU had the same number of non-qualifiers as Auburn, our incoming class would have dropped from fifteen to…five!


The SEC might talk about their speed, but no one there talks about the speed at which their new recruits qualify to actually be students.

I thought this was pretty good.

 

[jjc58]

Playing Texas at Texas with a Freshman QB playing his first game is hardly worth mentioning, you played them and won AFTER they lost tons of players to the draft. When you guys play a team on top of there game, you havent beat them, did you beat a loaded Texas team? No. Did you beat a loaded UF team? No.

Weak.

So, you're saying that the schedule makers, who make these things years in advace, have to predict the effect of graduation, attrition, and recruiting classes in order to ensure that they set up a sufficiently difficult schedule to sastify critics?

If you schedule Texas, you've done your part. If the traditional Texas doesn't show up, it's not the fault of the schedule maker.

Regarding your references to particular games, Ohio State stood toe-to-toe with a "loaded" Texas team in Texas. Texas won, and went on to win a National Champtionship, but the OSU game could have gone either way. (And recall, OSU played Zwick for a substantial part of the game. No excuses, just saying.)

Florida kicked OSU's tail. No question. However, losing in a National Championship, even if it is a landslide, has nothing to do with the non-conference strength of schedule.

 

[James]

Schools in the deep south are so behind in education its not even funny. Its a problem thats been long over looked for many years by congress and it needs to change. These kids (not even football players) have TERRIBLE conditions that not only they learn in but live in. Ole Miss has trouble getting in state recruits for these reason and has to go out to SoCal for there kids, so Miss St. takes what they can get, because thats not anywhere near as good as Ole Miss. USC has lower standards because the good kids end up being able to get into Clemson, so they also, take what they can get.

Alabama, Mississippi as states are probably the worst as far as there academic achievements in the high school/elementary schools. South Carolina is pretty bad as well, there are so many boarding schools/private schools in the south that parents of "the elite" go to instead of going to the public schools. It all goes back to the injustices of the 50's and 60's.

And the fact that you now have to use the Big East to compare Strength of Schedule shows me, that you do indeed, know the Big 10 schedules more cuppy cakes then others.

And no jjc, what im saying is that you lose to strong teams. You lost to Texas when they were good, and beat them when they had a new QB playing in his first game.

 

[Erbium]

^^OSU football criticism, whether its prompted by Michigan falling apart or not, is ridiculous. 2 losses in 2 years, both to the National Champions. Enough said, really. If these discussions are in regards to the Big Ten falling off a bit, I can understand your point. But OSU is, IMO, out of harms way until they lose to someone they shouldn't, like Washington this weekend.

 

[TrueCavsFan23]

I went to go see the Purdue game against Toledo a week ago,Purdue is a BIG SLEEPER in the Big Ten this year.I'm not suprised you got SEC on top,everyone loves the SEC and thinks they just dominate everyone.

 

[crazedcav333]

Purdue is not on the same level as OSU and WISC.

If Michigan has to suck this bad to make the Big-10 look bad, I'm fine with that. And don't say it's just because of ORE and ASU's QB's...Michigan can't score either.

 

[Style]

^^OSU football criticism, whether its prompted by Michigan falling apart or not, is ridiculous. 2 losses in 2 years, both to the National Champions. Enough said, really. If these discussions are in regards to the Big Ten falling off a bit, I can understand your point. But OSU is, IMO, out of harms way until they lose to someone they shouldn't, like Washington this weekend.

Exactly. This is one of my better posts right here:

Many Buckeye fans are still in “woe is me” mode after the Fiesta Bowl, but let’s face it; they have little to complain about. There is no question that Ohio State has one of the top three programs the last 5 years, at worst tied with Texas for second place behind USC. Let’s take a look at their accomplishments.

First, to be considered one of the best programs in the last five years, you need to have won the title. Here’s the list of title winners the last five years and their total number of tiles: USC 1.5, OSU 1, Texas 1, Florida 1, and LSU 0.5.

Here’s a breakdown of most major accomplishments. Those in red indicate first place for that category. Those in green indicate second place:

USC is clearly #1, being in first place (or tied for first) in every category. OSU is clearly #2, being in either first or second place in every category. At best, you might argue that Texas has been about as good as Ohio State the last five years, but you certainly couldn’t argue that that they’ve been better. Think about that. Over the last several years, OSU is better than all other schools but one.

Something else to consider when looking at this: USC plays in the PAC Ten. Of all the conferences represented above, by far the PAC Ten is the weakest. Honestly, USC has no competition. In that conference it’s USC, and then all the rest. They have a free pass to a conference title and thus the BCS every year. If they played in the Big Ten, SEC, or Big 12, I would be willing to bet they’d average about 1 more loss per year. Not only would that decrease their wins, but there is no way they would be 5 for 5 on Conference titles and Top 5 Finishes, and their other categories would likely suffer as well.

Look at the dominance Miami showed when they played in the Big East, and how quickly things turned when they went to a decent conference (the ACC). You can be certain that if Miami had stayed in the Big East they’d be one of the top teams I’d be talking about right now, and would likely be near the top. Playing in the hapless Pac Ten is a HUGE advantage for USC.

So let’s recap. OSU is the second best team this year, only to Florida. This is Florida’s only top 5 finish the last 5 years, and in fact they’ve been unranked twice in that span! The one time OSU wasn’t in the top 5, they still finished the year ranked (they finished 20th in 2004). Clearly it is better to be OSU than Florida. In addition, OSU is the second best team overall the last 5 years, to only USC. This is a USC team that’s playing with a stacked deck, since they are the only consistent team in their conference.

I know that many are still grieving the ugly loss to Florida, but Ohio State fans should be celebrating their good fortune. Tressel had one bad game, and lost to the National Champions. Guess what? I wouldn’t trade him for anyone. It is STILL good to be a Buckeye.

OSU has the second best program the last 5 years. There isn't even a debate. USC is clearly #1. OSU is clearly #2. You can debate that the Big Ten is down right now, but there is no argument that OSU is down. They're the best they've been in 40 years!

 

[crazedcav333]

Just for the record James, Washington was scheduled when I believe they broke the top 12 for a year, and were on their way up. Combine that with the Texas games, USC in the years coming up, Ohio State usually has 3-4 top 15 games a year. (non-conference, Michigan, WISC, and PSU). Now that Purdue is actually playing football again, it could be 5 ranked opponets. IF Michigan didn't suck.

 

[James]

Purdue is not on the same level as OSU and WISC.

Purdue is the Vandy of the Big 10, every now and then they come out to play and shock people by upsetting a ranked team.

OSU has the second best program the last 5 years.

Thats all fine and dandy, but i think OSU isnt going to out there contending for many NCGames anytime soon. The power of balance has shifted to the schools in the south and the schools of the west. That was proven the day you walked out there against UF and the day UM walked out there against USC. They are playing the big games, they are playing the games people want to see, these are the games getting big buzz.

LSU vs VT
UT vs Cal
Nebraska vs USC
LSU vs UF
USC vs. Cal

What match up in the Big 10, outside of the UM/OSU game is even worth watching? The regular middle of the road teams in the Big 10 are NOWHERE near as exciting as some of the middle of the road SEC games, USC vs. UGA....amazing, great game, what does the Big 10 have that can stack up against these types of games?

 

[Dungong]

I'd rate the conferences now:

1) SEC - Partially my UF bias here, but also we got LSU and UF, 2 legit title contenders (something the Big 10 used to have before App State destroyed the Michigan program). Theres 6 ranked teams in the conference now, Auburn probably works back in too.

2) Big 12 - I think this conference is making a comeback this year, especially with Texas and Oklahoma looking good. Nebraska used to be a powerhouse not too long ago, and they may be on the way back too.

3) Pac 10 - Its hard to argue with USC, Cal, and UCLA ranked so high, but I don't think UCLA and Cal can sustain it. I might be proven wrong

4) Big 10 - With Michigan sucking theres really only Wisconsin and OSU. Penn State may continue to creep up the rankings I guess but they've gotta prove they belong there if you ask me

5) Big East - I just think WVU, Rutgers, and Louisville are chronically overranked. USF could take this whole thing maybe.

6) ACC - Back in the day Miami, FSU, and VT mattered. I think Wake fricking Forest won this conference last year.

7) Southern - Home to Appalacian State

 

[James]

^rep. great post. if USC walks out of Nebraska with a loss, or even a close game, they should be #2 next week in the ranks. Right now, although its early, LSU has proven itself with the shit stomping of not only a bum team in Miss. St. but destroying VT.