One of my favorite weekly standards, Pete Fiutak's Cavalcade of Whimsy tackles the Big Ten bashfest going on everywhere. I think he hits the nail on the head. His articles are usually very long (but very good), so I'll leave out a bunch of stuff here. So feel free to go and read the rest there.
If this column sucks, it’s not my fault … I wasn’t even able to win my own division outright, much less my conference championship, but I feel like I should’ve been playing for the national title after destroying an overrated Hawaii team that had its head out over its skis. Because I didn’t get a chance to play for the whole ball of wax, I want to overhaul the column and push forward a playoff system. I'm also writing up a formal proposal to turn back time so I can then benefit from the new format.
The brake pedal is the one on the left … Great, now I have to look like Mr. Big Ten again.
Has there ever been a backlash like the one against the Big Ten for having the temerity to lose a second straight national championship game? Columnists and radio talk show hosts across the country couldn’t shovel dirt on the league and Ohio State fast enough after the bowls, like getting whacked LSU is like losing to Appalachian State or Duke at home.
Well, the Big Ten did lose to Appalachian State (Michigan) and Duke (Northwestern) at home, but that doesn’t mean the conference is somewhere between the MAC and Conference USA on a national perception scale, as a my-dog-just-died looking Kirk Herbstriet said.
Look, if a fully healthy, fully rested LSU wasn’t the best team in America, it was a close number two, and you’d have been nuts not to think it'd probably beat any of the 118 D-I/FBS teams on that Monday night in the Superdome. Georgia certainly would’ve given LSU a fight (and I sort of think Missouri would, too), but a 99% healthy USC is probably the one team that truly has a claim to being the best in the country. The Big Ten shouldn’t be killed for getting blown out by a healed and fired up Trojan team in Pasadena; Illinois just so happened to be the team that got in the way of the speeding bus.
Second, to compare this year’s BCS Championship to last year’s is simply moronic. The Buckeyes were completely and totally outclassed, outhustled, outcoached and outplayed by Florida in every way shape and form in the Glendale debacle. Against LSU, they had several chances to turn the game around, but in the end, they just lost to a better team after battling hard for a full sixty minutes. This game was nowhere near as bad as the embarrassment against the Gators.
Third, the Michigan win over Florida and the Wisconsin and Michigan State performances have somehow been swept under the rug. The Badgers played Tennessee right down to the wire in a dead-even battle that just so happened to come out on the wrong side for the Big Ten. If nothing else, the game showed how there really isn’t a speed and athleticism disparity among the top teams. The Spartans, a lower division Big Ten team, played ACC No. 2 Boston College down to the wire in a loss. And, of course, Michigan got Chad Henne and Mike Hart healthy, and voile, the offense worked against the Gators.
No one’s saying the Big Ten is remotely close to being as good as the SEC right now. This year, I’d put the Big 12 number two, but in a sort of challenge, going from top to bottom, I’d take the Big Ten over the Pac 10 thanks to a better midsection, and I’d sure as heckfire put the league ahead of the ACC and the Big East. No, compared to several other teams, Ohio State probably didn’t belong in the national title based on the overall schedule, but if West Virginia had beaten Pitt or if Missouri had beaten Oklahoma, Jim Tressel would’ve likely been holding the crystal ball over his head while preparing to do future battles with the Les Miles-led Wolverines. This really wasn't a bad Ohio State team.
While we’re at it, let’s be honest here about all the outpouring of love going to the SEC for its bowl season. Georgia was terrific, no question about it, but every Big Ten bowl team would’ve beaten Hawaii. Every Big Ten bowl team, other than probably Indiana, would’ve beaten UCF (who lost to Mississippi State), a depleted Florida State (who lost to Kentucky) and Colorado (who lost to Alabama). With Arkansas mailing it in after Houston Nutt left and Darren McFadden ready to take his Escalade to the NFL, it probably would’ve lost to all the Big Ten bowl teams but Indiana and Purdue. I’d take Ohio State, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan over Clemson, who lost to Auburn, but I would’ve taken the Tigers over Michigan State, Penn State, Indiana and Purdue.
On the flip side, I’d take USC, who beat Illinois, over every SEC team but LSU in the Rose Bowl, and the Trojan-Tiger game would’ve probably been a coin flip. With the way Oklahoma State came out with everything working in the Insight Bowl against Indiana, it would’ve likely beaten Mississippi State, Alabama, Arkansas and Kentucky, as would Boston College, who beat Michigan State. Yeah, all the SECers would’ve beaten Central Michigan (who lost to Purdue), but Texas A&M, who put up a mega-fight against Penn State, would’ve likely beaten most of the second-tier SEC bowl teams.
Again, I’m not saying the Big Ten is in the same ballpark as the SEC. The league just wasn’t as bad as you’re probably making it out to be.
The voice of reason, however loud it may be at times, somehow gets lost in the constant chest thumping of the SEC fanbase. I really wish people would shut up for once second and hear out the argument, SEC fans. Oh well, I should have the "Waaayyy too early 2008 Preseason Top-25" later today, so check back then.
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