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2007 Big Ten Football Discussion

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I found this blog in the Seattle newspaper, which also includes more on the game Sat. It is regard to the way Conferences are rated. It seems the Pac 10 is as "bad" as we are.



Rating the Pac
Posted by Bob Condotta at 09:18 AM
We'll see how big a hit the Pac-10 reputation takes after this weekend. Sure, USC won big, but the Trojans are almost their own separate entity these days.
UCLA was shockingly embarassed, UW lost its status as the new chic team in college football, Arizona lost at home to New Mexico, the Lobos' first win over a Pac-10 team in almost 30 years, WSU struggled more than it should have with Idaho, and Arizona State looked a little sluggish against San Diego State.
Maybe conference play, which begins in earnest next week, will revive everyone a little bit.
Here are this week's ratings:
Link
 
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Thump;931705; said:
The competition gets ramped up by a power of 10 once the Big 10 starts.

I don't put much stock in team's performance's against boring non-conference teams.
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Agreed. Teams play very conservatively against Youngstown State, The Citadel, Akron, Buffalo, etc. Sometimes those teams catch a break here or there, find a hole in defenses, etc. And before you know it, they've allowed three touchdowns.

I don't think we've seen all of the teeth that Wisconsin has, or Penn State, or even Ohio State, yet. They'll be out when those teams start playing each other. You might even want to include Michigan in that group, because I don't think it's a good idea to ever write off Michigan - unless you're up 50-14 late in the game.
 
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Yes you can't write them off, but UM is simply not there imo. When you hear people say that a team like Michigan's defense should be able to win on talent alone. I'm one of those who scream "what talent"?! Where are the dynamic difference making playmakers that they have had in the past?

Look at their secondary,imo Leon Hall was good,but not that great. After Woodson you have Marlin Jackson,and maybe Howard,i'm hard pressed to name anyone else. Contrast this with some of the guys tOSU has had this decade like Jenkins,Whitner,Gamble,Doss,and Clements. The top db talent is not flocking to AA,they have missed out on some big name guys.(Jai Eugene,Allen and Rojo to name a few) As bad as UM's secondary has been this year,their linebackers are even worse. And everyone knew there would be a drop off with UM's d-line.That defense will be challenged against any balanced offense or just any team not ND.

Michigan State and Purdue are two very interesting teams. The Spartans got gashed a bit vs Pitt,but for the most part have played good defense under Dantonio. They could do some things with a consistent offense. Same with Purdue,they could also provide depth for this conference if they develope a defense(saw Royce Adams from gville making plays for them). These teams are young and have some talent,i'd like to see them get to a bowl.

IU and Illinois are also getting better before our eyes. They are tired of hearing "one year away",they are eyeing a bowl game now. These teams aren't cupcakes anymore. Should be a fun big ten season. Minnesota looks horrible,Northwestern is Northwestern,they will bite a team like Nevada and then lose to duke.
 
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Lima


Big Ten stumbles into conference season
Jim Naveau | [email protected] - 09.21.2007
 [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]COLUMBUS ? When Steve Spurrier was at the University of Florida, he used to mock Tennessee?s track record of finishing far enough down in the Southeastern Conference football standings that it ended up in the Citrus Bowl by saying, ?You can?t spell Citrus without a U and a T.?
It?s not technically correct, but three weeks into this college football season, you can?t spell embarrassment without the Big Ten.
Nightmare losses to Appalachian State, Duke, Florida Atlantic and Iowa State by Big Ten teams just months after Ohio State and Michigan?s humiliation in their bowl games have put the Big Ten?s reputation into a free fall.
Power ranking guru Jeff Sagarin rates the Big Ten fifth among the six Bowl Championship Series conferences. Other say it?s No. 6.
At this point in the season, it?s hard to argue with those rankings.
Yes, the Big Ten has three teams in the Top 10 ? Ohio State at No. 8, followed by Wisconsin at No. 9 and Penn State at No. 10.

Cont...

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ASK CFN ... How Bad Is The Big Ten?
By Pete Fiutak


Fiu gives the Big 10 some R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

...I thing(sic) the SEC is best because it?s so, so solid from 1 to 12, but the Big Ten is certainly in the mix for second. Purdue is better than you think, Michigan State is solid, Indiana has a dangerous offense (and could be comparable to Vanderbilt in the SEC), Illinois has suddenly become relevant, and Wisconsin (despite the struggles lately), Penn State, and Ohio State are all going to get better as the year goes on. Of course, it doesn?t help the cause when Northwestern loses at home to Duke, Minnesota loses to Florida Atlantic, and Iowa loses to Iowa State. Wait until bowl time, and then it should all wash out. Remember, Wisconsin beat Arkansas and Penn State beat Tennessee in the bowls last year.
...
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From the same article (doesn't fit in this thread, but whatever)...

...Gator fans, who still don?t think their 2006 national title team has gotten enough respect...
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Living in Florida, I can definitely agree with this statement. More precisely, I can say that it applies to most of the Gator fans I know.

I have dealt with many opposing fan bases in many situations. The numerous Hawkeye fans I know were decent even after destroying the Bucks in 2004. This speaks well of them considering the amount of frustration they've had against us. Believe it or not, I have gotten along with the Miami fans that I know down here. Even most Michigan fans I've met across the country were decent to me during the Cooper years (I didn't live in Ohio then, I hear the UM fans there were insufferable). The same can't be said for the UF fans.

They were fine before the game. We had good discussions about the upcoming game. Everything was cool.

Immediately after the game, only one of them was an ass. He went so far overboard that he and I haven't spoken since. If he weren't already infirmed I'd probably have... well no I wouldn't, but I would've been tempted.

But over the past few months, almost every UF fan I know has made it a point to whine at every opportunity about how their team didn't get enough respect last year. They are STILL whining. It never ends!

And its not just typical delusional fan whining. It is whining with a strong air of superiority with distinct notes of condescension. They are now dismissive of the Big 10 to the point that I now just wait until they're done whining and then I change the subject to something work-related. I can't take it anymore.

One of them even tried to teach my 4-year-old son to do the Gator chomp right in front of me (my son refused). Let's just say that only happened once.

As I live in Tallahassee, I'm sure that I'm dealing with mostly bandwagon fans, who we all know are the worst. Some of them are even people that have covered Seminole bumper stickers with Gator bumper stickers (e.g. Honk if you sacked Troy Smith). I'm not kidding. There's so much Gator Gear around here you'd think it was the Gators' home town rather than the Seminoles'.

Like all fan bases, I'm sure the Gators have good fans and bad fans. I'd really like to meet a good one though.
 
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On the topic of the 2007 Big Ten....after seeing PSU and UW exposed yesterday, the league title is ours to lose imo.

It will be difficult with some tough road games, but @Purdue, @PSU and @tsun we will have the better team on the field. MSU and UW are at home and we will have the better team on the field.

Illinois at home sandwiched between the 2 week PSU/UW stretch and a week before The Game sets up as a classic trap game but they still just aren't very good. Juice Williams is not a good QB.

Tsun is going to start thinking their back but the entire team(aka Mike Hart) is getting 30+ carries a game, no way he stays healthy with that kind of workload. If he's not 100% or out they are absolutely nothing.

All in all the team has to stay hungry and show up every week. TB has to continue to improve and we need to stay healthy but OSU is the team to beat for the B10 title at this point imo.
 
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Canton

BIG TEN NOTEBOOK: Preseason darling continues its poll fall
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
BIG TEN NOTEBOOK
TODD PORTER

Before a down was played, no team in the Big Ten had as much respect as Wisconsin. The Badgers were picked to win the conference. They started the season No. 7 in the writers? and coaches? polls, which made them the highest rated team in the conference.

Instead of getting more respect, Wisconsin seems to be losing it. Off to one of the best coaching starts in Big Ten history, Bret Bielema?s team has won all four games. But the Badgers, apparently, lacked style points.

Cont...
 
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Thump;931705; said:
I don't put much stock in team's performance's against boring non-conference teams.
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And therein lies the difference in playing for a national championship and playing to win the conference. If Michigan had lost to Notre Dame in game one and then swept through their remaining games (God forbid) they'd have been OK and possibly open for a shot at the NC... but their NC season was over when they choked on Appalachain State. Wisconsin could finish 12 and 0, but the best they'll do is the obligatory Rose Bowl bid because of dicking around with the Citadel.

You don't have to hang up 70 points on the little guys ala Steve Spurrier, but you certainly have to put up 30+ and hold them in the teens.

Most of the votes come from folks whose knowledge of football in your region is limited to highlights on College Football Today and a list of scores posted in the sports pages. If you don't show well against the YSUs of the world the notion is that you're not very good.
 
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brutus2002;936067; said:
^ Gator fans are kinda acting like the nerdy kid at school that finally gets laid by the prom queen. They are finally get some so they have to let everyone know about it.
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Tell me more 'cause I never got laid by the prom queen. Although, come to think of it, one of my friends, who was echelons above me in nerdiness (he's now a silicon valley millionaire), did 'get lucky' with the prom queen, but then she was a female nerd 'cause the kids in our class got tired of the same four bitches winning everything.

And come to think of it Gatorubet is one of the most interesting posters on this site...
 
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Thought it might be nice to put things in perspective and talk about the B10 title picture for a bit. We are after all going for a 3rd consecutibe BTT.

As of games today, 10-6-07:

1. OSU 3-0
2. Ill 3-0
3. Tsun 2-0

Everyone else needs help.

Upcoming weeks games 10/13/07:

While were playing an OOC game

Purdue is @ tsun
ILL @ Iowa

I think tsun goes down but don't see Iowa beating anyone good the rest of the way.

Good news is all the Cinderella press the Illini will be getting and all the different motivation it will give OSU.
 
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Jaxbuck;951959; said:
I think tsun goes down but don't see Iowa beating anyone good the rest of the way.
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Well tsun can't stop any team that lines up 3/4 wide and throws, Purdue pretty much always lines up 3/4 wide and throws. So the question is, can Purdue hold tsun under 35?
 
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