2011 Big Ten Legends Division Race

[BB73]

This thread will be for discussing the division race.

The teams competing for the first CCG in the Legends Division:

Iowa
TSUN
Sparty
Minny
Nebraska (UNL or Neb for short)
NW'ern

 

[scarletmike]

Unlike the Leaders division, I see three teams in contention in this division; Nebraska, Sparty, and Iowa. Let's see if Sparty can maintain their success.

 

[Redhawk]

A family member mentioned to me that games between the 2 divisions won't count towards either teams quest to win their respective divisions. For example, the OSU/UM game wouldn't affect either with regards to reaching the conference title game. I blew it off because it sounds wrong and would be stupid, but could someone confirm that any conference games will count, regardless of division?

 

[BB73]

A family member mentioned to me that games between the 2 divisions won't count towards either teams quest to win their respective divisions. For example, the OSU/UM game wouldn't affect either with regards to reaching the conference title game. I blew it off because it sounds wrong and would be stupid, but could someone confirm that any conference games will count, regardless of division?

Yes, all conference games count toward winning the division. It was just some idiotic speculation before the divisions were announced that they wouldn't, based on a stupid idea mentioned by the pizza AD up north.

WBNS

The divisions were created for football after Nebraska announced it was leaving the Big 12 Conference for the Big Ten.

Each school will play the other five schools within its division and will also face three teams from the other division, including one cross-division matchup guaranteed on an annual basis.

Beside Ohio State-Michigan, the other guaranteed cross-division matchups are Illinois-Northwestern, Indiana-Michigan State, Penn State-Nebraska, Purdue-Iowa and Wisconsin-Minnesota.

The winner of each Big Ten division will meet in the inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game, to be played Dec. 3, 2011, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The championship game will determine the Big Ten Champion and the conference's participant in the Rose Bowl Game or Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game.

Big Ten teams will continue to play an eight-game conference schedule. In 2011, the Buckeyes open with Michigan State at home on Oct. 1, before traveling to Nebraska the following week to play the Cornhuskers for the first time as members of the Big Ten.

 

[muffler dragon]

BB73: does the embolden stand for beyond the 2011 season? For some reason, I was of the mind that there would be 9 in-conference games a year at some point.

 

[BB73]

BB73: does the embolden stand for beyond the 2011 season? For some reason, I was of the mind that there would be 9 in-conference games a year at some point.

It's set through 2012 - I think it's still up in the air after that.

Delany seems to want to play 9 conference games, but that would cost teams some cash, losing a home game every other year. I can't believe that tOSU, TSUN, and PSU would want to do that, since it would cost them a few million dollars every other year.

 

[muffler dragon]

It's set through 2012 - I think it's still up in the air after that.

Delany seems to want to play 9 conference games, but that would cost teams some cash, losing a home game every other year. I can't believe that tOSU, TSUN, and PSU would want to do that, since it would cost them a few million dollars every other year.

Forgot about the financial side. Thanks.

On a tangent, it makes me wonder how this has affected the PacTen teams with their round-robin schedule the last few years.

 

[GrizzlyBuck]

So all conference games count toward the divisional champions. So in cross-divisional games, Bucky gets the Gophers every year while we get scUM, doesn't exactly seem fair..................................................











to Bucky

 

[JBaney45]

It's set through 2012 - I think it's still up in the air after that.

Delany seems to want to play 9 conference games, but that would cost teams some cash, losing a home game every other year. I can't believe that tOSU, TSUN, and PSU would want to do that, since it would cost them a few million dollars every other year.

They would get the home game back through non-conference scheduling, which is really the main thing they claimed held it up (since so many teams are scheduled long into the future with their home and home games).

 

[BB73]

They would get the home game back through non-conference scheduling, which is really the main thing they claimed held it up (since so many teams are scheduled long into the future with their home and home games).

Sorry - I'm not buying that. If tOSU wants to have big non-conference games, or if they schedule all cupcakes, they'll have to give up a home game every other with a 9-game conference schedule.

Let's look at a 2-year period with a series with a marquee opponent:

With 8 conference games, and marquee opponent: (there are 15 home games in each 2-year period)
Year 1: 4 home conf games, 4 away, 3 home non-conf games, 1 at Big-Time-OOC-opponent
Year 2: 4 home conf games, 4 away, 3 home non-conf games, 1 home-vs-Big-Time-OOC-oppoment

With 9 conference games, and a marquee opponent: (there are 14 home games in each 2-year period)
Year 1: 5 home conf games, 4 away, 2 home non-conf games, 1 at Big-Time-OOC-opponent
Year 2: 4 home conf games, 5 away, 2 home non-conf games, 1 home vs-Big-Time-OOC-opponent

Let's look at a 2-year period with all cupcakes (no return visit from tOSU needed):

With 8 conference games: (there are 16 home games in each 2-year period)
Year 1: 4 home conf games, 4 away, 4 home non-conf games
Year 2: 4 home conf games, 4 away, 4 home non-conf games

With 9 conference games: (there are 15 home games in each 2-year period)
Year 1: 5 home conf games, 4 away, 3 home non-conf games
Year 2: 4 home conf games, 5 away, 3 home non-conf games

If Delany can convince the AD's of the teams with huge stadiums that they're better off with 9 conference games, I think they need a bean-counter like Bucky Katt within those Athletic Departments.

 

[JBaney45]

Sorry - I'm not buying that. If tOSU wants to have big non-conference games, or if they schedule all cupcakes, they'll have to give up a home game every other with a 9-game conference schedule.

Let's look at a 2-year period with a series with a marquee opponent:

With 8 conference games, and marquee opponent: (there are 15 home games in each 2-year period)
Year 1: 4 home conf games, 4 away, 3 home non-conf games, 1 at Big-Time-OOC-opponent
Year 2: 4 home conf games, 4 away, 3 home non-conf games, 1 home-vs-Big-Time-OOC-oppoment

With 9 conference games, and a marquee opponent: (there are 14 home games in each 2-year period)
Year 1: 5 home conf games, 4 away, 2 home non-conf games, 1 at Big-Time-OOC-opponent
Year 2: 4 home conf games, 5 away, 2 home non-conf games, 1 home vs-Big-Time-OOC-opponent

Let's look at a 2-year period with all cupcakes (no return visit from tOSU needed):

With 8 conference games: (there are 16 home games in each 2-year period)
Year 1: 4 home conf games, 4 away, 4 home non-conf games
Year 2: 4 home conf games, 4 away, 4 home non-conf games

With 9 conference games: (there are 15 home games in each 2-year period)
Year 1: 5 home conf games, 4 away, 3 home non-conf games
Year 2: 4 home conf games, 5 away, 3 home non-conf games

If Delany can convince the AD's of the teams with huge stadiums that they're better off with 9 conference games, I think they need a bean-counter like Bucky Katt within those Athletic Departments.

Well yeah your model is correct if they want to maximize home games, but they don't maximize their home games now.

I believe Ohio State is content with 7 home games a season this was a rare year we have had 8, the past 5 seasons we have played 7.

If it were purely about maximizing home games they wouldn't be doing these big home and home series match ups, and they especially wouldn't agree to go to Cleveland Browns stadium and play Toledo or Paul Brown to play Cincy.

Now that being said I don't particularly want to see a 9th conference game..doesn't make a lot of sense from a fairness perspective. The pac 10 justified it by allowing a round robin to occur..really thats the only justification for the odd # of games imo.

 

[BB73]

There were 8 home games in 2002, 2003, 2010 and there are 8 scheduled for 2012, so it's not like an 8-game home season is a rare thing.

Playing 9 conference games simply eliminates the opportunity for an extra home game every other year.

 

[DallasHusker]

Unlike the Leaders division, I see three teams in contention in this division; Nebraska, Sparty, and Iowa. Let's see if Sparty can maintain their success.

I'd like to be able to confidently claim that my Huskers should be the strong favorite to win this division next year. I'm enough of a realist though, to look at the schedule the next two years and realize how grueling it is. We play tOSU, Wisky, Iowa, PSU, Michigan and Michigan State. If we can make it through that gauntlet and win the division, I'll be pretty happy.

 

[BB73]

A look at the schedules for each team in the Legends division.

Only Iowa plays 2 BCS teams in the non-conference schedule.

CFN

Iowa

Non-Conference Games: Tennessee Tech, at Iowa State, Pitt, ULM
Games Against the Leaders: Indiana, at Penn State, at Purdue
Realistic Best Case Record: 10-2
Worst Case Record: 6-6
Likely Finish: 8-4

Michigan

Non-Conference Games: Western Michigan, Notre Dame, Eastern Michigan, San Diego State
Games Against the Leaders: at Illinois, Purdue, Ohio State
Realistic Best Case Record: 9-3
Worst Case Record: 4-8
Likely Finish: 7-5

Michigan State

Non-Conference Games: Youngstown State, Florida Atlantic, at Notre Dame, Central Michigan
Games Against the Leaders: Indiana, at Ohio State, Wisconsin
Realistic Best Case Record: 10-2
Worst Case Record: 6-6
Likely Finish: 8-4

Minnesota

Non-Conference Games: at USC, New Mexico State, Miami University, North Dakota State
Games Against the Leaders: Illinois, at Purdue, Wisconsin
Realistic Best Case Record: 8-4
Worst Case Record: 2-10
Likely Finish: 5-7

Nebraska

Non-Conference Games: UT Chattanooga, Fresno State, Washington, at Wyoming
Games Against the Leaders: Ohio State, at Penn State, at Wisconsin
Realistic Best Case Record: 11-1
Worst Case Record: 7-5
Likely Finish: 9-3

Northwestern

Non-Conference Games: at Boston College, Eastern Illinois, at Army, Rice
Games Against the Leaders: at Illinois, Indiana, Penn State
Realistic Best Case Record: 9-3
Worst Case Record: 5-7
Likely Finish: 7-5

Cont'd ...

 

[Meyer]

They did the same thing for the leaders division and have no teams, in all of the Big Ten, going better than 9-3. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight...........