B1G (Official Thread)

[Zurp]

I don't see why everyone is pissed off at the current division set-up. It's not the conference's fault, it's the fault of the schools themselves. About a decade ago Nebraska and Wisconsin were solid teams nearly every year, and every year a team out west other than those two would also be a solid team, so in theory the "current" divisional set-ups (strictly by East-West location) was quite good. Over the last decade though the Eastern Division took over totally, not due to alignment but due to the recruiting power and commitment of the schools with the division.

Agreed. And I think that, until recently (past couple of years), it was really just Ohio State, and everyone else. I'd guess (I can't find anything quickly so let's just make guesses for the facts) that without Ohio State's record against the West, the records of East vs. West is pretty close to 0.500. Maybe a small advantage for the East. And even Ohio State - since 2014, I count 5 conference losses. 2 of those are against the West (2017, 2018), and 3 against the East (2015, 2016, 2021). Average of 6 games per year against the east and the record is about 45-3. Maybe 42-3 (0.933) because Covid year threw some games out the window. Against the west, Ohio State has averaged about 3 games per year, so about 22-2. Maybe 20-2 (0.909) because of a couple of lost games due to Covid. So Ohio State has a better record against "the Mighty East" than they do against the "Poo-Poo West".

 

[TampaBuckeyes]

For all practical purposes the B!G Championship will be decided on Nov 26 in Ohio Stadium.

Kind of hope this happens for the sheer laughter of it.

 

[Illini Dylan]

I just don't know how you can fairly or accurately determine a true conference champion with 16 teams without divisions, likely to have teams that played uneven schedules, maybe one team ends up finishing higher and playing in the championship because they got lucky and didn't play an Ohio State or USC, etc. really would muddy the waters.

The most logical solution to me is just move Purdue to the East and put USC and UCLA in the West. That would instantly make the West stronger and should make the title game less of a mismatch.

 

[ScriptOhio]

I just don't know how you can fairly or accurately determine a true conference champion with 16 teams without divisions, likely to have teams that played uneven schedules, maybe one team ends up finishing higher and playing in the championship because they got lucky and didn't play an Ohio State or USC, etc. really would muddy the waters.

The most logical solution to me is just move Purdue to the East and put USC and UCLA in the West. That would instantly make the West stronger and should make the title game less of a mismatch.

Yeah, but you would have a schedule of playing everyone in your division (7 games) and 2 games with a team from the other division. The teams from the B1G West that draw Ohio State, scUM, and/or Penn State would still be unlucky with a probable loss or 2 that some other B1G West teams might not have playing the other B1G East teams.

The "Fighting Brets" have a legitimate chance of winning the B1G West this season, let's hope they don't screw it up......

 

[Zurp]

Yeah, but you would have a schedule of playing everyone in your division (7 games) and 2 games with a team from the other division. The teams from the B1G West that draw Ohio State, scUM, and/or Penn State would still be unlucky with a probable loss or 2 that some other B1G West teams might not have playing the other B1G East teams.

I think my biggest problem with this setup is that it becomes almost 2 different conferences. You play the other 7 teams in your division, and then you play 2 of the 8 teams in the other division (assuming we stick with 9 conference games). So it'll take 4 years to play the entire conference, and 8 years to visit every stadium. Ohio State routinely plays home & away series against "bigger" teams out of conference. there will be players who would have played... I don't know who's coming up... let's say Texas is coming up. There will be players who have played Texas more times than they played Minnesota or Iowa or another team supposedly in our own conference.

Getting rid of the divisions would allow for a 3/6/6 schedule, where you play 3 annual rivalry games, plus 6 more games. Those 6 teams you played last year would not be on the schedule the next year, but you'd play the 6 teams you didn't play last year. So it would take 2 years to play everyone in the conference, and 4 years to visit every stadium.

The downside of this schedule is, say Team A runs the table, and finishes 9-0, but they never played Team B. Team B finishes 8-1, after losing to Team C. Team C lost to Team A. Maybe Team C has a list of excuses a mile long. But really, who cares? Team C also lost to Team D, again because of a bunch of excuses. Team C is Penn State. Ha! Anyway, Team C is 7-2, and beat Team B. But Team B gets to go to the conference championship game. This is the kind of thing you can get with unbalanced schedules. You know who isn't complaining about unbalanced schedules? Team A. Win your games and let the other guy do the bitching.

 

[ScriptOhio]

Anyone else think a 6 year rotational divisional plan would work?

1. Assign the 16 teams to one of 4 Pods:

Pod A: Penn State, Rutgers, Turtles. Sparty
Pod B: Ohio State, scUM, Indiana, Purdue
Pod C: Cheese, Goldie, Nerds, Fighting Brets
Pod D: USC, UCLA, Corn, Iowa

Note: With the addition of USC and UCLA the B1G has determined that geography (i.e distance between schools) is not a problem. The B1G can go back to the Leaders and Legends (i.e in lieu of the East and West) divisions....

2. Each B1G Conference divisions rotate membership by Pods every 2 years:

Year 1 & 2: One division is Pod A & B, the other is C & D

Year 3 & 4: One division is Pod A & C, the other is B & D

Year 5 & 6: One division is Pod A & D, the other is B & C

 

[cincibuck]

Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota have disappeared for whole decades. Ohio State and Michigan have never been out of the conference top for an entire decade. Why would anyone with a sense of history think that putting those two programs in the same division would be balanced out by Wisky, Illinois, and Minnesota suddenly becoming consistently good to excellent?

 

[Zurp]

Anyone else think a 6 year rotational divisional plan would work?

This is the system that Notre Dame assumed we would use when they insisted that if they join the Big Ten, they'd join *ichigan's pod.
I'm not crazy about the idea, but it beats trying to keep 2 divisions where you only play each team in the other division once every 4 years.

 

[cincibuck]

Anyone else think a 6 year rotational divisional plan would work?

1. Assign the 16 teams to one of 4 Pods:

Pod A: Penn State, Rutgers, Turtles. Sparty
Pod B: Ohio State, scUM, Indiana, Purdue
Pod C: Cheese, Goldie, Nerds, Fighting Brets
Pod D: USC, UCLA, Corn, Iowa

Note: With the addition of USC and UCLA the B1G has determined that geography (i.e distance between schools) is not a problem. The B1G can go back to the Leaders and Legends (i.e in lieu of the East and West) divisions....

2. Each B1G Conference divisions rotate membership by Pods every 2 years:

Year 1 & 2: One division is Pod A & B, the other is C & D

Year 3 & 4: One division is Pod A & C, the other is B & D

Year 5 & 6: One division is Pod A & D, the other is B & C

I understand the monetary/TV side of bringing in USC and UCLA - but I'm loosing interest in the Big Ten and 16 team divisions - I'd like to see a deal which would bring back the original Big Ten and tie PAC teams, Penn State, ND, to three OOC games with Big Ten teams each season. Let Maryland and Rutgers wander into the ACC. Every expansion has led to fewer games with those original teams and I feel a loss of history as a result.

 

[Best Buckeye]

rotational divisional ? /QUOTE]

Hey Feller! whut the heck does them big words mean . still try to get them words to settle down lol

 

[ScriptOhio]

The Fighting Brets are #3 and Ped State #4.....

College football rankings: LSU, Penn State headline AP Top 25's overrated, underrated teams entering Week 9

ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI (UNDERRATED)

Week 9 AP Poll ranking: No. 17

Do you know who leads the Big Ten in total defense and scoring defense this season? Have you peeked at college football's top rushing leaders? How many realize the Fighting Illini have several draftable players within their front seven? Had it not been for execution struggles in Week 2 at Indiana, Illinois would be the Big Ten's third unbeaten team through Week 8 with "College Football Playoff contender" attached to its name. Instead, there are 10 one or two-loss teams ahead of the Fighting Illini in this week's rankings. Explain that?

Beating up on a soft schedule has helped, but very few expected Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota all to be unranked at this point, much less Illinois to get through that three-game set without a blemish. Bret Bielema deserves to be in the Big Ten Coach of the Year conversation and could be inside the top 10 a few weeks from now going to Michigan. Chase Brown entered the Heisman race with his seventh straight 100-yard game and leads the nation with 1,059 yards on the ground. Buy stock in Illinois while you still can.

PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (OVERRATED)

Week 9 AP Poll ranking: No. 13

How quickly poll voters forgot about Penn State's faceplant at Michigan following Saturday's convincing win over Minnesota. This was a Golden Gophers team playing without veteran starting quarterback Tanner Morgan and forced into a lion's den of sorts amid a whiteout with a wet-behind-the-ears rookie under center. We'll know more about James Franklin's team after this weekend's showdown against Ohio State, but there's a good chance another lopsided loss is coming against a top-10 opponent for a squad that has taken advantage of a favorable slate. Penn State's best win thus far was the opener at Purdue.

Prior to four touchdown passes from Sean Clifford against Minnesota, Franklin was fighting off noise from the fanbase and others to make a move at quarterback in favor of five-star freshman Drew Allar. The Nittany Lions have several first-year contributors this fall including talented duo Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, but Penn State's staff has hitched its wagon to Clifford until the wheels fall off despite so-so outings against Central Michigan and Michigan coming into Saturday's win. Quarterback murmurs could continue if Clifford starts slow against the Buckeyes in Week 9. That's something to keep an eye on.

Entire article; https://247sports.com/LongFormArtic...d-underrated-teams-entering-Week-9-196056034/

 

[buckeyeintn]

Forget all this pod nonsense in realignment. Forget all about doing away with divisions. Put USC and UCLA in the West. Move Purdon't to the East. Have Indiana and Northwestern football go the way of the University of Chicago football. They retain all other sports and academic benefits. Problem solved.

 

[ScriptOhio]

 

[ScriptOhio]

The "Fighting Brets" have a legitimate chance of winning the B1G West this season, let's hope they don't screw it up......

Ohio State has just a single trophy game: the longstanding Illibuck with Illinois, a tradition dating back to 1925. The Illibuck itself is a carved wooden turtle and the second-oldest trophy in the Big Ten behind the Little Brown Jug. It is arguably the cutest trophy, though Floyd of Rosedale is pretty adorable, too.

That trophy could get new meaning this year: Ohio State and Illinois could very reasonably face off for the Illibuck in the postseason for the first time ever. In fact, it would be the first time in the Big Ten that two teams played for a rivalry trophy in the conference title game.

Ohio State has just a single trophy game: the longstanding Illibuck with Illinois

Just sayin': Back in the 70s there was a defacto trophy game. It was the annual game vs scUM and they played for this trophy:

Ohio State coach Woody Hayes poses in 1977 with his teams' Big Ten championship trophies for 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1976.

 

[Bestbuck36]

IlliBuck in Indy? Yes make it happen!