Big Ten and other Conference Expansion

[jwinslow]

PSU faced a much more severe upgrade in competition than Nebraska will.

PSU has their hands full with Iowa and Wisky, but those are not premiere matchups in talent or difficulty. That would be osu and um (before they became wvu), with incredible talent, physicality and coaching.

Nebraska would have northwestern or illinois as their third toughest annual matchup, and a 1/3 chance of facing osu or um.


They also come from a better conference than psu did.

 

[SloopyHangOn]

Take this as you'd like Husker fans:

Nebraska is beginning to come off as the Junior QB who started for varsity at "School B" and just recently transferred to "School A" and is now ready to make the argument that he is just as worthy of the "alpha dog" status as the Senior QB who has taken his team to the state title each of the last 2 years.

No matter how good Nebraska is statistically, traditionally or in terms of fanbase over the course of history--when it comes to the BigTen they do not simply walk in automatically deserving of the same conference recognition as Ohio State or Michigan. I don't doubt that in 5-10 years they'll fall right in line with the top dogs, but my stance is that while Nebraska is DULY deserving of tooting their horn in terms of program success overall they are not yet worthy tooting any horns within the confines of the BigTen.

 

[DallasHusker]

when your schedule in oct and nov looks like Indiana, Illinois, NW, Minny, etc. granted i have no idea how divisional play will impact this, but keep in mind this isnt the aTm, OU, CU, TTech, UT stretch run...

goes both ways, imo, but I see your point.

Thanks, you made my point before I had a chance to come back and make it myself. :)

 

[DallasHusker]

Take this as you'd like Husker fans:

Nebraska is beginning to come off as the Junior QB who started for varsity at "School B" and just recently transferred to "School A" and is now ready to make the argument that he is just as worthy of the "alpha dog" status as the Senior QB who has taken his team to the state title each of the last 2 years.

No matter how good Nebraska is statistically, traditionally or in terms of fanbase over the course of history--when it comes to the BigTen they do not simply walk in automatically deserving of the same conference recognition as Ohio State or Michigan. I don't doubt that in 5-10 years they'll fall right in line with the top dogs, but my stance is that while Nebraska is DULY deserving of tooting their horn in terms of program success overall they are not yet worthy tooting any horns within the confines of the BigTen.

Hey, for the record, I'm quite respectful of OSU, their long-term record and other things like the history/tradition of The Game. I'm also not going to show up and start touting our superiority in the Big Ten - that will be done (or not done) on the field over the next few years. I'm excited about our move to the Big Ten, and look forward to beginning conference play next year. But look at context please. This thread wasn't about tooting horns about current status. My replies were to a post where the poster claimed that based on historical context, OSU for the foreseeable future was THE Big Dog in the Big Ten. Sorry, but I still maintain that based on that same historical context for all teams - including the Huskers - who will be competing in the Big Ten in the future he brought up, there's no logic which points to OSU being Big Dog, although there's no doubt whatsoever in my mind that they'll certainly be A Big Dog. If that poster was projecting into the future, then I get to project into the future too.

 

[SloopyHangOn]

Hey, for the record...

Just call me Carly Simon, because you probably thought that post was about you.

I've seen numerous Husker fans (including yourself) on these boards who not only have their heads on straight when it comes to football but are genuinely pleasant posters. My statement was based upon other boards' posters, people I've run into here in the mid-west and comments I've seen about articles on ESPN/CBS/FOXSPORTS/etc.

Unfortunately, there are bad apples in every bunch. I've come across a few.

 

[Huskerrat]

no means of disrespect, but i had this conversation with a penn state fan in the early 90s. he then proceeded to shove my comments back into my face in 1995. i casually brought it up about 2005, he conceded. he honestly and frankly told me its not the same playing with the big boys, when your schedule in oct and nov looks like osu, wisc, iowa, um, etc. granted i have no idea how divisional play will impact this, but keep in mind this isnt the iowa st, uc, ksu, kansas, mizzou stretch run... in the big ten september is for pretenders, november is for contenders. and oh i look forward to putting another big time, big name, big history, football loving program into the discussion!

For the record, ISU is 2-3 in the last 5 games against Iowa and they beat Minnesota last year in the bowl game. I don't want to say they are world beaters by any means but now a days every team in all of the conferences, even the bottom feeders are getting better and better. Evidence of that is our horrible loss last year to ISU.

 

[DallasHusker]

Just call me Carly Simon, because you probably thought that post was about you.

I've seen numerous Husker fans (including yourself) on these boards who not only have their heads on straight when it comes to football but are genuinely pleasant posters. My statement was based upon other boards' posters, people I've run into here in the mid-west and comments I've seen about articles on ESPN/CBS/FOXSPORTS/etc.

Unfortunately, there are bad apples in every bunch. I've come across a few.

Thanks - you're right, there are always a few bad apples - in EVERY bunch! I guess I took momma's advice of many years ago to the heart - at least I try to "most" of the time! "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything!" :)

I'll argue points here, but will do my damnest to do it with respect, remembering that I'm a Husker guest on a Buckeye board. By the way, I've been very impressed by the welcome I and other Husker fans have received here. I guess respect begets respect. :) As you say, a few bad apples in every group, but you've got a great group here.

 

[jwinslow]

My statement was based upon other boards' posters, people I've run into here in the mid-west and comments I've seen about articles on ESPN/CBS/FOXSPORTS/etc.

then leave the scolding for those boards and posters, not here.

Unfortunately, there are bad apples in every bunch. I've come across a few.

 

[BuckTwenty]

Nebraska is and should be considered one of the elite of the Big Ten in football to go along with Ohio State, TSUN, and Penn State. They'll have to prove it on the field come league play of course (or they could prove it right now by winning the Big XII this year), but on their history alone they deserve that respect and distinction.

I'm thrilled to see 5 Big Ten teams in the top 14 of the new coaches poll and I can't wait to play against the Blackshirts... hopefully next year!

 

[SloopyHangOn]

then leave the scolding for those boards and posters, not here.

I don't think I was scolding anyone. If I were, I wouldn't waste my (figurative) breath on some of the trolls I've had the "privilege" of reading across the web as of recently.

 

[DallasHusker]

I don't think I was scolding anyone. If I were, I wouldn't waste my (figurative) breath on some of the trolls I've had the "privilege" of reading across the web as of recently.

Hmm, you sure sounded like you were scolding - the Husker fans here. You started your post with "Take this as you'd like Husker fans:" and then went into your rant. It stands to reason that the only Husker fans who read that are the ones posting here on this board - more specifically, the 2-3 of us who have contributed to this thread. Are any of the "trolls I've had the "privilege" of reading across the web as of recently" here on this site, contributing to this thread? If not, then the point of that post was???

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

In terms of football, Nebraska definitely deserves to be included immediately among the elite of the Big Ten. A few down years does not negate what they've accomplished in the past. It wasn't too long ago (late 80's/early 90s) that people were dismissing Ohio State as an elite national program. How wrong we thought they were, and how wrong history has proven them.

 

[LordJeffBuck]

Nebraska is and should be considered one of the elite of the Big Ten in football to go along with Ohio State, TSUN, and Penn State.

Well, I guess that it all depends on which Nebraska we're getting.... Is it the one that dominated college football from 1993 - 2001, with a record of 102-12 (.895 winning pct), with five conference championships and three NC's ... or is it the one that was a Big XII also-ran from 2002 to 2009, with a record of 63-40 (.612 winning pect), zero conference championships, and couldn't beat the conference elite (0-5 vs Texas, 1-4 vs Oklahoma, 0-4 vs Texas Tech, not to mention epic beatdowns from Mizzou and Kansas in 2007).

Nebraska has a lot to prove, and a change of scenery will probably be a good thing for the Cornhuskers' program. And on other hand, the Big Ten Conference needs a new infusion of talent, with Ohio State's big stage flops (Florida 2006, LSU 2007, USC 2008) still coloring the media perception of the conference, with Michigan being in a severe down cycle, and with Penn State also in decline. If Nebraska regains its mid-90's form, then it is a win-win ... if not, then the Huskers will be seen as a program that "bailed" from a conference that was too athletic for them to compete in for one that plays a "plodding" style of football that is a perfect fit for a bunch of big, slow farm boys ... and the Big Ten will be seen as having "avoided" powerhouse schools like Texas and Oklahoma that would "rule" the conference in favor of another second-tier program like Iowa/Wisconsin/Minnesota/etc.

Should be interesting....

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

Well, I guess that it all depends on which Nebraska we're getting.... Is it the one that dominated college football from 1993 - 2001, with a record of 102-12 (.895 winning pct), with five conference championships and three NC's ... or is it the one that was a Big XII also-ran from 2002 to 2009, with a record of 63-40 (.612 winning pect), zero conference championships, and couldn't beat the conference elite (0-5 vs Texas, 1-4 vs Oklahoma, 0-4 vs Texas Tech, not to mention epic beatdowns from Mizzou and Kansas in 2007).

I think Pelini has the Huskers back to respectability. Since starting 3-3 in the first six games of the 2008 season, they went 16-5 including coming within a second of beating Texas in last year's CCG. They could well be the second or third best team in the Big Ten...I wouldn't put Penn State, Iowa, or Wisconsin above Nebraska's 2009 version.

 

[Ttown]

I think Pelini has the Huskers back to respectability. Since starting 3-3 in the first six games of the 2008 season, they went 16-5 including coming within a second of beating Texas in last year's CCG. They could well be the second or third best team in the Big Ten...I wouldn't put Penn State, Iowa, or Wisconsin above Nebraska's 2009 version.

Chuck Osborne, you old dog! is that you?