Big Ten Championship Game

[Coqui]

I can agree with you about the cities, but playing an outdoor CCG in December will not help and will almost definitely hurt recruiting. There's already the negative of living in cold weather that keeps players from coming north or sends them south. Highlighting crap weather by playing the premier game of your conference in that weather will only emphasize the weather, and reinforce the slow, plodding stereotype of the Big Ten.

How is playing one week later than we normally play going to affect recruiting? And let everyone keep thinking we're slow.

I don't mind being slow when I watch Terrelle Pryor stiff arm an Oregon defender and run past the rest of the Oregon defense.
I don't mind being slow and watching Ted Ginn Jr, run past the entire Florida Special Teams defense
I don't mind being slow and watching Beanie Wells run 65 yards for a TD as the distance between him and the entire LSU defense increases.

Let everyone keep thinking we're slow.

 

[BigJim]

Not that it'll ever happen, but my vote would be to play at the home field of the higher ranked (by whatever metric) team. It would give the game a lot more character than other CCGs. I'd venture a guess that the majority of the money comes from sponsors and TV rather than ticket sales, so even if it's at a smaller stadium, it wouldn't be that big a deal.

I don't see how that could work. Too often the two teams will have the same conference record and the tie-breaker will have to come down to higher rank in the BCS or whatever. I like the idea otherwise though.

 

[MolGenBuckeye]

I don't see how that could work. Too often the two teams will have the same conference record and the tie-breaker will have to come down to higher rank in the BCS or whatever. I like the idea otherwise though.

Maybe if there was a tie, they could have a neutral site playoff to determine home field. :p

If nothing else, you could just alternate the tiebreaker between divisions.

 

[BigWoof31]

As Southerners, would you find it more entertaining to see a more efficient game in the Indy Dome (Lucas Oil) or a chance of wicked wind & snow whipping off of Lake Michigan at Soldier Field?

jwin - I can't speak for all southerners, but I'd probably prefer the more high scoring game.

That doesn't mean it has to be inside - Dan Marino used to say "If it's snowing - I'm throwing"

 

[stkoran]

Are we resigned to the fact that we are going to have a conference championship game? I haven't seen any reports that such is a done deal. Sure, there's some money to be made, but is it worth it when it guarantees a top tier Big Ten team an extra loss each season, or worse, torpedoes a Big Ten team's BCS title hopes?

As it stands right now, each team doesn't play two other Big Ten teams each season. Is not playing three of them that much worse? No CCG keeps The Game in the place it rightfully deserves and betters the chances that a Big Ten team plays in the BCS title game.

 

[MUBuck]

Are we resigned to the fact that we are going to have a conference championship game? I haven't seen any reports that such is a done deal. Sure, there's some money to be made, but is it worth it when it guarantees a top tier Big Ten team an extra loss each season, or worse, torpedoes a Big Ten team's BCS title hopes?

As it stands right now, each team doesn't play two other Big Ten teams each season. Is not playing three of them that much worse? No CCG keeps The Game in the place it rightfully deserves and betters the chances that a Big Ten team plays in the BCS title game.

$$$

 

[IronBuckI]

How is playing one week later than we normally play going to affect recruiting? And let everyone keep thinking we're slow.

I don't mind being slow when I watch Terrelle Pryor stiff arm an Oregon defender and run past the rest of the Oregon defense.
I don't mind being slow and watching Ted Ginn Jr, run past the entire Florida Special Teams defense
I don't mind being slow and watching Beanie Wells run 65 yards for a TD as the distance between him and the entire LSU defense increases.

Let everyone keep thinking we're slow.

Two weeks later than we have been playing. The Game only moves to the week before the CCGs this season. I'll be interested to see what kind of weather we have for the next few versions of The Game, now that we'll be playing the week after thanksgiving. The Army - Navy game is played in the second weekend of December. What's going to prevent moving the CCGs to that weekend? Also, December weather is more severe in cities that are actually on the great lakes. Chicago and/or Cleveland (as suggested in the post that I was responding to) could hit all kinds of crap weather in the first or second week of December.

Your next three examples are things that you don't mind, but since my post was about what 18 year old kids perceive, I will just point out that the perception of the slow and plodding Big Ten gained momentum after two of those games.

 

[Coqui]

Two weeks later than we have been playing. The Game only moves to the week before the CCGs this season. I'll be interested to see what kind of weather we have for the next few versions of The Game, now that we'll be playing the week after thanksgiving. The Army - Navy game is played in the second weekend of December. What's going to prevent moving the CCGs to that weekend? Also, December weather is more severe in cities that are actually on the great lakes. Chicago and/or Cleveland (as suggested in the post that I was responding to) could hit all kinds of crap weather in the first or second week of December.

Your next three examples are things that you don't mind, but since my post was about what 18 year old kids perceive, I will just point out that the perception of the slow and plodding Big Ten gained momentum after two of those games.

That perception isn't going to matter whether or not we play in a dome though. They'll still think it's slow.

 

[Buckeyefrankmp]

No CCG keeps The Game in the place it rightfully deserves

The Game will always be The Game. Ohio State and Michigan will always hate each other. Players will hit each other harder during it. The media will hype it up just as much. One effect might be a let down for Ohio State when they get to the Championship game. Will they have given everything the week before during The Game? Will the Championship game not mean mean that much after The Game?

 

[Zurp]

I vote for Cleveland. Definitely not the best place for everyone. But it's the best place for me.

 

[red in colorado]

Are we resigned to the fact that we are going to have a conference championship game? I haven't seen any reports that such is a done deal. Sure, there's some money to be made, but is it worth it when it guarantees a top tier Big Ten team an extra loss each season, or worse, torpedoes a Big Ten team's BCS title hopes?

As it stands right now, each team doesn't play two other Big Ten teams each season. Is not playing three of them that much worse? No CCG keeps The Game in the place it rightfully deserves and betters the chances that a Big Ten team plays in the BCS title game.

There is that aspect but IMHO it is more than over come by the fact it eliminates the loooooooooong layoff between the close of the regular season and the bowl season which has seemed to hurt the Big-10 until last seasons good bowl season by the conference.

The massive amount of extra practices for CCG has been a key our success in the past as well as playing the CCG to keep the team sharp, and as Bo Pelini continues rebuild Nebraska I'm thinking this will come into play again.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

There is that aspect but IMHO it is more than over come by the fact it eliminates the loooooooooong layoff between the close of the regular season and the bowl season which has seemed to hurt the Big-10 until last seasons good bowl season by the conference.

Once you get past a certain point layoff time doesn't matter...there's little to no difference in affect between a six-week and a seven-week layoff. The Big Ten wasn't hurt by long layoffs in as much as it was by certain teams not preparing themselves properly and the fact that any conference will occasionally have a losing bowl record for a season.

 

[Huskerrat]

Are we resigned to the fact that we are going to have a conference championship game? I haven't seen any reports that such is a done deal. Sure, there's some money to be made, but is it worth it when it guarantees a top tier Big Ten team an extra loss each season, or worse, torpedoes a Big Ten team's BCS title hopes?

As it stands right now, each team doesn't play two other Big Ten teams each season. Is not playing three of them that much worse? No CCG keeps The Game in the place it rightfully deserves and betters the chances that a Big Ten team plays in the BCS title game.

I believe Delaney said in his introduction of Nebraska that there will be a CCG. I know in the past this was something he was in favor of, but seeing the SEC and Big 12 Championship games on that first week in December, it is hard not to see the dollar signs.

Big Ten expansion could be economic boon for Indianapolis | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star

 

[BB73]

At the UNL press conference on June 11th, Delany said there was "a presumption of a championship game".

BTN.videos (press conference Q &A selection)

On June 9th he had said that a CCG was not "looking to achieve a championship game". Of course, that same day he said that any decision to expand was "months away". Apparently he meant to say "days away".

 

[heisman]

Great! Then when the game's not going on, the fans can watch paint dry. It should be in Chicago or it should be rotated through every NFL stadium in the Big Ten footprint other than Green Bay.. Indy is nothing special as a city, and it shouldn't automatically trump Cleveland or Minneapolos or even frickin' Detroit.

When Chicago builds an acceptable venue for a BTCG, then we will probably see it played here every year. Of course, the city is on the verge of bankruptcy at the moment, so it may be a while. :)