Big Ten Conference Divisions

[jlb1705]

common man and the torg are taking credit for "saving the game" via the power of radio right now on 97.1

Shoddy work once again...

 

[Woody1968]

Anyone who thinks this could make the game meaningless has no business playing for, associating themselves with, or being a fan of either Ohio State or scUM.

Of course same division would be far, far better. But this rivalry goes beyond football.

 

[sillyhuskerfan]

It's not about an "advantage". It's about 75 years of tradition. I know NU-OU was a good rivalry, but it pales in compareson to The Game.

So the advantage of keeping The Game on the last weekend, even if you are in separate divisions, is that you don't ruin a tradition that has been going on since before either Woody or Bo were even coaching football.

The best scenerio is to be in the same division. But if that's not goint to happen, then to me this is the second best. Playing in October is not an option. A "warm weather" OSU/Mich game??? BARF!!!!

I didn't mean to imply that there would be an advantage for either team, I was looking at it from why that would be better for the conference, because they are doing the scheduling? In retrospect I would of certainly wanted Ou and NU to be kept in the same division playing the last game of the season for the Division Title. That keeps the tradition alive and is the closest thing to playing for the Conference title on a yearly basis intact.

 

[cincibuck]

Nah there is just no way they can cancel a conference championship game, they would already have been preparing to host it, the tv deals would be inked etc.

And just imagine what would happen to a team that entered the game undefeated and then lost twice -- they could go from a guaranteed BCS to a December bowl in course of two weeks.

It's also shit like this that makes champions out of the Mets and Raiders following less than stellar regular seasons.

 

[JXC]

You know what? Maybe Ohio State could go independant, and play Michigan after they are done with their "Big Ten" schedule. Maybe Michigan can join too, and they can play each other in the last game of the year...and do the rest of their scheduling on their own?

The Big Ten would be lost with Ohio State.

To me...The Game is bigger than the Big Ten.

 

[BuckeyeNation27]

The most likely way you go into the game with the CCG appearance locked up is to be undefeated in the confrence. I would make the assumption if you have it locked up by then you have at most one loss overall and therefore if you are a big 10 title contending team with 1 loss the NCG would also be in consideration.

That's not really true at all. If Ohio State has 1 loss but the team they lost to along with other B10 teams have more than that, it's entirely possible they aren't in the NC hunt.

 

[DallasHusker]

It's not about an "advantage". It's about 75 years of tradition. I know NU-OU was a good rivalry, but it pales in compareson to The Game.

I hope the Big Ten preserves The Game, you're right that the tradition should be respected. But you're a bit out there when you say the old NU-OU rivalry "pales" or paled in comparison, back when it was played. Most independent observers put them on fairly equal planes back then.

 

[Piney]

Ok, so we are in different divisions but still play the last game of the year? STUPID!

But another stupid thing... does this mean the last weekend will be cross-divisional rivals too? Cuz if Michigan & Ohio state play the last game of the season, that means at least another cross divisional rival will have to play the last week of the season (to make sure everyone plays that weekend)

So what does the last week of the season look like now?

The obvious...
Ohio State v Michigan
Iowa v Minnesota (same division)
Purdue v Indiana (same division)

The other 3 matchups?
Nebraska v Wisconsin
Northwestern v Illinois
MSU v Penn State

But those are all cross-division rivals. Of course Iowa can switch their season ender to Nebraska and then Wisconsin can play Minnesota.

 

[GoodLifeSean]

Anyone who thinks this could make the game meaningless has no business playing for, associating themselves with, or being a fan of either Ohio State or scUM.

Of course same division would be far, far better. But this rivalry goes beyond football.

I don't think the worry is so much about it becoming meaningless as much as losing that edge and venom that make them so great. OU-NU, bama-tenn, hell even BGSU-Toledo have lost that.

 

[JXC]

I hope the Big Ten preserves The Game, you're right that the tradition should be respected. But you're a bit out there when you say the old NU-OU rivalry "pales" or paled in comparison, back when it was played. Most independent observers put them on fairly equal planes back then.

Hmmm...I don't recall such a national uproar like is going on now when that rivalry was ruined...and this is just about "moving" the game, not getting rid of it every year.

 

[Jaxbuck]

If we sat down and tried to fuck this up worse than the B10 brass has done, could we?

 

[DallasHusker]

Ok, so we are in different divisions but still play the last game of the year? STUPID!

But another stupid thing... does this mean the last weekend will be cross-divisional rivals too? Cuz if Michigan & Ohio state play the last game of the season, that means at least another cross divisional rival will have to play the last week of the season (to make sure everyone plays that weekend)

So what does the last week of the season look like now?

The obvious...
Ohio State v Michigan
Iowa v Minnesota (same division)
Purdue v Indiana (same division)

The other 3 matchups?
Nebraska v Wisconsin
Northwestern v Illinois
MSU v Penn State

But those are all cross-division rivals. Of course Iowa can switch their season ender to Nebraska and then Wisconsin can play Minnesota.

I think you don't want them all being played the last week of the season, you want to spread out the rivalry games through the season for maximum TV exposure. Certainly The Game is the biggest rivalry, so its the last week. The others should be spread through earlier weeks of the season.

 

[OneBuckeye]

That's not really true at all. If Ohio State has 1 loss but the team they lost to along with other B10 teams have more than that, it's entirely possible they aren't in the NC hunt.

Even so, I don't think the team would throw away, or not get up for the game. I do think it is a non issue. The only issue is the rematch.

 

[DallasHusker]

Hmmm...I don't recall such a national uproar like is going on now when that rivalry was ruined...and this is just about "moving" the game, not getting rid of it every year.

LOL! I'm 110% in your corner on preserving The Game, don't get me wrong. But "national uproar"?? Sorry, there's a huge uproar within the two fanbases, and its certainly being talked about within the sports media (which is greatly expanded over the 15 years since the Big XII formation and the ruination of NU-OU), but "national uproar?" Sorry, but its not even much of a blip on the radar here in the Metro DFW area, outside of the two fanbases discussing it on message boards like this.

 

[cjmik_75]

If we sat down and tried to fuck this up worse than the B10 brass has done, could we?

Nope.