Bret Bielema (HC Illinois)

[Abenaki]

Brett, we live in a world that doesn't respect the Big Ten, and that needs to be changed by men who can win national championships. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Dantonio? Urban Meyer has a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for your recruiting classes, and you curse the Buckeyes. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That the destruction of your classes, while tragic, probably wins championships. And Urban Meyer's existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, wins championships. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at budget meetings, you want us in that BCS game, you need us in that BCS game. We use words like how firm thy friendship. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent building the greatest program in the Big Ten. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who balances his budget under the blanket of the very BCS earnings and television ratings that we provide, and then questions the manner in which we provide it. I would rather you just said thank you sir, and may I have another, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a telephone, and flip some recruits. Either way, Urban Meyer doesn't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

You must spread some reputation around before giving it to ORD_Buckeye again.

 

[jlb1705]

Ramzy Nasrallah @ramzyn

 

[Muck]

Outside of Oregon and Oklahoma, nobody has done less with more than Wisconsin.

Not sure where you got this from. Wisconsin never comes close to pulling in the same caliber kids as Oregon and Oklahoma.

If you wanna say win the big games, fine, I agree with you. But "less with more"? That's not even close to true.

Oklahoma?
Clemson?

*cough*

Georgia?

Notre Dame
Florida St.

Texas is building a strong foundation for inclusion soon.

Star Power: The nation's most underachieving teams

On Friday, we looked at five middle-of-the-pack programs from the major conferences that have reliably outperformed the scouts' projections over the last four years against teams that earned higher marks in the recruiting rankings. Monday, we look at the other side of the coin: High-ranking teams that have most consistently under-performed according to their recruiting pedigree.

Note that the method in this case is concerned with head-to-head results, not winning percentage or ranking in the final polls, which tend to be apples-and-oranges comparisons because of differences in strength of schedule. Georgia and Tennessee, for example, have significantly underperformed since 2008 based on their records, but in both cases, the vast majority of those losses have come at the hands of fellow recruiting heavyweights in the SEC. (Namely, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, LSU and South Carolina, each of which has brought in a steady stream of top-20 classes according to Rivals.) Against teams that haven't established themselves as top-25 recruiting powers, UGA and UT have performed about as well as the rankings suggest they should ? or at least, well enough to avoid this list. For our purposes, it's not possible to "underachieve" against an opponent with ostensibly the same talent level.

With that in mind, only a few teams clearly spit the bit against supposedly "inferior" talent over the last full recruiting cycle:

.../snip/...

Sad that we all missed the OBVIOUS choices.

A big round of applause for #1 & #2!!

 

[Buckeyevsworld]

Maybe ND isn't underachieving. Maybe that's just who they are now. A mediocre 2nd tier football program that keeps living off of what they did "back in the day". They haven't shown any sign in years that they're still one of the big boys.

 

[cincibuck]

With all due respect sir...BULLSHIT. Brett isn't at all worried about TCU or Oregon. He and many other coaches in the BIG are worried about the expiration date! You know the one that every other BIG teams chance of a BIG Title ends. I used to love it when we took a knee against our BIG conference foes. I felt it was respectful and the right thing to do. Now I just want us to go for the 8 point coversion from whistle to whistle, every single game. Hell I pulled for every other BIG team to have a good year thinking it would make us look better. NO more! The way this past year went and all the whining about Urban getting OUR kids back home...I'm done being a BIG fan..I'm a BUCKEYE fan....and until one of these other team/coaches/fanbases step up and earn it...I'll root against them all day every day. So enjoy this year Bitches...because the expiration date is drawing near.

Do you somehow believe that I'm a Badger fan?

I'm only saying that Bret needs to get the eye of the Badger faithful off of his dismal performance in the last two Rose Bowl games. Taking a swipe at Urban and Ohio State helps him explain -- or loosen the focus of the media -- from the teams inability to win big bowl games.

It also draws a line in the sand -- and I can't blame him for doing that as he needs to protect his turf.

That he lost the recruit, especially when OSU has its tit in the wringer, sets off an alarm to Brett, Dantonio, Penn State and the Hokester, that SEC level recruiting has arrived in Columbus.

Urban is going to use every bit of leverage he has --100K stadium, great facilities, huge TV appeal, history, fantastic fan base, reputation -- to win the first part of the war; put the talent on the field.

 

[BUCKYLE]

Maybe ND isn't underachieving. Maybe that's just who they are now. A mediocre 2nd tier football program that keeps living off of what they did "back in the day". They haven't shown any sign in years that they're still one of the big boys.

They've had talent over there. They just haven't developed the potential into wins. They're pretty much the definition of underachieving. Though I agree that they seemed destined to fade into obscurity, eventually.

 

[Bucky32]

That he lost the recruit, especially when OSU has its tit in the wringer, sets off an alarm to Brett, Dantonio, Penn State and the Hokester, that SEC level recruiting has arrived in Columbus.

And you know what? It's a great thing for the Big Ten.

Everybody else will be forced to change and adapt - step your game up lest you want to get left in the dust. The Big Ten's performance in January as of late has been nothing short of embarrassing. I think Urban's going to deliver a much-needed kick in the pants to the rest of the league.

 

[HorseshoeFetish]

Do you somehow believe that I'm a Badger fan?

Taking a swipe at Urban and Ohio State helps him explain -- or loosen the focus of the media -- from the teams inability to win big bowl games.

No I wouldn't insult anyone of being a badger fan unless I had actual knowledge of such stupidity. I do apologize if I made you feel that way.


As for the second part....You and I seem to differ on opinion. You seem to think that Bret has made some strategic move regarding not only the bucky fanbase, media, and team, but also recruits in the future.

I however feel that it is nothing more than him being a whiny bitch calling foul after he got dunked on. I say UFM drew the line in the sand first by letting it be known that tOSU has first and last shot at any of our Ohio kids. For another coach to think otherwise is to be naive. Any further line drawings on the subject are negated.

So I ask which seems more plausible...Bret the strategist? Or Bret the whiny bitch? I rest my case your honor.

 

[Buckeyevsworld]

They've had talent over there. They just haven't developed the potential into wins. They're pretty much the definition of underachieving. Though I agree that they seemed destined to fade into obscurity, eventually.

Reminds me of illinois.

 

[LovelandBuckeye]

Reminds me of illinois.

This Illinois year to be "elite" again.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

This Illinois year to be "elite" again.

[NFBuck][ThaKid101]Just you wait....you'll see.[/ThaKid101][/NFBuck]

 

[Bucky32]

This Illinois year to be "elite" again.

They've been elite all along.

Signed,
ThaKid

 

[darbypitcher22]

They've been elite all along.

Signed,
ThaKid

Lulz

 

[cincibuck]

No I wouldn't insult anyone of being a badger fan unless I had actual knowledge of such stupidity. I do apologize if I made you feel that way.


As for the second part....You and I seem to differ on opinion. You seem to think that Bret has made some strategic move regarding not only the bucky fanbase, media, and team, but also recruits in the future.

I however feel that it is nothing more than him being a whiny bitch calling foul after he got dunked on. I say UFM drew the line in the sand first by letting it be known that tOSU has first and last shot at any of our Ohio kids. For another coach to think otherwise is to be naive. Any further line drawings on the subject are negated.

So I ask which seems more plausible...Bret the strategist? Or Bret the whiny bitch? I rest my case your honor.

He needs to be a strategist in two ways: 1) get the press off his ass for two disappointing losses in the Rose Bowl. 2) Create a bogeyman he can attack and invite others in the Big 10 to hop on board.

He isn't going to have another year in which he has the best QB, the best RB and one of the best defenses in the B1G for sometime and his inability to win with those advantages isn't going to sit well with the Badger faithful.

The difference between being someones DC/OC and being an HC is about, what 1.5M a year? Lots of incentive to find fault outside yourself - like say a new coach at OSU.

 

[maximumblitz]

From a Wisconsin newspaper
http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20120205/WIS020101/120205036/Tom-Oates-column-Ohio-State-Michigan-back-being-major-players-football-recruting?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|s

It appears Bielema misspoke when he used the term "illegal," but he would have been on shaky ground even if he had said "unethical." That?s because in 2007 Bielema flipped five recruits who had committed to other schools. Indeed, at the same time he was criticizing Meyer?s tactics, Bielema announced the signing of a recruit who had previously committed to Mississippi.