Changing of the guard in the Big Ten?

[martinss01]

"Changing of the guard" to me means a change in leadership, and no way will Indiana and Illinois replace Ohio State and Michigan as guardians of the Big Ten.

agreed. i see this as the natural cycle of the big 10. the little 8 (9) seem to go through these cycles on a semi consistent basis. northwestern won the big 10 not all that long ago and had a string of bowl appearances. minny got pretty good for a while there. same for wisky. purdue was dubed basketball on turf. at different points both penn state and iowa supposedly had changed the big 10 from the big 2 to the big 3. scum light has had its decent years. now it appears indy and illi have a shot at a couple of special years. but i see no evidence that there will be an addition of a 3rd at the top or either of the big 2 being replaced.

 

[stxbuck]

There is no "changing of the guard". Every 2-3 years Iowa,MSU,Purdue,Minnehaha,etc. gets a couple of fast recruits they think are special, and think they will actually challenge OSU or scUM for supremacy of the Big 10. Bottom line-beating each other does not consistently equate to beating OSU,scUM, or Wisky. OSU will dominate, scUM will trail it's tail in 2nd, Wisky and PSU(maybe occasionally Iowa)will occasionally challenge/consistently challenge for 2nd/3rd. If you think IU and/ot Minnehaha are ready to take over from OSU and scUM as Big 10 powers, you must also think that France and the EU will take over from the US and China as major power players in geopolitics.....

 

[daddyphatsacs]

OK guys, I get it..........I titled the thread wrong.

Please change it to "changing of the middle of the pack" for all I care. It was a figure of speech, and I didn't really think it through a whole lot when I titled the thread, I cared more about bringing up the Illinois/Indiana subject. Plus, I figured that it would get more people to actually read the thread. I was simply saying that the teams that are playing in New Years day bowl games in the Big Ten could change quite a bit over the next few years. No, none of those teams are going to permanently replace OSU or Michigan, but don't be surprised to see them start to upset some good teams from time to time. Illinois has enough talent around (recruiting wise) to be a better program than a Wisconsin or Iowa, they've just got to land some of it more consistently.

 

[buckeyegrad]

Actually Penn State has been better this year than they have since 1999, all years except last, when they were good, and 2002, when they were like this year....which is about 8-4, not beating anyone that matters but beating the rest of the also-rans. That's actually an improvement over 2000, 20001, 2003, and 2004 for them.

In addition, let's keep in mind that Penn State's four losses are to teams with a combined record of 37-2, which includes the top 2 teams in the country right now.

 

[ShakerBuck]

DP-

I thought you started a good thread here, and I aint gonna critique your wording, its annoying.

I was thinking the same thing, Illinois will be tough next year, they got some nice young players, gaining confidence rapidly, and recruiting momentum should follow.

 

[Best Buckeye]

Getting better coaches always helps a team and losing hurts others, thus teams rise and fall in the scheme of things. Several years ago we got Jt and look where we are at now. Not just in the games but in attitude, school spirit, and enthusiasm for the game itself.
MSU loses Smith so they will drop in recruiting of course. Indiana and Ill got better coaches , and qb's with promise so in the next few years it will be their turn to be "up" in the conference.
And we will be always be at the top.
This is the way of things in the big 10. So sayeth the Football Gods.

 

[Bucklion]

In addition, let's keep in mind that Penn State's four losses are to teams with a combined record of 37-2, which includes the top 2 teams in the country right now.

True enough....on the flip side though, there were plenty of years in the past when they won their share of those types of games (at least most of them at home), even in "medicore" (like 8-4) seasons. Now, not so much.

 

[Dryden]

Actually Penn State has been better this year than they have since 1999, all years except last, when they were good, and 2002, when they were like this year....which is about 8-4, not beating anyone that matters but beating the rest of the also-rans. That's actually an improvement over 2000, 20001, 2003, and 2004 for them.

Penn State's losses are to four teams that are a combined 37-2. They were competitive into the fourth quarter of every game except the ND game. An 8-4 season with the losses they suffered last season to graduation isn't too shabby.

 

[Crystal76]

I've been thinking about this one for a while. After Indiana went out and got Hoeppner, and Illinois got Zook........there is a pretty damn impressive bunch of coaches in the Big Ten. I think that Indiana and Illinois are both programs who are on the rise, especially Illinois. Does anyone else see the reshuffling that is going on in the Big Ten? What do you think?

After watching both of them play, I won't say they will be the 'Ohio State's or the Michigan's' But, I will say these teams BOTH look pretty good. I see Illinois as the stronger of the two, and will be damn good in a year or two. Indiana, has a damn talented QB, and with any amount of success Hoeppner could have that team contending in a year or two...

 

[Mike80]

I've been thinking about this one for a while. After Indiana went out and got Hoeppner, and Illinois got Zook........there is a pretty damn impressive bunch of coaches in the Big Ten. I think that Indiana and Illinois are both programs who are on the rise, especially Illinois. Does anyone else see the reshuffling that is going on in the Big Ten? What do you think?

Instead of PurDon't, who is actually not a horrible team this year, I would think that Indiana and Illinois will take the place of Michigan St and Minnesota, both teams have been middle of the pack the past few years and have completely fallen apart this year.

 

[Taosman]

Indiana is better right now. Better balance between offense and defense.
Illinois needs more weapons on offense. Defense looks better than Indiana's.
Illinois might have a better home field advantage as it's always windy there.

 

[buckeyebri]

Getting better coaches always helps a team and losing hurts others, thus teams rise and fall in the scheme of things. Several years ago we got Jt and look where we are at now. Not just in the games but in attitude, school spirit, and enthusiasm for the game itself.

Excellent point here.

MSU loses Smith so they will drop in recruiting of course.

Don't bet on this one. Mariuchi will more than likely be the next MSU coach and he already has a very solid following in Michigan. Word has it that he has already been talking to some kids.

 

[BB73]

I agree with the improvement in Illinois and Indiana, but I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned the 63 points that Minny put up on the Hoosiers yesterday. They've still got a ways to go.

 

[Bucklion]

Penn State's losses are to four teams that are a combined 37-2. They were competitive into the fourth quarter of every game except the ND game. An 8-4 season with the losses they suffered last season to graduation isn't too shabby.

Yeah, it's OK, considering, but look at their schedule...the best team they've actually beaten, or can beat until the bowl, is Purdue. Hence, not beating anyone who matters. 2002 was much the same, they were a reasonably good team, played us very tough, but they didn't beat us, didn't beat Michigan, didn't beat Iowa, and didn't beat Auburn. So, they didn't really beat anyone that mattered then either, despite being 9-4. There are a lot of other teams that would love to be 9-4, but if the "we're back amongst the elite" talk were actually true they should have been able to beat one good team this year.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

I agree with the thread. The bottom feeders are improving and some of the other schools are fading.

I think that in a year like this when scUM and us are so good it kinda makes the rest of the big ten have the lifes of women (not meant as a put down of women, but they are up and down alot.) They get up for the big game and try and tell themselves that they can beat us, but they go out and get smacked in the mouth and then the emotion goes down and they play unlike what they are capable.

MSU is the main example in this, it was really the Notre Dame that hurt them, but after that they just decided that they couldnt compete with the big boys and ended up packing it in against Illinois.

Look at Iowa after they played us. It was the biggest game in score history for them and they layed an egg. They go out the next week and lose to Indiana.

Overall I think that teams that have the best chance for year to year success besides the big 2 are PSU, Illinois, and Minnesota(somewhat). They are the main university in the state and that helps in recruiting.

Then alot will depend on how well teams can develop the talent. Iowa was doing this for the past couple years, and that is why they have been up near the top.

The other main factor alot of times is just plain experience and a good qb.