VprHis
Get off my lawn, you hooligans!
Iowa, in my (not-so) expert opinion, has not--and will not--reach the same "elite" level as Ohio State and Michigan. The difference is simple. It's the history. OSU and Michigan have been so dominant over the years that our infrequent lulls of mediocrity are fewer and shorter than the successful periods experienced by teams like Iowa
If I'm counting correctly (and I'm probably off by a couple here and there), in 110 years of B10 football, OSU and/or Mich have been crowned champs 67 times, leaving 43 years that the Big 2 didn't win it all. Of course, most of those years were prior to 1945. Six of those championships went to the University of Chicago. Post WWII, there have been only 18 years that neither of the Big2 were up on top.
The next contender for conference ascendency? Minnesota, with 18 championships (compared to 42 and 30, for UM/OSU)
Minny won 7 championships in a space of 12 years. Of course, that was 1900-1911. They then reeled off 7 more in 9 years (1933-41). They couldn't sustain that success, and never cemented a place in the top tier.
So how 'bout IOWA? Their '02 and '04 championships constitute the Hawks' best run since their 3'fer in '56,'58, and '60. Woo. Hoo.
Another way of viewing things? Eight teams have won/shared the championship since 1999. Seven years, eight Teams. That includes Northwestern and Illinois, mind you. And in those seven years, OSU and UM have combined for 5 titles.
The bottom line is that this is a question of short-term success fueling a misperception of long-term dominance. Iowa's a great team, and Kirk Ferentz is one hell of a good coach. I expect him to keep the Hawks among the perennial front-runners for several more years. But despite what the sportscasters say, what Iowa fans might want to believe, or what you might think after Iowa spanks another mid-level team.... They will not make the leap.
Source, Page 14
Oh, and I tend to view Penn State as a special case--they could manage it, based on their fanbase/support/history, but sadly, it will take the replacement of JoePa (post-retirement, I'm not saying fire the guy) with an exceptional coach. If they flail around in mediocrity (see Ron Zook at Florida), they will have serious problems in the coming years.
If I'm counting correctly (and I'm probably off by a couple here and there), in 110 years of B10 football, OSU and/or Mich have been crowned champs 67 times, leaving 43 years that the Big 2 didn't win it all. Of course, most of those years were prior to 1945. Six of those championships went to the University of Chicago. Post WWII, there have been only 18 years that neither of the Big2 were up on top.
The next contender for conference ascendency? Minnesota, with 18 championships (compared to 42 and 30, for UM/OSU)
Minny won 7 championships in a space of 12 years. Of course, that was 1900-1911. They then reeled off 7 more in 9 years (1933-41). They couldn't sustain that success, and never cemented a place in the top tier.
So how 'bout IOWA? Their '02 and '04 championships constitute the Hawks' best run since their 3'fer in '56,'58, and '60. Woo. Hoo.
Another way of viewing things? Eight teams have won/shared the championship since 1999. Seven years, eight Teams. That includes Northwestern and Illinois, mind you. And in those seven years, OSU and UM have combined for 5 titles.
The bottom line is that this is a question of short-term success fueling a misperception of long-term dominance. Iowa's a great team, and Kirk Ferentz is one hell of a good coach. I expect him to keep the Hawks among the perennial front-runners for several more years. But despite what the sportscasters say, what Iowa fans might want to believe, or what you might think after Iowa spanks another mid-level team.... They will not make the leap.
Source, Page 14
Oh, and I tend to view Penn State as a special case--they could manage it, based on their fanbase/support/history, but sadly, it will take the replacement of JoePa (post-retirement, I'm not saying fire the guy) with an exceptional coach. If they flail around in mediocrity (see Ron Zook at Florida), they will have serious problems in the coming years.
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