Speed of Big10 vs. other conferences

[muffler dragon]

Big Ten strikes back in bowls - Big Ten Blog - ESPN

Although I am not a fan of ESPiN, I will admit that Adam Rittenberg usually does a good job with the Big Ten Blog. Gotta give the guy some props for standing up for the Big Ten time and time again at that place. This is his chance to rub their noses in it.

If I recall correctly (and I'll try to check my DVR tonight), Adam in his infinite wisdom picked the Ducks over the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl. Thus, while I appreciate this article, I'd love to see a little perspective on this as well.

 

[TresselstillownsTSUN]

Speed of college football in the South has made a move North - Israel Gutierrez - MiamiHerald.com

This is the kinda stuff that fuels the myth. Elite teams recruit elite fast guys period. All teams trys to recruit speed. And not every fast player is from the south.

 

[Dryden]

From Rittenberg's article:

The Big Ten also can revel in how it won bowls. It didn't conform to gimmicks or new uniforms. Terrific defensive performances fueled all four wins. Wisconsin, Ohio State and Iowa made standout quarterbacks Jacory Harris, Jeremiah Masoli and Josh Nesbitt look awful. Penn State held LSU to two first downs in the first half and only one stretch of consistent production in the muck.

Big Ten teams won with clock control, balanced offensive schemes and defensive fundamentals (tackling, what a concept!). Quarterbacks Scott Tolzien, Daryll Clark, Terrelle Pryor and Ricky Stanzi all stepped up, but so did the defensive standouts on their team. This was a postseason for veteran defensive coordinators like Norm Parker and Jim Heacock to show why they're great at what they do.

Note to Michigan:

BWWWHAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!!

 

[buckcfd]

If I recall correctly (and I'll try to check my DVR tonight), Adam in his infinite wisdom picked the Ducks over the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl. Thus, while I appreciate this article, I'd love to see a little perspective on this as well.

He did (27-21 in favor of Oregon), but so did just about everyone else. Most folks that predicted this game (objectively) had Oregon as the favorite. That's what makes this win that much more special...

 

[muffler dragon]

He did (27-21 in favor of Oregon), but so did just about everyone else. Most folks that predicted this game (objectively) had Oregon as the favorite. That's what makes this win that much more special...

Yet, I believe the Pac Ten blogger picked the Buckeyes. Anyway... just making a point about the fact that Rittenberg is defending the Big Ten against the very machine he's been a part of.

 

[Jake]

So "speed" is the sole determining factor in winning/losing football games, according to the talking heads. That's as dumb now as it was 4 years ago.

Florida and LSU didn't beat us because of speed, but it was an easy way to write it off. The speed comparisons of the rosters supported no such theory nor did what actually happened on the field.

Florida totally outfoxed us on both sides of the ball. They were a step ahead all night. They knew our tendencies and exploited them. LSU had more overall talent than our team that year. Anybody who thinks Wisconsin beat Miami this year because they have more team speed is blind. They beat them because speed isn't the only thing that matters. Game planning, execution and strength on the line help, too. It also helps to be smart enough not to beat yourselves.

But, no, it's only speed. The Big Ten just got a lot faster this year.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

He did (27-21 in favor of Oregon), but so did just about everyone else. Most folks that predicted this game (objectively) had Oregon as the favorite. That's what makes this win that much more special...

Yet, I believe the Pac Ten blogger picked the Buckeyes. Anyway... just making a point about the fact that Rittenberg is defending the Big Ten against the very machine he's been a part of.

Without knowing any commentary that Rittenberg may have provided with his prediction of a 27-21 UO victory, that prediction would not lead me to label him as someone who is buying into the garbage ESPN spews.

 

[Buckskin86]

Ohio State battles speed-less reputation
Published: Monday, January 03, 2011
Ted Lewis, The Times-Picayune By Ted Lewis, The Times-Picayune

After the formalities about how excited he and his team were to be in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, and, of late, the latest update on Gold Pantsgate, Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel, with his next sentence at his press conferences has gotten right to the point:

Dec. 15 ? ?The thing I?ve been impressed with is their excellent quickness. They just look to me be to be exceptionally quick.?

Dec. 16 ? ?The thing about Arkansas is their quickness.?

Dec. 30 ? ?The Arkansas Razorbacks are quick, they?re fast.?

And, lest Tressel worry, his message has gotten through to his players.

?Man, their receivers can run all day,? said senior linebacker Brian Rolle. ?You look at their running backs and they?ve got 6-1, 6-2, 230-, 240-pound guys so you think they?d be physical like Wisconsin?s guys, but they can get to the corner in a second and outrun the defense.

?They?ve got athletic O-linemen who don?t run like linemen. I imagine their defensive guys are just as fast.?

Thus is perpetuated the maxim that Ohio State?s 0-9 record in bowl games against Southeastern Conference teams ? one that began 33 years ago when Bear Bryant?s Alabama Crimson Tide ran past Woody Hayes? three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust Buckeyes 35-6 in the Sugar Bowl and which more recently was extended by back-to-back losses to Florida and LSU in BCS championship games ? was largely decided by speed, or the lack thereof on the part of the Buckeyes.

Forget that Ohio State?s victory in the 2002 national tile game was against Miami and a host of NFL-bound speedsters or that the Florida game began with the Buckeyes? Ted Ginn Jr. streaking through the Gators for a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Jesse Owens? alma mater is just a bunch of plodders.

?It?s something we hear all the time,? said Ohio State senior wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher. ?For some reason, when guys commit to Ohio State they automatically lose tenths off their 40 times.?

And it?s not just a Buckeye thing.

?There?s definitely a lot more speed in the SEC than there is in the Big Ten,? said Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallet, who played one season at Michigan before transferring in 2008. ?You just see more speed everywhere ? guys who can move around. Offensive linemen, defensive linemen, linebackers, everybody. Everybody?s faster.?

Cont...

http://www.nola.com/sugarbowl/index.ssf/2011/01/ohio_state_battles_speed-less.html

 

[jlb1705]

Plus, Texas Tech?s victory against Northwestern was under the tutelage of ex-Auburn and Ole Miss coach Tommy Tuberville and conference nomad Texas Christian looked like an SEC team in the wake of its Rose Bowl victory against Wisconsin.

LMAO. Taking credit for those too now, huh?

BTW, how's USC doing under the tutelage of ex-Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron and ex-Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin?

?There?s definitely a lot more speed in the SEC than there is in the Big Ten,? said Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallet, who played one season at Michigan before transferring in 2008. ?You just see more speed everywhere ? guys who can move around. Offensive linemen, defensive linemen, linebackers, everybody. Everybody?s faster.?

...Says he who has completed only 44% of his passes and has thrown as many TDs as interceptions against Big Ten teams. Those aren't even Reggie Ball stats. I guess the Big Ten just wasn't his speed.

 

[SmoovP]

...Says he who has completed only 44% of his passes and has thrown as many TDs as interceptions against Big Ten teams.

WTF?

 

[jwinslow]

The SEC does have great speed on the DL, in greater depth than most conferences. They do not have a different breed of athlete, they simply have more of them. The extension of that stereotype to the other positions is ridiculous.

Speed is the byproduct of the stereotype spoonfeeding from the SEC's two official networks, CBS & ESPN. Sure lots of people settle for that foolishly simply characterization, but it would go a long way if supposed experts like Herbie & Danielson would actually analyze the real matchups and educate the Sportscenter/EA Sports generation of football fans instead of using speed fifty times a broadcast (especially herbie).

 

[cincibuck]

Don't know nothin' 'bout no speed, but I do know that the preponderance of America's black population lives in the south and that though blacks comprise only 14% of US population they represent 75% of the players in the NFL.

I also know that Ohio, Michigan and Illinois have lost population over the last 20 years and that the bulk of players in Big 10 schools come from Ohio, Michigan and Illinois.

At the same time among southern states only Louisiana has lost population in the last 30 years. Florida, Georgia, both Carolinas have gained and the others remain the same.

The loss of population in the north has been accompanied by a loss of economic power and a great many low skill/high pay jobs. Some of that economic power has shifted to the south and the low skill/high pay jobs have moved to places like Bangladesh where the concept of high pay has been dropped. Still, it doesn't take much in the way of foresight to see that the economic trend now favors the south -- just as it once favored the north.

From being posted to the south several times I know that the Civil War is over only in northern minds.

I know that on average academic standards at Big 10 schools are higher than those at SEC schools and thus who a coach can recruit is slightly different. I know that conference policies on how many athletes you can sign differs.

Unlike the SEC, the Big 10 is controlled by the University presidents, not the ADs of each school. I would presume that presidents have different agendas than ADs, especially with regard to sports and academics.

Finally, though it hardly explains whippings like the ones placed on Michigan and Michigan State, the site of bowl games favors teams/fans from the south.

Given all those differences I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that SEC schools would do better in head-to-head competition. However the wins/losses ratio for both conferences in such match-ups have been relatively even. that fact says more about the quality of the Big 10 than it does about the superiority of the SEC.

But, if a trend of the SEC winning four of every five bowl games - or even five of five as may well be the case this year - continues for the next two or three years any doubt as to the overall superiority of the SEC will be erased.

 

[sandgk]

WTF?

This - from his freshman year at TSUN.

what that has to do with SEC teams I'm not sure though.

 

[bassbuckeye07]

Don't know nothin' 'bout no speed, but I do know that the preponderance of America's black population lives in the south and that though blacks comprise only 14% of US population they represent 75% of the players in the NFL.

I also know that Ohio, Michigan and Illinois have lost population over the last 20 years and that the bulk of players in Big 10 schools come from Ohio, Michigan and Illinois.

With the loss of population has been a loss of economic power and a great many low skill/high pay jobs. Some of that economic power has shifted to the south and the low skill/high pay jobs have moved to places like Bangladesh where the concept of high pay has been dropped.

From being posted to the south several times I know that the Civil War is over only in northern minds.

I know that on average academic standards at Big 10 schools are higher than those at SEC schools and thus who a coach can recruit is slightly different. I know that conference policies on how many athletes you can sign differs.

Unlike the SEC, the Big 10 is controlled by the University presidents, not the ADs of each school. I would presume that presidents have different agendas than ADs, especially with regard to sports and academics.

Finally, though it hardly explains whippings like the ones placed on Michigan and Michigan State, the site of bowl games favors teams/fans from the south.

Given all those differences I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that SEC schools would do better in head-to-head competition. However the wins/losses ratio for both conferences in such match-ups have been relatively even. that fact says more about the quality of the Big 10 than it does about the superiority of the SEC.

But, if a trend of the SEC winning four of every five bowl games - or even five of five as may well be the case this year - continues for the next two or three years any doubt as to the overall superiority of the SEC will be erased.

We need to start recruiting in Bangledesh....its the new speed factory

 

[Jake]

The SEC does have great speed on the DL, in greater depth than most conferences. They do not have a different breed of athlete, they simply have more of them. The extension of that stereotype to the other positions is ridiculous.

Exactly. There was a chart going around after the Florida debacle showing the 40 times of the skill players and OSU was faster, overall, making this conclusion asinine:

back-to-back losses to Florida and LSU in BCS championship games - was largely decided by speed, or the lack thereof on the part of the Buckeyes.

If you watched those games and walked away with that as the explanation then you know little about football. Frankly, it's an insult to the teams who beat us. LSU was just better - they were preseason #1 for a reason that year - and Florida was simply more prepared to play. They had a better plan and their players were a lot more focused and we saw the result. Meyer got the better of Tressel that day.

To say it's just "speed" is the type of analysis I expect from a 10 year old kid on a message board.