Bucky

kchusker_chris, on 14 May 2013 - 10:32 AM, said:

More like a 3-4 team every year:

Averages since 1993:

Big Ten Standings: Fourth (4.05)
Rankings among conference teams at close of season: 3.95
Standings to determine the Championship: Fourth (3.75)

In those seasons we've won the conference six times - more CC's than Nebraska won in that period.

Big Ten Championships since 1993:
Ohio State - 9
Wisconsin - 6
Michigan - 5
Northwestern -3
Iowa - 2
Michigan State - 1
Penn State - 1
Purdue - 1
Illinois - 1

So you can cast Wisconsin off as a "#4 or #5 team in the conference in any given year" but right now Nebraska has way more to prove in this conference than UW. As far as being a rival, I won't say that I "couldn't care less" about the Nebraska game because its a conference game and I always care but its no where near being a rivalry. Minnesota and Iowa are our historic rivals while lately the Michigan State games have been much more entertaining than the Nebraska showings... I'd even say that, at least on an emotional level, I care more about beating Illinois and Northwestern every year, so I agree with the sentiment there.

That's a Wisconsin fan's perspective, now as a Nebraska fan, why you wouldn't want us as a rival (in the sense that a person could "want" a rival), especially given the last two seasons, kind of escapes me. If we're going East/West then you're pretty much stuck with us and Iowa and if you care more about Iowa well...have fun with that.

Bye Bye Big XII, on 13 May 2013 - 10:25 AM, said:

We're pretty much in agreement, I just don't think that the competition can be so easlily dismissed especially given how much UW lost last year. I'll go further than you're willing to go and see that the easier road probably did affect the championship game. All five of our losses preceding the CCG were by less than a touchdown and four were by three points, we could've had a much better season but I feel like some of those losses, especially OSU and PSU, happened because we were preparing for the CCG. I'm fine with saying that because I believe it to be true and I still don't think it taints our championship.

Bye Bye Big XII, on 13 May 2013 - 07:55 AM, said:

My point is that Illinois is more than capable of not being "garbage". They've been to two BCS bowls and won five national championships. They have a winning records against UW, Indiana and Purdue. Wisconsin lost a ton of talent and coaching going into 2012 and while pre-season favorites they still had to fight hard for their berth. They were, in no way, some juggernaut assured tickets to Indiana as the five losses show.

Now I agree, Illinois did turn out to be "garbage" in 2012 but that was far from decided going into the year and part of that "garbage" season involved UW winning their game. We still had to compete against those teams and win our way, though that way was significantly shorter through no fault of our own...

As far as the whole bitterness thing, I think that it is a matter of bitterness whether you realize it or want to admit it or not. Had Nebraska won the CCG I bet that few if any Husker fans would be wondering if their season had been "tainted" by not playing Ohio State a second time. That is of course a personal opinion, I understand that you don't agree and thats perfectly fine.

Bye Bye Big XII, on 12 May 2013 - 11:43 PM, said:

Fun fact: Illinois has been to just as many BCS Bowls as Nebraska.

Not that any of this debate even matters - its all just bitterness from the loss. Had Nebraska beat Wisconsin in the Championship game none of this would be discussed but since Wisconsin won some fans have to try to get a dig in.

A championship is "tainted" by some kind of scandal or cheating by the team that won the title, not by the teams that didn't. Wisconsin's title isn't tainted by Ohio State and Penn State's problems - those are problems at those schools.

Did the Falcons "not really win" the NFC South because Sean Payton was barred from coaching the Saints?

irafreak, on 11 May 2013 - 10:50 AM, said:

It doesn't feel like either of those things to me at all. Wisconsin had a terrific end to the season and was much better than I expected. I got to see Alvarez coach again in a Rose Bowl I didn't expect us to reach in a season where we lost loads of talent and coaches. We may have underachieved compared to the last few years but we overachieved when measured against most fans' expectations at the beginning of the season.

As far as it being "tainted" I think that's something felt more by OSU, PSU and maybe some Nebraska fans, who feel they were somehow screwed out of the title. It felt great to me.