BIGREDIOWAN
Mods
God, our division is ridiculously easy outside of Wisconsin.............talk about an uneven divide.
New Divisions: ESPN We are in the West of course.
- Thread starter Flood
- Start date
Scratchtown
All-Conference
I hate this division, but only because I would much rather play Michigan every year, not Wisconsin.
Maryland and Rutgers are straight up AWFUL! Look at West Virginia, they were awful in the big 12, and i guarantee they would have been Big East champs last year. Rutgers will have a rude awakening being in the Big10.
Since the BCS era started, the West division will have more teams in it that have been to BCS bowls than the East.
West: Nebraska, Wisconsin, Purdue, Illinois, Iowa.
East: Ohio State, Michigan, Maryland, and Penn State.
I know that means nothing, but in my opinion, over the next 5 years...
West :
Nebraska (Trending up)
Minnesota (Trending up)
Northwestern (Trending up)
Wisconsin (Trending down)
Iowa (Who knows)
Illinois (Trending up soon)
Purdue (Trending up)
East
Ohio State (Up)
Michigan (Up)
Michigan State (Down)
Penn State (Down)
Maryland (Staying down)
Rutgers (Down)
Indiana (Up) I like what Kevin Wilson is doing.
Maryland and Rutgers are straight up AWFUL! Look at West Virginia, they were awful in the big 12, and i guarantee they would have been Big East champs last year. Rutgers will have a rude awakening being in the Big10.
Since the BCS era started, the West division will have more teams in it that have been to BCS bowls than the East.
West: Nebraska, Wisconsin, Purdue, Illinois, Iowa.
East: Ohio State, Michigan, Maryland, and Penn State.
I know that means nothing, but in my opinion, over the next 5 years...
West :
Nebraska (Trending up)
Minnesota (Trending up)
Northwestern (Trending up)
Wisconsin (Trending down)
Iowa (Who knows)
Illinois (Trending up soon)
Purdue (Trending up)
East
Ohio State (Up)
Michigan (Up)
Michigan State (Down)
Penn State (Down)
Maryland (Staying down)
Rutgers (Down)
Indiana (Up) I like what Kevin Wilson is doing.
Decked
Heisman Trophy Winner
Frank likely would have won it several more times though, with Bill Snyder retiring and Colorado going into the crapper. When Frank was coaching, the north was stronger than the south.
Husker from Kansas
Starter
I think that it is a little early to say Wisconsin is trending down, I think if anything they are treading water, they will probably be down for a year or two, but I think they made a good hire at HC and in a few years they will be a good team that is a tough out pretty much every year.
Count 'Bility
Banned
Are the ones complaining about this being the Big12 North all over again the same ones that were complaining about the non-geagraphical nature of the Legends and Leaders? I dont have the time to go back and look, but I'm bettin yes for the majority.
B.B. Hemingway
All-American
Give me the competitive split, over the geographical split every time....
Not to be too picky, but Rutgers has been trending "up" as of late.... In my opinion you have to split up Michigan and Ohio St for the sake of competitive balance....
Comish
All-Conference
Regardless of "wishing", the fact is that Ohio St and Michigan are NOT going to be split up. So we've got to go with that fact and work around it as best it can be done.
(btw) I like the opinions of "trending" even though we all have our own ideas on that. For me, I would put IOWA in the infamous "trending water" category.
VectorVictor
Heisman Trophy Winner
Yes, but please remember that we're in the football off-season--people will find any excuse to complain or exacerbate any news item, no matter how inconsequential, just to stay active and post.
And we'll probably have these divisions for one, two years tops. Looking like Maryland and the ACC will settle, which means expansion is on like Donkey Kong again.
StPaulHusker
Banned
Nebraska just needs to take care of the business in whatever division they are in. They are only 2-0 against Iowa and Minnesota so it can still be anyone's race. The only thing that was nice about how it was divided up before with the protected crossover was for recruiting. It was probably easier to convince kids from the East to come to NU because they would go East a little more frequently. I believe that was the case in the Big XII with the South schools.
Not so sure we really know who is trending up or down... Wisconsin certainly is not trending down by any means ... they just won the conference hanging 70 points on their victim. One might assume that with a new coach they might trend down in the future... and they may... or may not. But by no means are they trending down already. All that remains to be seen. As for the Huskers, I'd think it more accurate to say they have shown no signs of trending at all as a composite (offensively they have been trending up, defensively they have been trending down... overall... no real trend ... more like staying the same). Again, you might predict (or hope for) a trend up in the immediate future... and it might happen (or not)... but for now, there really is no discernible trend for the Huskers.
The west division is very weak, seemingly, relative to the east. And yes, it does look ostensibly, to be akin to the old Big 12 north.
Objectively looking at the three head-to-head games with Wisconsin and comparing recent conference end-of-season standing... we cannot in any way state that NU is on the same level as Wisconsin. The Badgers, as much as I have disdain for some of their fan base... and as much as I wish it were otherwise... are currently (and in the immediate past) at a level above the Huskers. Now...
That may indeed change. It may be that the Huskers improve and the Badgers get worse... but until that happens, Wisconsin is the clear top current program in the West. Again, there may be reason to extrapolate into the future and say that the Huskers will take over as the top team in the west... but that remains to be seen. As of right now the Huskers are looking up at the Badgers. Hopefully... not for long. GBR
funhusker
All-American
Just throwing in a couple pennies...If the B1G West is truly an "easy" division and Nebraska's to lose. And Ohio State and/or Michigan is the football powers that everyone claims them to be; what is the problem? Nebraska will play OSU or Michigan EVERY year: WHEN IT COUNTS!!!..............The point I'm trying to make is that I would rather play a "Big Boy" in December for a Conference Championship, than play a "Big Boy" in October to see who get the chance at a trophy...
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The problem is the amount of traditional powerhouses being split unevenly. Well funded programs that are traditional powerhouses are typically better over periods of time. tOSU is a good example. They had their struggles, but now they're back. The less well-funded teams that aren't traditional powerhouses typically have more up-and-down type seasons. One year they may go 10-2 and earn a BCS bid, the next they may go 6-6.
Michigan and Penn St. also can't be expected to be down or uncompetitive on the national scene forever. They just can't. They have too much history, too much money and too big of a brand.
By this standard, the East has tOSU, Michigan and Penn State. The West has Nebraska. Wisconsin has been the better program over the last decade - no question - but they don't fit the criteria of a 'traditional powerhouse.'
There's too much power, tradition and money in the East. It's not to say things can't change, but typically, teams that are great historically get back to that platform. Teams like Iowa, Northwestern, etc., don't hang for long.
Michigan and Penn St. also can't be expected to be down or uncompetitive on the national scene forever. They just can't. They have too much history, too much money and too big of a brand.
By this standard, the East has tOSU, Michigan and Penn State. The West has Nebraska. Wisconsin has been the better program over the last decade - no question - but they don't fit the criteria of a 'traditional powerhouse.'
There's too much power, tradition and money in the East. It's not to say things can't change, but typically, teams that are great historically get back to that platform. Teams like Iowa, Northwestern, etc., don't hang for long.
funhusker
All-American
I agree with everything you said. Our only difference is perspective. I see the divisions as a problem for OSU, Mich, and PSU, not Nebraska. As far as money, if the B1G continues to share equally, it won't matter if OSU vs Mich gets more ratings than Neb vs. Wisc (However, I do concede that recruiting could be affected by this. But I'll get to that in a moment). I would rather see the Huskers as a regular Championship Game contender and play the powerhouses than play in the same division and only get to the title game every 3 or 4 years. I think playing (assuming Neb wins some) OSU or Mich for titles at least every other year, would do more for recruiting than playing these teams in October.
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