Competition wise, it's still about the fourth or fifth toughest conference.
Lately. Again, too often people ignore the cyclical nature of college football, where each new recruiting class or each coaching change brings with it a potential to falter. The fact is that three of the top seven teams with the most wins in college football history are from the Big 10 (Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State). This is a conference of teams with extremely stable bases. They are not immune to the fluctuations of victory and loss that all schools fall prey to, but they are less prone than most to stay down for long based on the huge fan bases, traditions and money they have.
Did you really think Nebraska would stay down very long when we sucked a few years ago? Of course not. You knew what kind of program we have, what kind of fan base we have, what kind of overwhelming support we have. You knew that we'd right the ship, most likely sooner rather than later.
Did you really think Oklahoma would stay down very long when they sucked after Switzer left?
Do you really think the football structures supporting the Big 10 schools will allow them to remain below the Pac-10 or the ACC? Really?