Mrstickball

You know, that same scenario happened about 100 years ago. That made us hate them even more.

Dear Nebraska, I know your the new kid on the block. All bright eyed and bushy tailed, excited to play your awesome opening season in 2011. As an Ohio State fan, we're oh-so excited to come to Lincoln and give you a proper B10 welcome along with Wisconsin. However, there is something that we need to discuss. Usually, Ohio State fans don't like to discuss their name, so I will not use their name. But they usually wear a blue and yellow uniform, and hail from a state known for popular motor vehicles, and murders than anything else. Anyways, we care about this team dearly. We also care about who plays them every week, too. Its our hope that each game, they get destroyed like free ice cream at a Weight Watchers meeting. This is where you come in, Nebraska. You champions of the corn. You fiend of the flyover states. Can you do your pals in the other division a favor? Don't let them go to the championship game. Ever. It behooves you to ensure this. You know about our rivalry with them. We loathe the idea of playing them back-to-back. There's just no sense in it. Would it make sense for you to play Iowa two weeks in a row? At least if you play a CCG-bound team once in the regular season, you do not have to deal with them twice in a row. We don't have that luxury, given the statistical likelihood that the meatchickens will be one of the few teams capable of putting together a regular CCG team that has a cross-conference rival at the end of the year. Say bad things about their grandma. Let your players carry shanks onto the field to deal with their players (not like their thugs aren't use to such a thing). Put tranquilizers in their Gatorade. Do whatever to help us out here. It will be better for you, better for us, better for the environment as mother earth breathes a sigh of relief that the meatchickens plays one less game a year (two if we're lucky and they don't go to a bowl). In return for doing us this favor, we'll root for you when you play the meatchickens. You'll have millions of fans around the country and world join Husker Nation in fandom to beat the unmentionable team. We'll even root for you in your bowl games, too. Trust us, in a few years, you will despise the turd burglars as much or more than you hate the Oklahomo's. We just want to help you on your way. Sincerely, Your Ohio State friend in the other divison

I....Wouldn't feel too bad. Ohio State gets nearly the same sort of SoS. We (OSU) play Nebby, Penn St., Wisconsin and Michigan. Oh, and Miami too. That may be equal or greater than Nebraska's 2011 schedule (who is are your OOC opponents? I see Washington, but no one else?). Truth is, 2011 will make for excellent football. Penn St., Ohio State, Michigan and NU will be playing each other which will be brutal, but equally brutal.

All of Ohio applauds your sensibility. Most think he's a joker that has royally screwed up a great program. It would be akin to OSU getting rid of Tressel for Lane Kiffin, or Thad Motta for Isiah Thomas.

I wonder what the first Dead Schembechlers song dedicated to NU is going to be about...

And FYI, this is what the Big Ten is about. On the field, court, or whatever, it's always competitive. We even have our heated rivalries (in fact, I think I even heard some Iowa fans talking about you!) but at the end of the day, we all know that we're equal players in the strongest conference out there. And that goes far beyond athletics. Ok, I have to go wring my hands over our basketball situation a bit more. Anyway, one more time, welcome aboard! Not only that, when it comes to tournament/bowl play, you will find EVERY B10 team will be cheering you on....Except maybe Ohio State fans cheering on Michigan in a bowl! Of course, with Nebraska being the 'new kid on the block', I am sure you'll be treated with warm welcomes everywhere you go. I hope your first trip to Columbus, whenever it may be, rolls out the red carpet for such a quality fanbase. Well, lets not get too warm and fuzzy. We Spartan fans sure don't root for UofMaa during bowl season. Of course, it seems like a long time since we have been faced with that dilemma. Oh, and we also wish all the bad things in life happen to Bo Ryan an Wisky basketball too. For our new members here are some disparaging nicknames and abbreviations for other teams in your new conference. Michigan - umAA, scUM, the weasels, skunkbears Ohio State - O$U, the buck-nuts My beloved Spartans - Sparty (apparently we really :steamhate being called Sparty instead of the Spartans) Wisconsin - Whisky, Bucky (their dumbass mascot), the floppers, cheeseweasels Minnesota - Minny Ah true. I forgot that MSU has UM as much as Ohio State does. I can assure you, the first time that NU plays UM, there will be a big contingent of OSU fans cheering on the Scarlet and White against the maize and blue!

Would be a dream come true if NU does join the B10 for official conference play in 2011. We may see NU and OSU in the conference championship as a final sendoff for Terrelle Pryor. That would be EPIC!

That's the way that most B-10 fans I've talked to feel. Most of *us* (and I use that loosely, because I don't know every B10 fan) feel that ND is a haughty, arrogant, self-centered program, but has tons of value for the conference. *us* (again, loose term) wants ND to join so they can get their comeuppance and realize its now a middle of the road team (MSU), rather than an elite team (OSU), or a bi-yearly threat (PSU). Hopefully, ND learns its real place in reality, and understands that playing in a real conference, and not scheduling a dearth of unimpressive teams, will do more to get their program on track than anything else.

www.buckeyeplanet.com www.spartantailgate.com www.pennlive.com I'm a member of BP, so I am sure all Huskers will be welcomed with open arms.

I think that about sums it up. In the begging, we (at least my understanding of B10 posters/commentary) was that this was merely another push for Notre Dame to get off their lazy independant rear ends and finally pony up with the B10. After ND said no, or atleast hinted that way, all the blogging and commentary went to bigger, better prizes - UT and NU. Then it went toward the idea of 14, or even 16 teams for a super-conference, which is when all the speculation started, while NU became one of the 'must haves' for a conference that was going to actually get BETTER. After all, if the B10 got teams like Rutgers, Syracuse, and Missouri....Well, no offense, but it wouldn't really improve the conference, would it? Now that NU is onboard, we can be happy with whatever happens. Unless Delany decides to do something awful, and pad us with east coast teams, whatever happens will be A-OK in my book. We netted the pretty hot country girl, so anyone else that comes along, is just a bonus.

And FYI, this is what the Big Ten is about. On the field, court, or whatever, it's always competitive. We even have our heated rivalries (in fact, I think I even heard some Iowa fans talking about you!) but at the end of the day, we all know that we're equal players in the strongest conference out there. And that goes far beyond athletics. Ok, I have to go wring my hands over our basketball situation a bit more. Anyway, one more time, welcome aboard! Not only that, when it comes to tournament/bowl play, you will find EVERY B10 team will be cheering you on....Except maybe Ohio State fans cheering on Michigan in a bowl! Of course, with Nebraska being the 'new kid on the block', I am sure you'll be treated with warm welcomes everywhere you go. I hope your first trip to Columbus, whenever it may be, rolls out the red carpet for such a quality fanbase.

Ohio State fan here. When BuckeyePlanet was having its big 'B10 expansion' poll, I was one of the first to throw my hat in saying that NU would be the best fit (back in January I think). I am so proud to see Nebraska join the B10, which will add value to both the conference, and Nebraska. I hope that the millions in extra TV revenue via BTN and other means can give ya'll an even better experience - even if it comes at the occasional win over Ohio State. Here is to the future of making a great conference greater :-)

Totally agree. If Nebraska has a rival, it will be either Iowa (the likely one due to geography) or Wisconsin (the better one).

Not fully true. OSU has had good success with both 'fast' 'mobile' QBs and slow ones. Since Tress came on, OSU has had 6 QBs - Bellasari (2001), Krenzel (2001-2003), Zwick (2004), Smith (2004-2006), Boeckman (2007-2008) and Pryor (2008-Current). Of those, he won an NC with the slow tree trunk QB in Krenzel. Smith and Pryor are your typical dual-threat QBs (which he's done good with), but don't forget that the guy in the middle - Boeckman was in between your slow tree trunk QB and someone that could run a little, ala Roethlisberger...Albeit in a guy that regressed as his seasons went on. He took OSU to an NC with him as well, and did much better vs. LSU with him than with Smith against Florida in that NC.

I beg to differ. I am not a Missouri fan, but I respect their program. In 2007 and 2008, they were Big 12 North champs. If they had beaten Nebraska in 2009, they would have been B12 North champs again, but they pissed the game away in the fourth quarter. I'm just saying that, sometimes, we Husker fans can get pretty arrogant. We finally had a decent year and then we bad-mouth our competition. Missouri has recruited well; and, if they go to the B10 with us, I see them as a strong competitor - year in and year out. If our division consists of Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin or Illinois, we will have some tough competition. Teams have up and down years, but I think that Nebraska doesn't have a cakewalk no matter how your arrange divisions in the speculative "Big 16". While I get what you're saying, I don't agree with it. In 2007, we were at our lowest point since I've been alive. Mizzou did win the North because let's face it somebody had to. The North ever since Snyder retired and Clownahan came in should have joined the WAC because it was not worthy of being in a BCS conference. Like I said, Mizzou at their best still was only 3rd best in the conference. In 2008, they weren't even 3rd best because they lost to Okie State. I realize we all have different standards, but I do not believe Nebraska had a decent year in 2009. It was a very frustrating year. We had a Defense worthy of a NC, but we had an offense that might as well have stayed in the locker room. By Nebraska's standards, 2009 was not a decent year. I highly doubt if you ask Bo he'd say it was a decent year either. While I highly doubt Nebraska could walk into the Big 10 and dominate, I firmly believe Mizzou to walk in and be a middle of the pack team. I have no doubt that we will have some tough competition. I mean look at the Big 12. We've only won the Big 12 twice, and we've yet to win it this decade. Nebraska will not go into the Big 10 and dominate, but Mizzou will go into the Big 10 and be a middle of the pack team. The way it looks right now, Nebraska could go into the Big 10 and be a middle of the pack team. When I initially read your post, I presumed that you felt that Nebraska was a far superior team to Missouri. After reading your reply, I think that we agree more than we disagree. I think that the upper teams in the B10, as of now, are definitely Ohio State and Penn State. We can probably agree that neither Nebraska or Mizzou rightly can place themselves with these schools for B10 supremacy. The next level would be Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa. Then you have the "middle of the pack" - Illinois, Purdue, Michigan State. Followed by perenial bottom dwellers Minnesota, Indiana and Northwestern. That's just how I would rate the teams at this point. Assuming that my rating is accurate, where would you place Nebraska? Missouri? Do you believe that Missouri and Nebraska are that much different talent-wise? I think that with either team, it's difficult to assess how they'd compare to the teams in the B10 for the reason that neither team has demonstrated long-term consistency. I would like to think that Nebraska would rate at least in the second tier - with Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa. But they could easily excel to the upper tier or fall with the "middle of the road" teams. The same could be said of Mizzou. The difference is that Nebraska finished strong, whereas Mizzou took a dump. But then again, Mizzou whipped Illinois last year (albeit, an Illinois team that was a fragment of it's former self) and probably could've competed well against Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa last year. To put Mizzou and Nebraska's team strengths in perspective, here are the AP rankings of Mizzou and Nebraska over the past three years and the B10 teams that were ranked above them. 2009 Missouri - not ranked Nebraska (14) Wisconsin (16) Penn State (9) Iowa (7) Ohio State (5) 2008 Nebraska - not ranked Michigan State (24) Iowa (20) Missouri(19) Ohio State (9) Penn State (8) 2007 Nebraska - not ranked Wisconsin (24) Illinois (20) Michigan (18) Ohio State (5) Missouri (4) In 2006, neither Mizzou or Nebraska were ranked I think that Mizzou and Nebraska teams are somewhat comparable. Mizzou had a outstanding year in 2007. But, essentially, there was not any consistency in terms of producing successful, dominate teams. Like I said, every team has down years (Michigan and Illinois currently), but I see Mizzou and Nebraska having the same capability of putting high quality teams on the field that can challenge for the B10 title. To me, I think the best way to compare Nebraska and Mizzou to the B10 is to look at W-L records across their play for the past decade or two...To come up with a decent placing on said teams. If the B10 and B12 'merged' - that is to combine their standings since 1996 when the Big 12 started, we'd observe the following W-L records, in order: (hope this copy/paste from a spreadsheet works as intended) Team____________W_______L_______________GP______Win% Ohio State______140_____36______________176_____79.5% Texas___________140_____39______________179_____78.2% Nebraska________129_____51______________180_____71.7% Oklahoma________129_____51______________180_____71.7% Michigan________121_____52______________173_____69.9% Wisconsin_______123_____56______________179_____68.7% Penn State______116_____57______________173_____67.1% Kansas State____113_____61______________174_____64.9% Texas Tech______111_____63______________174_____63.8% Iowa____________100_____71______________171_____58.5% Texas A&M_______97______76______________173_____56.1% Missouri________94______76______________170_____55.3% Purdue__________95______77______________172_____55.2% Oklahoma State__90______78______________168_____53.6% Michigan State__89______81______________170_____52.4% Colorado________88______84______________172_____51.2% Minnesota_______82______88______________170_____48.2% Northwestern____81______88______________169_____47.9% Kansas__________76______89______________165_____46.1% Iowa State______66______101_____________167_____39.5% Illinois________58______105_____________163_____35.6% Indiana_________52______109_____________161_____32.3% Baylor__________43______117_____________160_____26.9% As you can see, from a W-L perspective, Nebraska is worth far more than almost any other B10 team, sans OSU. Mizzou, regardless of what one wants to say, is a real middle-of-the-road team. Yes, Nebraska is down - but statistically speaking - if this is 'down' for them, then what the **** is up? The moon? Advancement to the NFL?