Is the North really that much weaker than the south?

[Blackshirt316]

I found this on another site and found it quite interesting.

 

 

The South teams faced two ranked teams (#20 Cal, #9 Boise State), and THREE unranked teams (Minnesota, Iowa, and Alabama). In this years bowl games---the point differential in those games was -29.

 

The North teams faced teams with an AVERAGE ranking of 16.6 (#10 Auburn, #16 Rutgers, and # 24 Oregon State). In those games, the overall point differential was -31.

 

The North had games with relatively the same total margin of victory against MUCH tougher opponents than that of the South.

[HSKRNOKC]

They both stunk it up.

[HuskerExpat]

I found this on another site and found it quite interesting.

 

 

The South teams faced two ranked teams (#20 Cal, #9 Boise State), and THREE unranked teams (Minnesota, Iowa, and Alabama). In this years bowl games---the point differential in those games was -29.

 

The North teams faced teams with an AVERAGE ranking of 16.6 (#10 Auburn, #16 Rutgers, and # 24 Oregon State). In those games, the overall point differential was -31.

 

The North had games with relatively the same total margin of victory against MUCH tougher opponents than that of the South.

 

This argument is a little bit like that web site that links one team to another -- the one where I can prove that Alcorn State is better than USC because Alcorn State beat a team, that beat a team....

 

The best measure of who is the better team is the head to head match-ups. Unfortunately, those prove that the south was better than the north this year.

[AV Red]

The north went 5-14 against the south (including the B12 CG) this year.

So I think the north has a way to go in order to catch the south.

[Touchdown Tommie]

They both stunk it up.

 

Exactly!

[cmb23]

The north went 5-14 against the south (including the B12 CG) this year.

So I think the north has a way to go in order to catch the south.

 

That's the best measuring stick if you want to compare N vs. S.

[NU fan in Denver]

They both stunk it up.

 

Exactly!

 

The whole Big 12 is down as a whole.

[pigsonthewing]

i think the Big XII will be better next year. we will have to wait and see who declares for the draft early, but i think the south will still maintain the power over the north. In my opinion, look for mizzou and K-state to make strides. KU, i dont even know what to think about them. CU will still suck, but could win 3-4 games instead of 2.

[junior4949]

My question isn't as to whether the North is that much worse than the South. It's why did selection committees choose some of the matchups that they did? Why was unranked KState playing #16 Rutgers when they should have been playing probably Texas? Why was Texas playing unranked Iowa? Why was Nebraska playing #10 ranked Auburn?

 

I realize there are bowl tie-ins with conferences and such, but shouldn't the BCS as a system pair teams in accordance to rank? The North 3 teams got hosed except for probably Mizzou in how they were paired against much higher ranked opponents. The South 5 teams were paired much more favorable.

 

I guess the best way to compare is to see how the North champion fared against the South this year. Nebraska lost to 3 of the South's teams. So, the North was quite a ways back from the South.

[Hunter94]

on the other hand, the north teams had a chance to show what they could do against quality opponents outside their conference...just did not show up very well........

[cmb23]

My question isn't as to whether the North is that much worse than the South. It's why did selection committees choose some of the matchups that they did? Why was unranked KState playing #16 Rutgers when they should have been playing probably Texas? Why was Texas playing unranked Iowa? Why was Nebraska playing #10 ranked Auburn?

 

I realize there are bowl tie-ins with conferences and such, but shouldn't the BCS as a system pair teams in accordance to rank? The North 3 teams got hosed except for probably Mizzou in how they were paired against much higher ranked opponents. The South 5 teams were paired much more favorable.

 

I guess the best way to compare is to see how the North champion fared against the South this year. Nebraska lost to 3 of the South's teams. So, the North was quite a ways back from the South.

 

BCS only applies to matchups for the top 8-10 teams at the end of the season. They couldn't care less about what goes on at the GMAC bowl or the MPC computers bowl. When it gets to that point it is all about which teams can put the most butts in seats. Put Texas in the Alamo bowl = guaranteed fan base with Iowa who always travles well. Rutgers wouldn't have traveled any better for a 'bigger' game.

[junior4949]

I realize the BCS doesn't pair all the teams in bowls. I also realize it's also about the money and teams travelling. I just thought this year the bowl selection committees did a worse job pairing teams than normal. KState against Rutgers? KState travels well, but they don't travel any better than Texas or Nebraska. Why not KState against Iowa and NU or Texas against Rutgers?

[Blackshirt316]

The Texas bowl probably would have liked to have picked Texas to play Rutgers but the fact is that the payout to Texas to go to that bowl is MUCH lower than it would for them to go to the Alamo Bowl. Plus the big bowls get preference over the smaller bowls in the teams they get as they get to handpick their matchups while the smaller bowls have to send out invites to teams they want and those teams have to accept. A team won't accept a bid to a smaller bowl if a larger one is available to them.

 

Plus the fact that most of the bowls we are talking about have specific conference tie ins makes the difference as well. The Cotton Bowl is guaranteed to get the 2nd best team in the Big 12 unless they are in the BCS.

[strigori]

The big 12 was a total embarasment in any non-conference game this season, bowls included.

 

The north has a ways to go. But the south had the benifit of getting to rebuild first. When the big 12 formed, the north was totally dominant and the south was the weaker division. The coaches from the south all got fired and new ones have come in and rebuilt. The north lost the good headcoaches in some places and have slipped in recruiting in others. With the change at ISU this year, all the north teams have changed coaches in the last few years. In fact Pinkle is now the longest serving HC in the north. Progress is being made and it will get closer next year.

[BIGREDIOWAN]

The Big XII overall was just plain sad to me.........the north especially!!!! Things will get better over the next couple of years, but people are going to be talking about how the Big XII just isn't as good as everyone else for at least 3 more years.