BIG Under Rated?

[MichiganDad3]

Below are the rankings and records of all BIG teams. Also included are some teams with higher rankings and similar records. What are your thoughts? Is the BIG under rater this year? How do you think the BIG will do in bowl games? I hope the BIG wins all our bowl games, so we can get the increase the perceived conference strength.

 

OSU #3 9-1

Clemson #6 10-2

MSU #11 10-1

Oregon #12 9-2

Wisconsin #14 8-3

LSU # 15 8-3

Notre Dame #25 8-3

Texas A&M #19 8-3

UCLA #22 8-3

USC #23 9-3

Minny NR 8-3

NU NR 8-3

IOWA NR 7-4

Michigan NR 7-5

Penn ST NR 6-5

NW NR 4-7

Illinois NR 4-7

Indiana NR 4-7

Purdue NR 1-10

[HuskerShark]

I agree with you, but I think we are part of a VERY small minority of people who think that the B1G is better than it gets credit for.

[Foppa]

NU would lose (and already has to two of them) to every 3 loss team on your list. But to the OP, I'd have to say no.

[louisianared]

I agree. I think the Big Ten is very underrated. I find top to bottom we are one of the more (if not the) most competitive teams in the nation.

[Foppa]

null

[Ric Flair]

I don't think we're underrated. I don't think Ohio State is a Top 5 team. Meyer is a great coach and they'll likely end up playing for a national title, but I don't think that team is a great one. And the next tier of Big Ten schools all have major issues. We don't compare favorably in terms of talent to teams from the SEC, PAC 12, etc. So I think we're rated pretty fairly all things considered.

[Creed]

Funny that the SEC seems to have the highest rankings based on losses:

 

1 loss - Auburn/Bama/Missour - All top 5

2 loss - Stanford (perplexing) 7 and SCar 8 - virtually even in points tho and ahead of 1 loss B12 ad B1G teams

3 loss - LSU (beat Auburn early) and no other solid wins. losses to Bama, UR Missip and #22 UGa

4 loss - UGa #22 - one quality win (LSU), loss to UR Vandy and # 24 A&M (no wins over top 25)

 

This is the reason for the self-fulfilling prophecy where the SEC teams are ranked high at the beginning of the season and losses do not hurt as much and teams like Mich State, Baylor, Okie State have trouble moving up and 1-loss kills them.

 

[kchusker_chris]

Can't see us beating any of those teams ahead. Most of the B1G has a losing record, and they play each other to get to .500. Minny is not an 8 win team in any other conference. MSU is not a 1 loss team in any other conference. OSU isn't undefeated. We have more than 4 losses.

[junior4949]

The B1G is the second worst among automatically qualifying conferences. The reason the B1G seems more competitive than other conferences is because most of the teams in the B1G aren't very good. I can only imagine the amount of crying and whining if Ohio State gets jumped after the conference championship games. What is even worse is the fact that the very best when we get the playoffs won't even be in the playoffs.

[NUinID]

The B1G is the second worst among automatically qualifying conferences. The reason the B1G seems more competitive than other conferences is because most of the teams in the B1G aren't very good. I can only imagine the amount of crying and whining if Ohio State gets jumped after the conference championship games. What is even worse is the fact that the very best when we get the playoffs won't even be in the playoffs.

 

So if the B1G goes into bowl season and wins the majority of there games then what do you say? You don't know any more than anyone else if the B1G is good bad or better than another conference. NU lost to UCLA and Wisky lost to ASU in a very controversial way. The only other loss I can think that was really on the big stage was MSU vs. Notre Dame and that was 17-14 I think, and before MSU remembered how to play offense.

 

Just because ESPN says they are great doesn't mean they are.

[kchusker_chris]

The B1G is the second worst among automatically qualifying conferences. The reason the B1G seems more competitive than other conferences is because most of the teams in the B1G aren't very good. I can only imagine the amount of crying and whining if Ohio State gets jumped after the conference championship games. What is even worse is the fact that the very best when we get the playoffs won't even be in the playoffs.

 

So if the B1G goes into bowl season and wins the majority of there games then what do you say? You don't know any more than anyone else if the B1G is good bad or better than another conference. NU lost to UCLA and Wisky lost to ASU in a very controversial way. The only other loss I can think that was really on the big stage was MSU vs. Notre Dame and that was 17-14 I think, and before MSU remembered how to play offense.

 

Just because ESPN says they are great doesn't mean they are.

Watching the B1G is about 1 step above watching Texas HS football this season. It won't always be this way, but it's slow, it's sloppy, it's inconsistent and at the end of the day it's just poor football most of the time. OSU looked like crap against Michigan (rivalry game I know), Minny got to 8, MSU won 11 without an offense, Nebraska got to 8 without any special teams play, no rush defense the first half of the season, no offense the second half of the season. You could go on, it's just ugly football.

[Abdullah the Butcher]

Big Ten has to go 4-3 in the bowls at minimum to get any respect, plus win a BCS bowl.

[irafreak]

Anyone see the Auburn AD's comments? I hate the SEC and their inflated egos...

[3rd and long]

Remember our days of the Big 8 and Big 12? We spent most of those years making fun of the Big10 because they were overrated. How many years did much higher ranked Big 10 team go the Rose Bowl and get hammered by supposedly much worse Pac 12 team?

 

If we had been in the Big10 in the 90's we may not have lost a conference game in the entire decade. Unfortunately now, us joining just added another mediocre team to a medicre conference.

[Bowfin]

Can't see us beating any of those teams ahead. Most of the B1G has a losing record, and they play each other to get to .500. Minny is not an 8 win team in any other conference. MSU is not a 1 loss team in any other conference. OSU isn't undefeated. We have more than 4 losses.

 

Evidently every SEC team is above average, to steal a Garrison Keillor joke.

 

How about we let the bowl games play out and see what happens?