i agree. i was guilty of bashing B1G before we were invited. however, what i realized was that the B1G was pretty much what i thought, but i held the Big 12 too highly. i did not underestimate the B1G, i was just overestimating the Big 12. the big 12 is weak, it was a two and a half league (with rotating top teams, to a degree). the B1G is respectable and definitely better than the pac 12. usc may be better than any B1G team, but after that the B1G is better top to bottom.
I think more people are going to name more top teams from the Big Ten than from the Pac-12, if that's what you're asking.
I think we are looking at the history a little too much. Michigan hasnt been that good, penn state has been very inconsistent, they've had some losing seasons in the past 6 years, Wisconsin is tough to tell because they havent beaten an OOC ranked opponent for 4 years, Nebraska's been good and average all in the same year, Ohio state has been elite, iowa is up and down. The past few years you've had Stanford and Oregon who has been consistently good. In the past four years, id definately take Pac over the B1G. Outside of Ohio State, name me a team thats won a big OOC game?
History is important, but I suppose it's also important to define the context of the conversation. For me, 20 years ago is relevant IF you had a tremendously successful team back then and pretty much up to now. It's important because that past success helps build a huge fan base, boosters, infrastructure and helps a program with success over the long haul. Certainly a team like Kansas State can have success (Snyder being the fantastic coach he is), but without the history of a Nebraska or Oklahoma, it's far more likely that Nebraska will be good three-five years from now than KSU. That, to me, is why history is so important.
Thats fine. We'll have to agree to disagree, You're going by overall record of the teams while im going by individual seasons which is why we have an difference of opinion. IN the past 5 years, Standford, Oregon and USC have had great seasons, Utah had one. For the big, Ohio State, Penn state had one, Wisconsin has had a few but they still didnt beat a good opponent outside of the B1G. Youre looking at records overall but im looking at individual seasons.
They went undefeated in 04 and 08, but that's still only two seasons. Utah is going to be a perennial doormat in the Pac-12.
I know outside this thread topic but I thorough enjoyed Saragin ratings especially SOS, ELO chess and Predictor columns. Very interesting. BTW, I'm still waiting for Sagarin 2012 poll.......what's the release date? Granted for the first month, outrageous raw ratings but it's still fun reading.
