Big Ten vs. Pac-12 - which is the better conference?

[Husker from Kansas]

the BIG is a better OVERALL conference than the pac 12, because of the depth of the conference, the pac 12 is loaded at the top, but after USC, and Oregon the teams go downhill at a pretty steep pace, vs. the BIG who has Wisconsin, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio St. & Michigan St. all at the top of the conference, then there is Northwestern, Iowa,Penn State, Illinois,then the bottom feeders with Indiana, Minnesota, and Purdue. The difference in the quality of depth is what makes the difference in my mind.

And to the argument earlier of well the pac 12 has better offenses so of course their defenses are going to look worse, well one could argue that the defenses in the BIG are better so that makes the offenses look worse.

 

[California Husker]

So the real question for this thread is not: "Who is better; B1G or Pac12?" the question is:

"WHO LET THIS GUY IN?"

 

[HuskerFowler]

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 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?

Im trying to read thru this but i have to stop at this comment and say something before i finish reading.... Big 10 is better top to bottom. Pac 12 had a team with a losing record play for the confrence title last season...are you kidding me with this. Even with OSU and Penn St out, our divisional champs will have a winning record., whether its Purdue or Wisky.

Its USC and recently Oregon and Stanford for a couple years. Thats it.

 

[HuskerFowler]

the BIG is a better OVERALL conference than the pac 12, because of the depth of the conference, the pac 12 is loaded at the top, but after USC, and Oregon the teams go downhill at a pretty steep pace, vs. the BIG who has Wisconsin, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio St. & Michigan St. all at the top of the conference, then there is Northwestern, Iowa,Penn State, Illinois,then the bottom feeders with Indiana, Minnesota, and Purdue. The difference in the quality of depth is what makes the difference in my mind.

And to the argument earlier of well the pac 12 has better offenses so of course their defenses are going to look worse, well one could argue that the defenses in the BIG are better so that makes the offenses look worse.

I wouldnt be suprised to see Purdue win the division this year with OSU being out. I think (hope) Wisky stumbles. Did i mention i hate Wisconsin.

 

[Enhance]

The PAC 12's top two teams are better than the B1G's top two teams by a fair margin, which is obvious. You can explain why USC and Oregon are good a lot easier than you can explain why there are five teams in the B1G who might be pretty good.

In terms of overall quality this year, the B1G is reasonably better. Ohio State's post season ban makes them irrelevant, but outside of that you've got Michigan, Nebraska, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Penn State. The B1G is like a well balanced athlete, while the PAC 12 is like a top heavy bodybuilder who's been skipping leg day for the last two years.

 

[The King]

I can't believe this is even a debate...

Michigan v, USC (Pac)

Ohio State v. Oregon (Close, but probably PAC. Honestly not sure. Oregon new QB. Graduated some GOOD players - LMJ, David Paulson, Mark Asper)

Nebraska v. Stanford (Big)

Wisconsin v. Washington (Big)

Michigan State v. UCLA (Big)

Iowa v. Cal (Big)

Purdue v. Utah (Pac)

Northwestern v ASU. (ASU graduated A LOT. BIG)

Penn State v. Oregon State (Who knows. Both teams will suck)

Illinois v. Washington State (BIG)

Indiana v, Arizona (PAC)

Minnesota v. Colorado (Both suck)

 

[The King]

I don't even see Oregon being THAT much better than the top Big 10 team, if at all. Oregon truly lost a lot of players. And Oregon is my #2 team. Lots of question marks.

 

[Vizsla1]

Hard to argue that the Pac 10 is a better football conference right now. But from top to bottom, the Big 10 would reign supreme.

 

[knapplc]

I can't believe this is even a debate...

Michigan v, USC (Pac)

Ohio State v. Oregon (Close, but probably PAC. Honestly not sure. Oregon new QB. Graduated some GOOD players - LMJ, David Paulson, Mark Asper)

Nebraska v. Stanford (Big)

Wisconsin v. Washington (Big)

Michigan State v. UCLA (Big)

Iowa v. Cal (Big)

Purdue v. Utah (Pac)

Northwestern v ASU. (ASU graduated A LOT. BIG)

Penn State v. Oregon State (Who knows. Both teams will suck)

Illinois v. Washington State (BIG)

Indiana v, Arizona (PAC)

Minnesota v. Colorado (Both suck)

I meant to do that but I was too lazy. +1 to you, sir.

 

[Mavric]

Speaking to the top-heavy Pac-12 vs. more balanced B1G:

Number of times ranked in the final AP 2007-2011

Pac-12 (16): Oregon (5), USC (4), Utah (2), Stanford (2), Oregon St. (2), AZ St. (1)

B1G (22): Wisconsin (4), Ohio St. (4), Nebraska (3), Michigan St. (3), Penn St. (2), Michigan (2), Iowa (2), Illinois (1)

So the Pac-12 has their two elite, a Utah team that may or may not have been in the rankings (at least in 2009) had they been in a better conference, two teams that had a good couple years surrounded by losing seasons and one random.

The B1G has two elites (over this time period), two other Top 10 finishes (Iowa & Penn St.), three solids (NU, MU, MSU) and one random among 8 of their 12 that have finished in the Top 25 in just the last 5 years.

Advantage: B1G

 

[Excel]

BCS appearances

Big Ten - 25

OSU: 9

UM: 5

UW: 4

PSU: 2

Iowa: 2

Illinois: 2

Purdue: 1

Pac-12 - 17

USC: 6

Oregon: 4

Stanford: 3

OSU: 1

UW: 1

UCLA: 1

WSU: 1

National Championships (for simplicity AP Only)

Big Ten - 17

U of M: 4

OSU: 4

NU: 4

UM: 2

PSU: 2

MSU: 1

Pac-12 - 6

USC: 5

CU: 1

Heisman Trophies

Big Ten - 18

OSU: 7

UM: 3

NU: 3

UW: 2

U of M: 1

Iowa: 1

PSU: 1

Pac-12 - 11

USC: 7

CU: 1

OSU: 1

Stanford: 1

UCLA: 1

Consensus All Americans

Big Ten - 399

Northwestern: excluded [couldn't find a good number for them]

NU: 53

U of M: 33

MSU: 28

UM: 78

Iowa: 22

Illinois: 24

PSU: 39

UW: 22

IU: 6

OSU: 78

Purdue: 19

Pac-12 - 243

USC: 78

UCLA: 39

UW: 20

Cal: 27

Stanford: 27

Oregon: 4

OSU: 5

WSU: 5

ASU: 16

U of A: 13

CU: 5

Utah: 4

Attendance

2010

Big Ten: 5,480,023 total, 72,106 per game

Pac-12: 3,336,793 total, 53,819 per game

2000

Big Ten: 4,591,153 total, 68,525 per game

Pac-12: 2,987,809 total, 48,980per game

1990

Big Ten: 3,533,504 total, 58,892 per game

Pac-12: 2,872,173 total, 49,520 per game

Ranking Wins

Big Ten Average: 35.6

1. Michigan

4. Nebraska

5. Ohio State

12. Penn State

30. Minnesota

31. Michigan State

32. Wisconsin

41. Iowa

43. Purdue

46. Illinois

84. Northwestern

99. Indiana

Pac-12 Average: 43.1

9. USC

21. Colorado

22. Warshington

27. Cal

36. Utah

42. Oregon

45. Stanford

51. Arizona

54. Arizona State

59. UCLA

75. Oregon State

77. Warshington State

Speaking broadly, the Big Ten is by far the better conference, both in the larger scheme of football history and just in general. The stats don't lie and I don't need to narrate them; quantitatively we're a more successful conference in football than they are.

Elite Programs

Big Ten - UM, NU, OSU, PSU

Pac-12 - USC

Powers

Big Ten - Iowa, Michigan State, Wisconsin

Pac-12 - Oregon, Utah

Purgatory

Big Ten - Purdue, Northwestern, Illinois

Pac-12 - Arizona State, Arizona, Cal, Warshington, Oregon State, UCLA, Colorado, Washington State, Stanford

The Cellar

Big Ten - Minnesota, Indiana

Outside of football I'd say we're also better academically and unlike other conferences it actually means something because of the CIC. Basketball is kind of a toss up. We're definitely better recently and like USC and football, Pac-12 basketball has been dominated by one team in UCLA. Big Ten basketball has far more depth.

I guess they're better than us in Baseball? We'll have hockey soon enough and will be the dominant conference in the country with UW, UM, MSU and U of M.

 

[robsker]

The Pac-12 has... who? USC, Oregon and....? Help me out here, because I'm not seeing that third dominant team. Sure, teams have a tendency to go up and down, and Stanford had an upswing in the past couple of years, but that's hardly permanent.

Michigan didn't have "one good year." They have the most wins all-time in NCAA history. That's not a team just enjoying recent success. Between Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska and Penn State you're looking at four of the top seven teams all-time.

What has Michigan done its past 10 years? Theyve had one good year which was last year. Their records before last year? 7-6. 5-7. 3-9, 9-4(lost to app. st) 11-2, 7-5. So how is michigan CURRENTLY a powerhouse? How is Nebraska CURRENTLY a powerhouse? Sure, both schools may be on the rebound but we arent powerhouse status yet. So how is michigan and Nebraska currently a powerhouse besides the fact they were great a few years back? If you dont go by past history (anything more than 5 years ago) then Nebraska and Michigan would not be considered powerhouses

What have the Huskers done the last 10 years?

 

[Mierin]

The Pac-12 has... who? USC, Oregon and....? Help me out here, because I'm not seeing that third dominant team. Sure, teams have a tendency to go up and down, and Stanford had an upswing in the past couple of years, but that's hardly permanent.

Michigan didn't have "one good year." They have the most wins all-time in NCAA history. That's not a team just enjoying recent success. Between Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska and Penn State you're looking at four of the top seven teams all-time.

What has Michigan done its past 10 years? Theyve had one good year which was last year. Their records before last year? 7-6. 5-7. 3-9, 9-4(lost to app. st) 11-2, 7-5. So how is michigan CURRENTLY a powerhouse? How is Nebraska CURRENTLY a powerhouse? Sure, both schools may be on the rebound but we arent powerhouse status yet. So how is michigan and Nebraska currently a powerhouse besides the fact they were great a few years back? If you dont go by past history (anything more than 5 years ago) then Nebraska and Michigan would not be considered powerhouses

What have the Huskers done the last 10 years?

Did you even read the post? Or the topic? It doesn't look like it.

 

[Enhance]

The Pac-12 has... who? USC, Oregon and....? Help me out here, because I'm not seeing that third dominant team. Sure, teams have a tendency to go up and down, and Stanford had an upswing in the past couple of years, but that's hardly permanent.

Michigan didn't have "one good year." They have the most wins all-time in NCAA history. That's not a team just enjoying recent success. Between Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska and Penn State you're looking at four of the top seven teams all-time.

What has Michigan done its past 10 years? Theyve had one good year which was last year. Their records before last year? 7-6. 5-7. 3-9, 9-4(lost to app. st) 11-2, 7-5. So how is michigan CURRENTLY a powerhouse? How is Nebraska CURRENTLY a powerhouse? Sure, both schools may be on the rebound but we arent powerhouse status yet. So how is michigan and Nebraska currently a powerhouse besides the fact they were great a few years back? If you dont go by past history (anything more than 5 years ago) then Nebraska and Michigan would not be considered powerhouses

What have the Huskers done the last 10 years?

10 years ago this year we went to a title game

 

[jsneb83]

National Championships (for simplicity AP Only)

Big Ten - 17

U of M: 4

OSU: 4

NU: 4

UM: 2

PSU: 2

MSU: 1

Stupid Michigan <_<