Some Perspective From a Big Ten Fan

zeek said:
Hey Husker fans, just came by to offer some thoughts on the Big 12 CCG, your bowl game, and next year.

You guys showed a lot of heart out there in the CCG, and it was impressive that you guys managed to have a majority of the crowd at JerryWorld. The result was tough, but you have to know that the whole Big Ten was behind you, and you ended up on the short end of a classic. OU-NU matchups tend to mostly be of that variety, and they're the kind of games you never want to end although you know one team has to come up short. And so even though Oklahoma won and defended the Big 12's "rep", any objective viewer would look at the 2009 and 2010 Big 12 CCGs and realize that the Big 12 has lost it's anchor in the north. Those two Nebraska-Texas and Nebraska-Oklahoma games simply can't be replaced by any of the remaining squads as compelling national matchups, which is why Texas tried to bluff to keep you in the Big 12.

As for the bowl game, Beebe is forcing the Insight Bowl to play politics, and they know where their bread is buttered (at the heel of Texas like everything else in the Big 12). The Big Ten's premiere matchups are the Rose Bowl and our matchups with the SEC for the most part. Most squads fight for the right to get to Florida first (after the NC/Rose), since the Capital One Bowl and Outback Bowl tend to grab marquee opponents more often and get the highest TV ratings (of any non-BCS bowl) and money as they're on New Years' Day. Just finish off Washington strong and prepare for the transition, since you guys will have your eye on the Big Ten CCG and a possible BCS NC bid or the Rose Bowl bid in your first year.

So let Mizzou get their gloating in for a few weeks about how they finally got picked over you for the Insight Bowl. For the most part, it's irrelevant; the Big 12 CCG was your bowl game; the Holiday Bowl is just a reward for your players for their 10-3 season and a set of practices in order to prepare you for the Big Ten. We'll see how well Mizzou thrives in a Big 12 where they have to go up against the entire Big 12 South every year. They managed to peep out during your down period earlier in the decade, but they're doomed to irrelevance in a Big 12 that will resemble the Big Ten before Penn State joined, when it was just Michigan and Ohio State competing for the Rose Bowl.

Just think, no more PPV games, new annual matchups with Michigan, Penn State, and Iowa. You guys were never respected enough in the Big 12 to get an East-West setup or some other way to preserve your rivalry game with OU. We don't even have to get into the money. The Big Ten CCG will earn over $22M per year for just the TV rights. For comparison the SEC's version earns $13.5M and the Big 12's earns even less. That doesn't even get to how big the earnings of the Big Ten Network will be after Nebraska adds viewers across the country to increase penetration and increases ratings by bringing marquee matchups to the Big Ten Network. Once the Big Ten reloads its ABC/ESPN contract in 2015-2016, the whole country will be amazed at the earning power of the Big Ten with Nebraska; we're talking over $30M per year per school easily. The Big 12's schools will be earning far less, especially the 7 dwarfs serving Texas. That doesn't even get to the academic benefits that you will experience over time.

I speak to you as a Northwestern fan. What other conference could get Northwestern nationally televised games on the ABC/ESPN family of networks for a half of its games every year? Right now, it seems a bit raw to be leaving behind the Big 8 (and OU especially), but over the next couple of decades, your team will compete for national championships, Big Ten championships, and Rose Bowls as you create a new tradition in the Big Ten. I'm looking forward to seeing Ryan Field turn red every other year (hopefully we'll have the stadium renovated before your first visit but probably not) and making the trip out to Lincoln to experience gameday at Memorial Stadium.

Either way, congratulations on your season. Even though you came up a bit short of your goals, I enjoyed watching your games to get a preview of what the Big Ten will look like with Nebraska in the fold. Go out there and blast Washington again (even though Bo'll have to be a miracle worker to get your players excited for that matchup), and we'll be waiting to see you guys in the Big Ten.
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Well said friend

 
I've kind of been downplaying the move to the Big 10. The other day I was talking to an Iowa alumni who told me how the conference looks out for its teams. That seems like such a refreshing change of pace from the little 10. Equal revenue sharing, lucrative bowl games, and a huge upgrade in academic opportunity. I'm already loving the new conference! Plus the chance to see a new batch of amazing stadiums. Also Zeek, excellent post brother, welcome to the board!

 
As far as bowls go, there's never a situation that leaves everyone happy. This year, just look at Michigan State's 11-1 relegation to the Capital One. Obviously, that's a result of the BCS restriction of two, but the Big Ten bowls generally select based on merit.

Northwestern has seen both sides of it; as the smallest fanbase, Iowa was selected over us a few years ago due to their traveling fanbase. But last year, an 8-4 Northwestern was selected over a 9-3 Wisconsin for the Outback because we ran the table in our last 3 weeks and beat Iowa and Wisconsin. Thus, if you can sell tickets and prove your quality on the field, you'll get the better bowls in the Big Ten. Nebraska will fit in perfectly as perhaps the strongest traveling fanbase in the new Big Ten other than Ohio State, so I can't see a situation where Nebraska won't be selected for the better bowl, especially if you win the head-to-head matchup. You're not going to see a situation like this Missouri-Iowa game being selected over a clearly more compelling Nebraska-Iowa matchup.

As with anything else, the Big Ten is a relatively staid conference. I know some folks have mentioned that they'd like later start times, but there is an ABC restriction on 3:30 starts (I believe) as well as the fact that the schools are just now coming around to prime-time games. Northwestern has only hosted a dozen night games in its entire football history, which probably includes some 1200 games, so that tell you that a lot of changes will take time.

From what I've learned of my time as a fan of a school in the conference, it tries to look out as much for the bigger schools as it does for the smaller schools. That's really all you can ask for out of a conference; the Ohio States and Michigans get their way some of the time, but so do the Northwesterns and Indianas.

 
Quoting a GREAT movie: StepBrothers

"Did we just become best friends? YEP!!!"

 
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