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Can’t leave Big Ten football alone the game needs me. Notorious B.I.G. once said that he raps about the ghetto because that’s what he knows. And…”if I worked at McDonald’s, I’d be rapping about Big Macs and fries.”
You write and talk what you know and live. And I know Big Ten football. We’re still a ways away from Big Ten football media days. Well, less than two weeks now. The preseason is indeed here, time for some WAY TOO Early Big Ten football power rankings
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“They’re radioactive,” a bowl official told Herb Gould of the Chicago Sun-Times yesterday. “[Bowls] wanted Joe Paterno ‘s last game, not a nightmare.”
The Nittany Lions finish the season at Ohio State and Wisconsin. The OSU game looks like a toss-up, and the Badgers will likely destroy them. That season ending tilt is looking like it’ll be the Leaders division championship game, with the winner going to Indianapolis. So Penn State still has a chance to go to the Big Ten title game and the Rose Bowl; although it looks much less likely given how they performed Saturday.
Remember, the bowl selection process is arbitrary and capricious to say the least, and since PSU is a branding and PR nightmare right now, they could fall to the Ticketcity or Meineke Bowl. If it comes to that, hopefully the school will do the right thing and decline their bid. Even if it doesn’t come to that, and PSU ends up in one of the top five slots, they should do the right thing and decline their invitation.
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When looking at the Big Ten conference standings, and trying to figure out the hierarchy for the college football bowl system, I can’t help but think of one of my favorite lines from the ’80s movie “Fletch.”
“I’d say we’re in a gray area.”
“How gray?”
“Charcoal.”
We do know this however- the Big Ten bellcow is still Wisconsin (get it bellcow, dairy state?). The Badgers, last year’s Rose Bowl representative is still the favorite to go to Pasadena this year.
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There are only two times when doing a power rankings can be fun- way early in the season/preseason, or when everything is jumbled, disorganized chaos and blah. Doing a power rankings when the hierarchy is clear cut is a practice strictly for centrist, vanilla losers.
In the current Big Ten football world, mediocrity, blahness, national irrelevance, and parity reign. And remember that’s PARITY not PARODY! Weird Al Yankovic does not play tailback in college football.
I HATE when writers make that mistake worse than when announcers call coincidence “irony.” Some say the teams beat up on each other and hurt each other’s record. That’s a feeble excuse; because every team in this league is severely flawed in at least one major area. And in the interest of me being my ornery, cynical self, I’m going to highlight each team’s fatal flaw in my snippet.
Numerical rankings are from the latest BcS standings.
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College football is in mid-season form as Big Ten play begins this week. The Illini are 4-0 for the first time since 1951, and they just completed their first undefeated non-conference season since 2001. That’s all we really need for an intro- let’s get to the rankings.
1.) Wisconsin Badgers (4-0)
Have put in the most impressive offensive and defensive performance so far from the conference, and even though they still haven’t played anyone yet, they’re the only team from our region I think has a chance to compete for a national title. Here’s why.
2.) Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-0)
ESPN College Gameday is coming to Camp Randall for their epic clash at the Badgers. And they SHOULD! By the way, Taylor Martinez has the ugliest delivery in college football. His throwing motion reminds me of Shawn Marion’s shooting stroke- no aesthetic value what so ever.
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One of the main storylines in the Big Ten entering this college football season was all the dual threat quarterbacks. Well so far, I’d say it’s really only Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson and Nathan Scheelhaase who fit that bill.
Michigan’s Denard Robinson did throw for over 330 yards and 4 TDs, but he is an average thrower at best. He made some really poor throws in that Notre Dame game, finished under 50% passing and many of his big plays came at the expense of ND defensive back Gary Gray, who was either a.) severely hurt Saturday night or b.) now regressed into one of the worst DBs in the FBS, because he was the opponent being victimized in most of UM’s big pass plays.
Denard is the best runner in the conference though.
Northwestern’s Dan Persa is hurt, and Nebraska’s Taylor Martinez has looked rather suspect throwing the ball so far, with that UGLY form.
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There’s four good teams in the Big Ten this season and five more that could be good or just blah. You can call it parity (just don’t call it PARODY, I HATE when people make that mistake, it isn’t Weird Al Yankovic playing college football here) or you can call it mediocrity.
Expect a lot of conference teams to be ranked in the 30s and 20s overall in the nation. On the flipside, don’t expect too many to be in the top ten or the 80s or higher either.
For the Big Ten QB Power Rankings go here
The talent at quarterback is anything but mediocre though. There’s dual threats everywhere you look, and at least five that could be all-conference. And 3-4 more with serious potential beyond that as well.
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Every year at Big Ten media days, JoePa on dais is one of the biggest highlights.
There is always the token ghoulish question about his health/age. It happened again this year. He has a good time with reporters on it. And I’m not sure how much of his confused old man bit is contrived and how much of it is genuine.
-JoePa when asked about his contract: “Is this the last year of my contract?”
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It’s officially “back to school” season as another round of Big Ten Football Media Days has begun. You know what it means, college football season is now within striking distance. And it’s a new era in the Big Ten, a conference championship game, new divisions, and a new member with a storied history, the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
But the old is always good too. We love our “JoePa-isms,” as Penn State Coach Joe Paterno is always one of the highlights of Big Ten Football Media Day. (Future post coming later on just this topic).
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There’s four good teams in the Big Ten this season and five more that could be good or just blah. You can call it parity (just don’t call it PARODY, I HATE when people make that mistake, it isn’t Weird Al Yankovic playing college football here) or you can call it mediocrity. The talent at quarterback is anything but mediocre though. There’s dual threats everywhere you look, and at least five that could be all-conference.
And 3-4 more with serious potential beyond that as well.
[Read more…]
Yes, hate the names of the two new divisions as much as everyone else. How did that atrocity happen? I don’t know, let’s not talk about it anymore and just move on to the fact that the Nebraska Cornhuskers are here now, and they arrived just in time to strengthen the Big Ten. At the exact same time that the Ohio State Buckeyes deteriorate into a real life college football version of the Western University Dolphins in the classic college basketball movie “Blue Chips.” Therefore, the overall power of the conference is close to where it was last year.
Expect a lot of conference teams to be ranked in the 30s and 20s overall in the nation. On the flipside, don’t expect many to be in the top ten or the 80s or higher either. Every team fits into one of three classes.
For the Big Ten QB Power Rankings go here
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On my way home from the “Banks Bowl” (nickname I give to the annual Illinois–Michigan State meeting, because the former is my undergrad, the latter my MBA school) on Saturday night I drove past the town of Climax, MI on I-94.
The miles immediately leading into Climax are exciting, but then when you’re past Climax, it’s all downhill.
By the way, wouldn’t it be HILARIOUS if there was a town called Refractory Period, MI bordering Climax?
I bring this up because MSU football has had a tendency to climax during the middle of the season these past couple decades. It seems like they start 5-0 and finish 7-5 every season. They’ve also been prone to tremendous let-downs. Beating undefeated Michigan and Ohio State teams in midseason (see 1998, 1999, 2001) then losing to Indiana and Purdue the following week.
Will this year be different? With a 7-0 record, the first since the national title year of 1966, and a #7 BCS ranking, it appears so. Will the excitement for Tom Izzo’s basketball team will be delayed a little?
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