Post by tigertowner 68 on Nov 7, 2015 10:02:32 GMT -5
There are too many teams in this conference.
Really its not just the Big Ten. Many major conferences have swelled to a size that has diluted a number of rivalries simply because the schedule does not leave room for some matchups. I'll give most of the conferences credit because they have (for the most part) put the storied, tried and true games from now and yesteryear on the schedule. I'm talking about USC - UCLA from the Pac 12, Michigan - Ohio State from the Big Ten, Alabama - Auburn from the SEC. The Big 12 is rather unaffected because it has shrunk to ten teams. But Nebraska belongs in that conference. No more Nebraska - Oklahoma games and they played each other forever.
Just naming the teams in the Big Ten gives me a headache. I would have preferred since they added Penn State to make it an "awkward eleven" that they just added one more team. And a midwest team. But not Nebraska. On the surface it looks like Nebraska just can't compete with the other teams in the Big Ten. That is not actually the case, their program has just fallen on hard times and generally fallen apart.
Today the Michigan Wolverines host Rutgers. Rutgers? It's a misfit. It's not that the school sucks, although they have had a lot of scandal there this year and have struggled to remain competitive. They just don't fit in my estimation. U-M is a 25 point favorite. Seems ridiculous given that they were extremely lucky to eek out a win last week at Minnesota. Regardless, the game just does not hold any interest for me, and I am a hard core Wolverines fan.
Its too late for the conference to turn back now (they won't). And sometimes I may seem like a "stick in the mud" old apologist for the "good old days". I plead guilty.
Really its not just the Big Ten. Many major conferences have swelled to a size that has diluted a number of rivalries simply because the schedule does not leave room for some matchups. I'll give most of the conferences credit because they have (for the most part) put the storied, tried and true games from now and yesteryear on the schedule. I'm talking about USC - UCLA from the Pac 12, Michigan - Ohio State from the Big Ten, Alabama - Auburn from the SEC. The Big 12 is rather unaffected because it has shrunk to ten teams. But Nebraska belongs in that conference. No more Nebraska - Oklahoma games and they played each other forever.
Just naming the teams in the Big Ten gives me a headache. I would have preferred since they added Penn State to make it an "awkward eleven" that they just added one more team. And a midwest team. But not Nebraska. On the surface it looks like Nebraska just can't compete with the other teams in the Big Ten. That is not actually the case, their program has just fallen on hard times and generally fallen apart.
Today the Michigan Wolverines host Rutgers. Rutgers? It's a misfit. It's not that the school sucks, although they have had a lot of scandal there this year and have struggled to remain competitive. They just don't fit in my estimation. U-M is a 25 point favorite. Seems ridiculous given that they were extremely lucky to eek out a win last week at Minnesota. Regardless, the game just does not hold any interest for me, and I am a hard core Wolverines fan.
Its too late for the conference to turn back now (they won't). And sometimes I may seem like a "stick in the mud" old apologist for the "good old days". I plead guilty.
