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Big 10 Conference Standings
(updated 1.6.2010 at 12:40 AM CST)
| Conf | Overall | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
Ohio St. Buckeyes
|
7 | 1 | 11 | 2 |
|
Penn St. Nittany Lions
|
6 | 2 | 11 | 2 |
|
Iowa Hawkeyes
|
6 | 2 | 11 | 2 |
|
Wisconsin Badgers
|
5 | 3 | 10 | 3 |
|
Northwestern Wildcats
|
5 | 3 | 8 | 5 |
|
Michigan St. Spartans
|
4 | 4 | 6 | 7 |
|
Purdue Boilermakers
|
4 | 4 | 5 | 7 |
|
Minnesota Golden Gophers
|
3 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
|
Illinois Fighting Illini
|
2 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
|
Michigan Wolverines
|
1 | 7 | 5 | 7 |
|
Indiana Hoosiers
|
1 | 7 | 4 | 8 |
Summation: Wisconsin in the Aughts
by grahamfiller10 on Feb 8, 2010 11:12 PM CST
in Decade in Review
0 comments
This continues our series recapping the last ten seasons in the Big Ten.
I. Overview
Wisconsin won the Big Ten in 1999, an accomplishment that capped an outstanding turnaround in Madison during the 1990's. Power run triggering play action + staunch defense = continual Badger success.
In the Aughts, Wisky could never quite build on its Rose Bowl runs of the late 1990's. But the Barry Alvarez implemented system survived a coaching change and the Badgers finished the decade with a dominating victory over a talented Miami (FL) squad. Six years with 9+ wins and a steady diet of NFL-caliber defensive linemen and running backs is a sign that things didn't fall off the rails.
In 2008, TRE began worrying that Coach Bielema was in over his head. The Badgers 10-3 season in 2009 hushed us for the moment and gave the Badgers confidence going into the new decade.
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Drew Brees, Super Bowl MVP
Make that two Big Ten MVP's in a row. Mr. Brees proved what we already knew - Give the former Boilermaker time to throw from a shotgun set and he.will.eat.your.soul. Been doing it for years, why stop now?
Extra points to Drew for being a standup guy and putting sound-blocking ear muffs on his kid.
1 day ago
grahamfiller10
6 comments
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College Football is Still Better Than the NFL
by Law Buckeye on Feb 7, 2010 11:36 PM CST
in All
8 comments
Every year the Super Bowl serves as a garish reminder of why college football remains the purest expression of the sport. It's not that I don't like the NFL. I just can't get into it. And no matter how many college athletes I respect earn themselves a signing bonus, I still can't feign an interest in the "League."
A few years ago Ivan Maisel outlined 20 reasons why college football is better than the NFL. He cited passion and tradition as key ingredients that define the college game, along with rivalries, overtime, historic venues, dynasties, the Heisman, and eternal youth.
Let's take this opportunity to hammer out a few more:
21. Saturday versus Sunday
One marks the beginning of the weekend. The other marks the end of the weekend. Saturday is waking up at the crack of dawn to load the charcoal and the coolers in the tailgate. Sunday is waking up early to get dressed up for church.
Don't get me wrong. I've got nothing against church. It's just for my money there's something beautiful about standing in a stadium parking lot at 8:00 a.m. on a bright September morning; cracking open a beer while the dew is still on the grass. Sure, you can do that as an NFL fan, but can you drink too much, and count on having an extra day to recover? Nope. Can you waste an entire afternoon at work on Friday insatiably digesting previews on the internet, with kickoff less than 24 hours away? No way.
Saturday is life's oasis, and college football is its oyster.
22. Nike versus Reebok
The "Pump," and that spiny, Union Jack logo, were so 1994. Today's athletes want to clothe themselves in performance gear engineered by the world's leading supplier of athletic wear. That, of course, is Nike. Yet, for some reason Reebok has held exclusive rights to manufacture and market uniforms for the National Football League since 1992. You tell me what looks better.
This...
Or this...
8 comments | 0 recs |
No New Sparty Logo
As we mentioned last week, Michigan State had Nike draw up a new Spartan helmet shell (or as is more likely, Nike informed MSU that they would make more money if they drew up a new helmet shell). Fans hated it.
It was stupid.
It won't happen.
MSU will have a new branding (think word marks), but will keep the old logo. Good for MSU.
3 days ago
Bama Hawkeye
3 comments
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10 Reasons To Dislike Lane Kiffin (because hate is such a strong word)
by grahamfiller10 on Feb 5, 2010 9:18 AM CST
in All
16 comments
- Talks like he's entitled to be incredibly arrogant...
- But he's not...and nothing is uglier than an undeserving idiot talking condescendingly. Like when you smash another team in men's league hoops and the opposing point guard sneers at you that it didn't matter, your jerseys are ugly and his girlfriend is hotter than yours anyways.
- Wears oversized shirts for no reason, like an 8 year old trying on daddy's clothes (scratch this one if it's some kind of disorder or a phobia of tight shirts..my apologies if so).
- Blames idiotic statements on everything except his bombastically annoying personality. Why did he attack Florida so vehemently before ever coaching an SEC game? He was trying to draw attention to the UT program, it was strategic. Why did he take condescending potshots at UCLA right after they stole some big-time recruits? It's an LA rivalry, everyone does it. If you're aiming for any semblance of classiness and the like, do not hire Lane.
- But then again, if you're looking for winning, I guess maybe don't hire him either. I'm sure he'll win some games in SoCal, but the two systems he's served as figurehead for so far certainly regret hiring him.
- Came out of a war of words with Al Davis and people felt bad for Davis. That means that Lane Kiffin, somehow, became a less sympathetic figure than Al Davis...I had no idea that was possible. I'm not even mad at you Lane, I'm just impressed.
- Got Seantrel Henderon to USC by promising Seantrel that once he enrolled, he could have a threesome with Kiffin's wife and a USC song girl.
- Recruits so well that some have questioned his ethics. Okay everyone has.
- Pulled a sweet gig that he probably doesn't deserve.
- Dragged Tennessee fans onto his bandwagon in the name of improving the program and then tossed them aside unceremoniously. Let me give you an analogy - Say you had some wonderful girlfriends in the past and for whatever reason, it didn't work out. So you start dating a new girl who hates your family and wants to control your life. She's hot, so you go along. Then she says, we can't be together unless you quit your job and move to my city. So you quit that nice job and move to her city. After a couple months of bliss, she decides it's not going to work and breaks up with you. So you're left alone in a crap city, eating Lucky Charms in your boxers, thinking about your wonderful exes and ruing the day you met this girl. That's Kiffin and Tennessee.
- Now coaches the Southern Cal Trojans, a program I respect and a football team I enjoy watching. I loved to see Pete Carroll stockpiling talent and the spastic cool he exuded. I loved seeing athletic plays by future NFL players. But now I have to root for tremendous failure in every game if only to see Kiffin break into tears at a presser, screaming for Monte to tell the bad people to go away.
16 comments | 0 recs |
Ten Predictions for the Big Ten in 2010
by Law Buckeye on Feb 5, 2010 12:03 AM CST
in All
33 comments
Let's take a quick detour from the Decade in Review series to sneak a peek at the future of the Big Ten. In the wake of its most successful postseason since 2002, the conference stands poised to strong arm its way back into the elite ranks.
Could this be the scene in South Bend in Week 1?
Here are ten predictions for the Big Ten in 2010.
1. The Big Ten will continue to come up short against marquee opponents
Sure, we'll enter 2010 as one of the deepest -- if not the deepest -- league(s) in the sport. But the Big Ten will continue its struggles against elite out of conference foes in September. A young Penn State defense will get overrun on national television in the second week of the regular season when they travel to Tuscaloosa to meet (presumptively) No. 1 Alabama. Similarly, Minnesota will get torched on September 18th when USC (and its new crop of 5-star tight ends) comes to town. The lone bright spot will be the way Ohio State handles a Miami team that isn't physical enough to battle the Buckeyes on the ground
Counterpoint: Two of the conference's top three teams won't play an elite opponent. The closest Iowa gets is a September 18 visit to Arizona. Wisconsin's visit to Arizona State is next best.
2. The good guys will win the Big Ten/Pac 10 Challenge
In 2009 the league earned its first victory in the Big Ten/ACC Basketball Challenge. In 2010, it will represent itself well against the West Coast for the first time in three seasons. Iowa will dominate Arizona, and Wisconsin will outlast Arizona State to give the Big Ten a 2-1 edge against the Pacific 10 in out of conference play.
3. Purdue will open the season with a win in South Bend
A talented, underrated Boilermaker squad will shock the Irish in Brian Kelly's first game as head coach by upsetting Notre Dame in South Bend. Purdue will start the 2010 season 5-1, before losing at Ohio State. Danny Hope's squad will become bowl eligible the following week at Illinois, and the Boilers will end the regular season 8-4.
4. The Big Ten Championship will go through Iowa City
If the Iowa Hawkeyes don't claim at least a share of the 2010 Big Ten title they've got no one to blame but themselves. Wisconsin, Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan State -- four of the league's top six -- will play at Kinnick Stadium.
The road ends here.
5. If Wisconsin wins on October 16th, it will do no worse than share the conference title
When Ohio State visits the foul-weather fortress that is Camp Randall Stadium, the Badgers will have an opportunity to pay the Buckeyes back for a trilogy of defeats in 2007, 2008, and 2009. As Bret Bielema says, they'd love nothing more.
If the Badgers can upset the Buckeyes in Madison, this source says they'll do no worse than split the conference title. How so? Well, even with a loss the following week in Iowa City, I'll bet a resurgent Ohio State team takes down the Hawkeyes on November 20th. The result would be a 3-way tie at the top.
33 comments | 0 recs |
Michigan: National Signing Day Evaluation
by GregGoBlue on Feb 3, 2010 3:12 PM CST
in Michigan
16 comments
This is National Signing Day. Christmas. The day for which we recruitniks have been pining. The day that marks the culmination of a year or more of obsessive daily blog-checking, commentary, frustration, disappointment and elation. Most of all, especially in the case of Michigan fans, this day signifies Hope. After having suffered through the 2008 and 2009 seasons, marred by inappropriate personnel, youth and underachievement, we can once again look towards the future of Michigan football. Signing day gives us the opportunity to watch firsthand how Rich Rodriguez intends to build the program by stocking it with "his" type of players. As ESPN recruiting analyst Tom Luginbill aptly put it:
"You don’t take a program that for years and decades and decades was based up strength, size and power, and then all of a sudden, with a 180-degree turn, hire a coach that’s going to be about speed, quickness and agility and change an 85-man roster over night," he said. "I don’t think that’s reality. I think that takes some time. I don’t think you can wave a magic wand."
True dat. Now that the future of Michigan football has been inked, having signed 27 student athletes to letters of intent, we can discuss the general trends that have arisen--both from this year and the previous two years of recruiting--in what RR is trying to with the program by examining the personnel he's gathering.
16 comments | 1 recs |
National Signing Day Thoughts
by Law Buckeye on Feb 2, 2010 11:58 PM CST
in All
4 comments
I'm sure a few of you have noticed that we don't do much coverage of recruiting on the site. This is intentional. Although we're deeply entrenched in Big Ten football year round, we believe that as a source we're ill equipped to keep up with the fast and fickle nature of the recruiting process. We're also a bit limited in our ability to get unprocessed information. Unlike covering college football, where games are broadcast live, and (with the help of a faithful DVR box) a casual pundit can turn a source inside out, access to high school media is inconsistent. Because more often than not we can't see a prospect perform first -- or even second -- hand, it's a lot more difficult to offer objective coverage.
The exposure we do get is filtered through a professional lens. I mean seriously, can you remember the last time you saw a highlight reel that showed a player drop as many passes as he caught? If I'm truly honest with myself, my perception of recruits is hugely influenced by extrinsic qualifiers: stars and highlights.
It's because of this that -- just this once -- I won't pretend to be omniscient. Today I'll watch signing day coverage just like everyone else: on pins and needles, and with a grain of salt. Because no matter what Dr. Saturday says, ours is a sport where development matters at least as much as potential.
Good luck, Big Ten.
4 comments | 0 recs |
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