["Steel_Curtain, post: 1752195, member: 5476"]-Enjoy, I read it for free. Big Ten is garbage.
It was difficult to blame the Big Ten for all of its chest thumping this season. The conference had spent recent years in the shadow of the SEC and looked like it had finally broken through with an unmatched collection of elite teams, even while Alabama was still the clear No. 1. Many even argued the conference deserved to have two teams reach the College Football Playoff.
True, but in the End it was the Big Pretend.
Then came the bowl games.
A season’s worth of Big Ten bravado transformed into embarrassment in the span of three days. In the final College Football Playoff rankings, the Big Ten had three of the top six teams. The one to reach the playoff, No. 3 Ohio State, wasn’t even the conference champion. That honor belonged to No. 5 Penn State, with Michigan at No. 6.
FSU & USC would have won the Big Ten!
All three of these teams lost their season-ending contests. And the worst of the defeats came on the sport’s biggest stage when Clemson clobbered the Buckeyes 31-0 in the semifinals, marking the harshest blowout of Urban Meyer’s career.
True, but to be fair Ohio State QB Barett is not that good, and Urban had 76 Underclassmen out of 85 Scholarships and was the Best Team in the Big Ten even at 11-2.
The day before that, Michigan lost 33-32 to No. 11 Florida State in the Orange Bowl. All of this gave Penn State the perfect opportunity to assert that the Nittany Lions, in fact, were the Big Ten’s best. Or at least save face for the league. Then they blew a fourth quarter lead to lose to No. 9 Southern California 52-49 in the Rose Bowl.
Can't deny the truth of 2016, and barely won games in the weaker 56 losing teams in the Big Ten.
Since 1993, this was the fourth instance of a conference entering bowl season with three of the top six teams, according to Stats LLC. This was the first time all three went on to lose.
It may be a trend all 4 Teams are may be put in the Big Ten again next year too?
When it was all set and done, the Big Ten went 3-7 in its bowl games. No. 8 Wisconsin provided the most notable win in the Cotton Bowl against No. 15 Western Michigan—a previously undefeated team, but one that hadn’t played a ranked opponent all season.
The MAC stands down when it comes to the Big Ten?
W 1. Ohio St 77, Bowling Green 10
W 2. Iowa 45, Miami (OH) 21
W 3. Penn St 33, Kent St 13
W 4. Wisconsin 54, Akron 10
W 5. Indiana 30, Ball St 20
W 6. Wisconsin 24, W Michigan 16
L 1. Northwestern 21, W Michigan 22
L 2. Illinois 10, W Michigan 34
The Big Ten hoopla reached an apex when Ohio State and Michigan, ranked No. 2 and No. 3 at the time, respectively, finished their regular seasons with one of the wildest games in the rivalry’s history—a 30-27 double-overtime victory for the Buckeyes. It was the most watched game of the regular season by a landslide.
Still, It Was The Best game In The Big Ten in 2016, Again!
But what followed was actually familiar.
The last time Ohio State and Michigan played such a big game was in 2006, when they were the top two teams in the country. The Wolverines proceeded to lose by two touchdowns in the Rose Bowl to USC. Then a week later, the Buckeyes lost by 27 in the national championship game—to none other than their current coach, Meyer, and Florida.
Michigan is Back & Ohio State has Won Two NCS 2002-2014! Both will just as good in 2016 and still behind SEC & ACC Teams is the New Trend. USC being back will be tough for Big Ten in the Rose Bowl too.
Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan State have risen to challenge the Big Two Ten in multiple years, but Penn State and Nebraska have found it tough going trying to get back to Old Glory before joining the Big Ten.
Northwestern has been a Steady Eddie Even Steven over the years going 7-6 to 10-3 a number of years, as Minnesota and Indiana continue to grow towards Winning, but Illinois, Maryland, Purdue, and Rutgers have a Tough Road to Hoe almost every year.
But it is still the Big Two Ten & then The Big Pretenders! They should change it to The Big Blue & Buckeyes Conference!
Write to Andrew Beaton at
andrew.beaton@wsj.com
BIG TEN CONFERENCE NEW FIGHT SONG
"WE ARE" THE BIG PRETENDERS SONG
Oh Oh, Yes WE ARE The Great BIG PreTENders
PreTENding That WE ARE Doing Well
Our Rankings Are Such We PreTENd Too Much
We Beat No One So Ranking Voters Can’t Tell
Oh Oh, Yes WE ARE The Great BIG PreTENders
Adrift In The BIG Ten World Of Our Own
We've Played The Game But To Our Real Shame
While Bowl Games Leave Us To Grieve All Alone
Too Real Is This Feeling Of Make Believe Scheduling
Too Real When We Feel What Our Powder Puffs Hearts Can't Conceal
WE ARE Ashamed At The End Of Every Year But Shed No Tears
For Sport Writer’s Always Run Away At The End Of Each Year
Letting Our Fans Forget We Can’t Kick Anyone Outside the BIG PreTENd!
Yes, WE ARE The Great BIG PreTENders
Just Laughin' And Gay Like All Clowns
We Seem To Be What WE ARE Not, You See
We Wearing Our Overrated Rankings Like A Crown
PreTENding That SEC And ACC Teams Don’t Beat Us Around
Too Real Is This Feeling Of Make Believe Scheduling
Too Real When We Feel What Our Hearts Can't Conceal
Yet, We Brag Every Season
Only To Lose Bowl Games Against Real Teams For A Reason
Yes WE ARE The Great BIG PreTENder
Just Laughin' And Gay Like The Clowns We Play
We Seem To Be What WE ARE Not, You See
WE ARE Wearing Fewer Football Crowns
PreTENding That WE ARE Still Relevant Around!
Just some Friendly Banter for our Big Ten and Little Lion Brothers. It was great season with many great games and in every conference, and especially in the Big Ten. In reality, Pitt and Penn State beat Ranked Teams, unlike our WVU Rivals that beat not one Ranked team in 2016.
