Bowl teams we played this year

[Drew]

1-5 after Buffalo loses in Boise to SDSU, Michigan gets blown out by KSU, Maryland loses to Marshall, Cincy loses to UNC badly, and Rutgers gets blown out by ND. Louisville the lone winner so far. Still have UCF left but I have to say I'm surprised by these results

 

[nimzovich]

Shouldnt be a major surprise...
Only favorite to lose was Buffalo.
And the MAC has been wiped out (0-4) so far in the bowls, so an 8-4 Buffalo losing as a 3 pt favorite is no shocker.

Md, Cincy, Mich and RU were all underdogs, and RU was a 15 pt dog.

Cincy was the only 9 game winner, and the biggest disappointment. but they had to play a hot UNC team in what was basically a home game.
the other 4 losers werent that good. they finished 8-5, 7-6, 7-6, and 6-7...

 

[Dooley]

Not surprised by Rutgress being blown out. They are awful and barely made it to a bowl game by beating USF in front of 15k at home. Probably the worst team of all the bowl teams, in my opinion. Cincinnati was definitely a surprise. I thought they'd put up a better showing than that. All of the other ones were 'meh'.

 

[whaler11]

How did Rutgers get blown out exactly? It was 19-16 with 5 minutes left in the game.

 

[BNich]

How did Rutgers get blown out exactly? It was 19-16 with 5 minutes left in the game.

I was thinking the same thing. I didn't watch the game, but sounds like it wasn't one ND ran away with.

 

[whaler11]

The biggest take away from the bowls to date for me is that midwest football is dead and everyone knows it. Every game money has poured in against the MAC and Big 10 and it's been right.

Maryland and Rutgers do not help. The gap is growing between north and south. The Big 10 is screwed on the football field.

 

[whaler11]

I was thinking the same thing. I didn't watch the game, but sounds like it wasn't one ND ran away with.

I wish I hadn't but I did. Rutgers had every opportunity to take leads in the second half.

 

[noeynox]

RU was way too conservative when they didn't go for it on fourth and goal from the one. They threw an incompletion on third down. That game was there for them. On the other hand they had that bend but don't break defense going on, and boy that has to wear you down late in games. ND pushed them around late because of it I think.

 

[ZooCougar]

The biggest take away from the bowls to date for me is that midwest football is dead and everyone knows it. Every game money has poured in against the MAC and Big 10 and it's been right.

Maryland and Rutgers do not help. The gap is growing between north and south. The Big 10 is screwed on the football field.

This is why I am skeptical of us having any shot to join that conference. We just don't have anything they need competitively speaking. Of course that could change.

 

[whaler11]

This is why I am skeptical of us having any shot to join that conference. We just don't have anything they need competitively speaking. Of course that could change.

To me they missed their shot already: If they cared about competing on a national level in football they needed to hold their noses and add Florida State. They needed to combine that with Texas. Adding Nebraska is like pretending it's going to be 1914, not 2014.

When it's a foregone conclusion that Minnesota is going to get beat by Syracuse and Michigan is going to get hammered by Kansas State...

They have the money, and they have their academic arrogrance - hope that means more to them than winning football games. Because in half a decade they are going to be a clear fifth out of five.

 

[BNich]

This is why I am skeptical of us having any shot to join that conference. We just don't have anything they need competitively speaking. Of course that could change.

Football at this point and that's only taking the past three season into account is the only sport Uconn would not be immediately competitive. Although 2014 only time will tell.

 

[whaler11]

Football at this point and that's only taking the past three season into account is the only sport Uconn would not be immediately competitive. Although 2014 only time will tell.

It's not about UConn competing. It's about the teams they add making the Big 10 better - they have said it multiple times.

The UConn Big 10 Boneyard fantasy does not grasp this simple fact. UConn can not improve the rest of the Big 10 in football.

The Big 10 needs access to football recruits. They took the two best areas last time that were willing to join. Not good enough though.

 

[Adios]

ACC > B1G now. Even with Louisville being in the ACC. Besides, we have way more historic rivals in the ACC. Just one in the B1G.

 

[noeynox]

I don't think they'll be fifth out of five. Having the most money will mean they will have the best facilities and access to the best coaches. It is the SEC and everyone else. When Ohio State lines up against Clemson we will see how much superior the Southern schools are to the midwest schools. The Big Ten is in a down period right now, in large part cause traditional power Michigan is down. Wonder boy Brady Hoke better turn it around quick.

 

[UConnDan97]

Let's not get overly excited about bowl losses by Minnesota and Michigan and then declare that football in the north is dead. This year, the B1G was 1-2 against the Big12 (I'm actually shocked by the small sample size). Historically, they have a winning record against the Big12:

http://mcubed.net/ncaaf/tvc/big10/index.shtml

They have a losing record against the SEC, but so does everyone else. So if the idea is that the rest of the nation can't play like the SEC, then fine. Granted. If the idea is that football can't be played in the north, give me a break...

 

[ZooCougar]

Football at this point and that's only taking the past three season into account is the only sport Uconn would not be immediately competitive. Although 2014 only time will tell.

It's really the only sport that matters. And UConn doesn't bring much worth having that they don't already have.

 

[ZooCougar]

It's not about UConn competing. It's about the teams they add making the Big 10 better - they have said it multiple times.

The UConn Big 10 Boneyard fantasy does not grasp this simple fact. UConn can not improve the rest of the Big 10 in football.

The Big 10 needs access to football recruits. They took the two best areas last time that were willing to join. Not good enough though.

And that's exactly what I am saying we don't add much of anything. It's not like they need access to NE recruits.

 

[BNich]

It's not about UConn competing. It's about the teams they add making the Big 10 better - they have said it multiple times.

The UConn Big 10 Boneyard fantasy does not grasp this simple fact. UConn can not improve the rest of the Big 10 in football.

The Big 10 needs access to football recruits. They took the two best areas last time that were willing to join. Not good enough though.

I was simply responding to his comment not in regard to the Big 10 as a whole.

 

[whaler11]

I don't think they'll be fifth out of five. Having the most money will mean they will have the best facilities and access to the best coaches. It is the SEC and everyone else. When Ohio State lines up against Clemson we will see how much superior the Southern schools are to the midwest schools. The Big Ten is in a down period right now, in large part cause traditional power Michigan is down. Wonder boy Brady Hoke better turn it around quick.

Ohio State might beat Clemson. Michigan State might beat Stanford.

The trend is clear and it's against the Big 10 - the facilities won't matter if you can't get the players. If the SEC and ACC have access to better players AND are more willing to cheat while associating with lesser academic schools where else can it head but down for the Big 10?

It's not a coincidence Ohio State is the only school that even has a pulse nationally (maybe Wisconsin to a degree). It's not a coincidence with whom Notre Dame aligned themselves.

The Big 10 elitists can give each other handjobs over their research funding. The 99.9% of the population that doesn't care will just watch better games.

 

[whaler11]

Let's not get overly excited about bowl losses by Minnesota and Michigan and then declare that football in the north is dead. This year, the B1G was 1-2 against the Big12 (I'm actually shocked by the small sample size). Historically, they have a winning record against the Big12:

http://mcubed.net/ncaaf/tvc/big10/index.shtml

They have a losing record against the SEC, but so does everyone else. So if the idea is that the rest of the nation can't play like the SEC, then fine. Granted. If the idea is that football can't be played in the north, give me a break...

Make sure to read the disclaimers on the Big 10 prospectus - prior results do not guarantee future returns.

I'm not declaring the Big 10 dead on those two games. They are dead because their trend line is clearly down, their demographics are terrible going forward, and they made huge mistakes in realignment.

The Nebraska/Rutgers/Maryland trifecta is a straight up debacle in the long term.

 

[UConnDan97]

Make sure to read the disclaimers on the Big 10 prospectus - prior results do not guarantee future returns.

I'm not declaring the Big 10 dead on those two games. They are dead because their trend line is clearly down, their demographics are terrible going forward, and they made huge mistakes in realignment.

The Nebraska/Rutgers/Maryland trifecta is a straight up debacle in the long term.

Granted that prior results don't guarantee anything in the future. However, if you look at all of the recruiting sites, they continue to get the players. Their demographics are absolutely fine, as evidenced by packed 100k stadiums and the amount of money that they can charge for their networks.

Did they make a mistake in realignment with Neb./RU/Mar.? I don't know. But that should also fall under the category of "prior results do not guarantee future returns". It seems clear to me that those moves grew their viewership base a fair amount. And in realignment, money is all that matters...

 

[Drew]

Adding Nebraska was not a mistake. While they are no longer a national brand in the same league as ND/Michigan they're still a name team and people watch them on TV. They have fans all over the country and more importantly, those fans pay good money to watch them. MD/Rutgers on the other hand..

 

[whaler11]

Adding Nebraska was not a mistake. While they are no longer a national brand in the same league as ND/Michigan they're still a name team and people watch them on TV. They have fans all over the country and more importantly, those fans pay good money to watch them. MD/Rutgers on the other hand..

You are talking about TV money. I'm talking about playing football at a high level.

You'll see just how fast people lose interest in Nebraska when they are 7-5 every year. They have nowhere to recruit now.

 

[Irishfan]

I don't think they'll be fifth out of five. Having the most money will mean they will have the best facilities and access to the best coaches. It is the SEC and everyone else. When Ohio State lines up against Clemson we will see how much superior the Southern schools are to the midwest schools. The Big Ten is in a down period right now, in large part cause traditional power Michigan is down. Wonder boy Brady Hoke better turn it around quick.

Brady Hoke is michigan's version of Charlie Weis. Good first year, good recruiter, big ego, but things aren't trending the right way. I like him almost as much as I liked Lane Kiffin.

 

[UConnDan97]

You are talking about TV money. I'm talking about playing football at a high level.

You'll see just how fast people lose interest in Nebraska when they are 7-5 every year. They have nowhere to recruit now.

I agree with you in terms of Nebraska leaving the Big12 and how it affects their recruiting and future. In fact, there is plenty of data to support that (here's a look at 2011 vs. 2014 classes for Nebraska):

http://rivals.yahoo.com/connecticut/football/recruiting/commitments/2011/nebraska-23

http://rivals.yahoo.com/connecticut/football/recruiting/commitments/2014/nebraska-23

Ironically, if Nebraska doesn't leave for the B1G, one might argue that West Virginia doesn't end up in the Big12, and then we perhaps end up in the B1G or at the very least the AAC would continue to contain either WVU or Louisville (depending on which one the ACC poached). So screw Nebraska!

However, as I've obviously posted before, looking at Nebraska's less healthy situation is not the same as looking at the B1G's situation as being less healthy. They are fine, and will continue to be fine, on the football field. OSU has a top5 recruiting class, Michigan has a top15 recruiting class, and there are at least four more schools in the top40 recruiting classes (MSU, Wisc., Penn St., and NW). The product is not getting worse.

If there are people out there that want to judge conferences by their performances in the bowls (although the ACC has somehow received a pass for 15 years), I would suggest that some of these bowls be held in the north. Then, I suspect, you would see a very different outcome from what you're seeing now, when a kid from Mississippi has to play in New York City in December...