People Might Just Possibly Be Overreacting a Little Tiny Bit About the Big Ten

Pat Forde, right.

In the aftermath of another not particularly close national championship game featuring Ohio State, the articles were inevitable. The most breathless belongs to ESPN's Pat Forde:

If you've ever seen lions maul a water buffalo, you've seen the last two title games. You've seen a fierce pair of SEC teams -- Florida last year, LSU this year -- blow the vulnerable Buckeyes back to the Bratwurst Belt by a combined 41 points. You've seen the best of one league flex, and the best of an inferior league collapse.

Forde goes on to suggest Ohio State be banned from future title games amongst a cavalcade of zingers like "when the SEC shows up, they should change O-H-I-O to O-H-N-O." As Fire Joe Morgan might say: at least Forde is super funny. It's a typical piece of media prattle that eschews nuance for LOUD NOISES.

Ohio State didn't lose because they were out-talented -- some four or five Buckeyes will go in the first round of the NFL draft, depending on who exactly comes out and that doesn't include terrifying sophomore Beanie Wells -- but because they are young and stupid.

As Tom Fornelli notes, the Buckeyes have three senior starters and just five on their entire two-deep, three of whom are fullbacks. They went up against a veteran team everyone supposed was the most talented in the country and... well, outgained them in the midst of a turnover- and penalty-implosion that reminded everyone of -- yes -- LSU last year. LSU's winning margin was a roughing the kicker penalty and a dropped OSU touchdown.

This is not dominance.

For all the cries of SEC dominance, over the past 11 years the SEC is exactly one game over five hundred against the Big Ten in bowl games (the only non-bowl games have been Michigan against Vanderbilt and Kentucky against Indiana; the former is unfair and the latter irrelevant), and these bowl games invariably function as virtual road games. This year Michigan played Florida in Orlando. Ohio State played LSU in New Orleans. For all SEC fans' talk, their damn conference hasn't backed it up on the field.

Nor have they backed it up in the draft. Eleven Warriors broke down the past five years of NFL draft results between the two conferences. The results: 16.7 draftees per SEC team; 16.6 per Big Ten team. First and second rounders per SEC team: 6.5. Per Big Ten team: 6.6.

They haven't backed it up in the draft or on the field; the only reason any of this crap is going on is because of one bad performance by Ohio State last year and a mediocre one this year. Attention, shortsighted tools: two games do not define a conference.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

1-09-2008 @ 3:06PM

Gamecock Man said...

Two games may not define a conference, but consecutive blowout losses by Michigan and Illinois to USC in the Rose Bowl, a 3-5 bowl record this year, and your marquee program losing to App State go a little further. Again, the Big 10 will probably improve over the next few years with Illinois improving and Michigan acquiring Rich Rod, but this year the conference blew. The next disgruntled homer can now speak...

1-09-2008 @ 3:22PM

jbrons said...

Huge red herring, Gamecock Man. We were talking about the Big Ten vs the SEC, not the 2007 Rose Bowl or September nonconference games.

1-10-2008 @ 7:26AM

WILDMAN said...

MAYBE WE SHOULD CHANGE THERE NAME TO THE BIG PRETEND

1-09-2008 @ 3:46PM

Joel said...

Speaking of red herrings, what do NFL draftees have to do with the quality of COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAMS in a conference? Sure, it points to the talent of the players in the conference, but a lot of guys from lousy college programs end up in the NFL. And a lot of teams with a lot of talent lose on the field because they aren't a good team.

I'm not weighing in on either side in this one, but we're analyzing these teams as college football teams, not NFL farm teams.

There's not a lot of evidence out there that the Big Ten was very good this year. And if they want to prove it, they can schedule some good non-conference opponents.

1-09-2008 @ 4:42PM

John S. said...

"if they want to prove it, they can schedule some good non-conference opponents."

All that needed to be said. Well done sir.

1-09-2008 @ 4:55PM

Skapanza said...

I was glad to see aOSU lose, mostly because I hate them and they hate me. Michigan blog the Hoover Street Rag made a great point about not cheering for the nuts out of "conference loyalty" when they posted the video of the Shoe erupting with cheers as UM lost to App St. The only _only_ reason there was a bit of faintness in my heart about wanting LSU to tear OSU to pieces was that I knew Pat Forde was just itching to write another piece about the fabulous SEC. Not only is he a stupid homer, but he chooses his arguments selectively. That Gator team he rolls on the floor giggling girlishly about? Lost to Michigan. Any mention? No. Even Orson on EDSBS was fantastically humble and congratulatory. Different team with different players for Florida? Yes. Deserving of mention in an objective piece of journalism that doesn't reek of hackery? I think so.

1-09-2008 @ 4:57PM

tdbrought said...

Concerning Big Ten draftees: I think it's a quirk of geography more than anything. The NFL has a lot of teams in the Northern Midwest and other cold weather sites. The Big Ten builds their teams the same way these NFL teams do, emphasizing a solid ground game (or short passing game that reduces the potential for TO's) and a stout defense, especially up front -- they build for their home climate in other words. In bowl games, particularly in warm weather sites or domes, the Big Ten teams' reliance on power running and stout defense is exposed.

1-09-2008 @ 5:38PM

I wouldn't disagree that Forde is a crack. He was way too hard on OSU, who actually played a decent game and could've been it if not for stupid penalties (who would've thought that Les Miles would come out looking better than Tressel in this game?). And who else deserved to be there? I didn't have any problem with OSU being in the game. UGA didn't even win their division, and USC lost to Stanford. And if OSU makes it back next year, they'll have earned it with a win over USC.

But the fact remains that the Big 10 was poor this year. I'm not saying it's poor every year. Like I said in another post, in the late 90s the SEC was down, with Auburn, LSU, and Georgia looking nothing like they do today. Things change. But no amount of tweaking stats can change the fact that the Big 10 blew this year.

1-09-2008 @ 6:04PM

Clay said...

"LSU's winning margin was a roughing the kicker penalty and a dropped OSU touchdown."
Sounds like more lame excuses to me. LSU won that game going away. Quit whining. The Big 10 +1 just isn't that great at this point in time.

1-09-2008 @ 7:13PM

greg troyer said...

big ten guy,
firstly, the dropped touchdown was knocked out by the LSU corner. secondly, a roughing the kicker call doesn't automatically equal a touchdown. Thirdly we let off the gas after we slammed 31 unanswered on your boys, and finally, your last touchdown was a gimmie when our guys went into prevent d.-
then i noticed your stats were over the last 10 or 11 years? why go back so far? we know the big ten used to be good- maybe try the stats again over the past few years.

cheers,
GO TIGERS

1-09-2008 @ 8:22PM

rob said...

The mighty big ten is certainly not going to get any better with Michigan's new coach.

1-09-2008 @ 11:33PM

AC said...

The above article conveniently leaves out the bowl records of the SEC and the Big-10 this year.

SEC: 7-2
Big-10: 3-5

So, we can now see the above article for what it is.

1-09-2008 @ 9:25PM

Donna Vickroy said...

Look every Big Ten fan is going to see it different than an SEC fan. If you are a true fan then you have to beleive that your conferance is the best. As I know that the SEC is the best !! As far as Ohio, it is not just LSU and Florida to beat them the last two years but OHIO St. is now 9 & 0 against the SEC sounds like dominance to me. Even your expert agree that the speed kills enough said.

1-09-2008 @ 9:27PM

tigertexan said...

So why is Ohio State ranked so high? Pay attention to where the sports announcers/writers went to college . . . you'll hear Ohio State a lot. Wouldn't we all love to vote for our alma mater and a "nice guy" coach . . . a championship football team that DOESN'T make. Hey guys, I was there. After the first 10 minutes, Oh-no State should have gone back to the dressing room. The last seven points by Oh-no State? LSU was so excited about the possibilities on the horizon that they just let it slip by. Who nabbed the interception for LSU? A second-string player! As for the NFL - Joseph Addai, Jamarcus Russell, Billy Cannon, Marcus Spears, Kevin Faulk, quality vs. quantity any day.

1-09-2008 @ 11:05PM

Steve said...

Hello out there...name the last SEC team to beat USC...not in this decade and you might have to go back to the 1980s...this year Tenn lost to a 7-6 Cal team by 2 touchdowns and Tenn struggled to beat Wisconsin 21-17...in 2005 Arkansas lost to USC 70-16 and vowed to get payback next year at home...result a 50 -14 embarassing loss...in 2003 # 6 Auburn hosted USC and was shutout 23-0...that is why the SEC does not play USC ...they can't beat them

1-10-2008 @ 12:09AM

Will Schaller said...

5 OF THE TOP 15 NATIONALLY RANKED TEAMS ARE FROM THE SEC. HAWAII LOOKED PRETTY GOOD UNTIL THEY PLAYED A BOWL GAME AGAINST GEORGIA. OHIO STATE LOOKED GOOD UNTIL THEY PLAYED LSU. I'D PICK ANY SEC TEAM AGAINST ANY OTHER CONFERENCE TEAM AND HAVE A GREAT FOOTBALL GAME. SEC FOOTBALL, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!

1-10-2008 @ 12:33AM

greg said...

usc guy,
the trojans are a dominant team year after year , and that will probably continue. hats off to them for that. your stats, though , are comparing them to somewhat bottom tier sec teams at that time.
your boys have not yet played a team the caliber of 06 florida or 07 lsu or georgia, nor do they want to-

1-10-2008 @ 1:31AM

GoBigBlue said...

Wow, this is actually interesting banter and only a few morons, remarkable. Clearly, the Big Ten is down now and the SEC up...probably been that way for the last 5-6 years. Go back 11 years ago and we are about even...go back 25 years and the Big Ten smokes 'em. Go back any further than that and you hilljacks were still growing cotton, shooting each other and squealing like pigs!

1-11-2008 @ 2:05AM

Douglas Naversen said...

The OSU Buckeyes are down but not out. No one predicted them to repeat in 2008 as one of only two teams in the BCS title game.
As I remember, both LSU and OSU have two losses. Let us have the rubber match in Columbus in February in the mud and snow. Ohio State will have the same home field advantage that LSU had in New Orleans.
The Bucks lose only 3 seniors this year. See you next year in the title game!

1-10-2008 @ 1:43PM

Brian said...

As both a Big Ten fan and a realist, I'll be the first to agree it was a down year for the conference. The bowl schedule didn't do us any favors - we were really only deserving of one BCS spot, and Illinois taking the second shifted everyone (including the Illini) a notch higher than they should have been. Frankly, I wasn't too disappointed in the bowl results.

Michigan beating Florida was hilarious. Humility, thy name is Urban Meyer. Wisconsin probably should have beaten Tennessee (which would have made them 3-0 against the SEC in New Year's Day games the past three years), but spit the bit. That was tough.

Illinois ran into a buzzsaw - USC tends to take a few Saturdays off during the regular season, but when their bowl game comes around, they flip the switch. They'd have pooped in LSU's facemasks if they'd been able to play in that game on Monday night. Georgia might have been able to give 'em a game, but that's about it.

Anyway, no doubt the SEC was the best conference in the land this year. Hats off. Always fun matching up against the best. Last year we took two of three; this year Wisconsin let us down or we'd have repeated the trick.