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The not so BIG Ten

Even though I've lived in Big Ten country for most of my life (near Lincoln, Nebraska for 26 years and near Columbus, Ohio for 6 years), I've been quite an outspoken critic of the quality of football in the conference for the past several years. No, I don't abhor the Big Ten, however, I don't possess a blind allegiance to it either. Unfortunately for the conference, this past Saturday may have been its worst day in quite some time and unless a miracle ensues, the Big Ten will have to pull a Chicago Cubs and wait until next year to once again try to gain credibility.

On Saturday night, the Big Ten was represented in three high-caliber, prime-time match-ups, as #8 Ohio State was a home favorite against Frank Beamer's always respectable Virginia Tech Hokies; Michigan went to South Bend to take on Notre Dame in the long-time rivals' final scheduled meeting, and lastly; defending conference and Rose Bowl champion Michigan State went to Eugene, Oregon to take on the high-flying Oregon Ducks. How did the Big Ten fare?

Virginia Tech 35 Ohio State 21

Notre Dame 31 Michigan 0

Oregon 46 Michigan State 27

Yes, in those three prime-time match-ups, the Big Ten went 0-3 and were outscored 112-48 (average of 37.3 - 16.0 = 21.3).

Unfortunately for the Big Ten, Saturday night wasn't a complete aberration, as the conference has gone just 8-29 against ranked teams from the other power five conferences since 2010 (.216 winning percentage).

Not only did the Big Ten get dominated by the other power five conferences Saturday night, but they struggled against the mid-major conferences and even FCS opponents Saturday afternoon.

Both Purdue and Northwestern lost to MAC teams on Saturday, losing to Central Michigan and Northern Illinois by the combined score of 61-32 (average of 30.5 - 16.0 = 13.5). If that wasn't bad enough, #19 Nebraska needed a miracle run-after-the-catch by Ameer Abdullah to upend FCS opponent McNeese State 31-24 with just twenty seconds to go. Iowa had to score two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter to come back and defeat Ball State 17-13. Maryland had to score 10 points in the fourth quarter to beat South Florida 24-17. Lastly, Illinois had to score three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to beat Western Kentucky 42-34.

So, against the likes of Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Oregon, Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, McNeese State, Ball State, South Florida, and Western Kentucky, the Big Ten went 4-5, and were outscored by their opponents 261-194 (29.0 - 21.6 = 7.4).

To this point in the season, the Big Ten is 1-5 against the other power 5 conferences (and Notre Dame). In addition to the three games Saturday night, Northwestern lost to California the first week of the year and Wisconsin blew a three score lead against LSU. The conference's lone win against the power 5 this year was a 41-38 victory by Big Ten newcomer Rutgers over Washington State, who is now 0-2. Even if the conference wins all of their other games this year against other power 5 conferences, that still won't successfully counter the damage that was done these first couple of weeks. Notre Dame faces two more Big Ten teams this year in Northwestern and Purdue, whom are a combined 1-3 to this point in the season, so the chances appear to be rather slim (to put it kindly) that either the Wildcats or Boilermakers will find a way to upend the Fighting Irish. That would make the Big Ten 1-7 against the other power 5 (and Notre Dame), and their best potential record against the other five four major conferences (and Notre Dame) would be 11-7. Even if that were to happen, however, it's unlikely that any of these future Big Ten opponents will be ranked nearly as high as Oregon or even Notre Dame. These ten match-ups include: Illinois at Washington, Indiana at Missouri, Iowa State at Iowa, Iowa at Pittsburgh, West Virginia at Maryland, Maryland at Syracuse, Utah at Michigan, Minnesota at TCU, Miami (Florida) at Nebraska, and Cincinnati at Ohio State. I'll be kind and say the Big Ten goes 5-5 in those ten games, which would place them at 6-12 (.333) for the season - their biggest win coming against either Miami (Florida) or Cincinnati.

Like I said at the outset, unless a miracle ensues, the Big Ten will have to pull a Chicago Cubs and wait until next year to once again try to gain credibility. It's my feeling that even if all the coaches in the Big Ten consistently prayed from now through December 31st, God would answer them, "Let's wait until next year, fellas..."

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/page/gamedayfinal090614/michigan-wolverines-ohio-state-buckeyes-michigan-state-spartans-lose-dent-big-ten-college-football-playoff-hopes

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