OT - Big Ten Division Announced Tonight: Rumored/Leaked Div

[James1980]

This alignment sucks. It should of straight up been east/west. Boo hoo Michigan and Ohio State couldn't play each other in the championship.

They won't play in the championship game for awhile anyways until Michigan gets better.

[MikeIsGood]

This alignment isn't the end of the world and the sky isn't falling, as mentioned with the recruiting potential and such, but from a fan's perspective (mine, that is), I wanted to play Iowa and/or Nebraska on a yearly basis because those are games that's easier for me to travel to and they're more natural rivals in the sense of geographically, and also along the lines of program standing.

But I digress. I hope they add a ninth conference game in 2015 and give us Iowa every year.

[Bernman]

This alignment sucks. It should of straight up been east/west. Boo hoo Michigan and Ohio State couldn't play each other in the championship.

They won't play in the championship game for awhile anyways until Michigan gets better.

The alignment isn't set up to be fluid based upon who will have the most success in the short-term. It was set up for the long-term. So, long-term, where does Michigan project to finish in the conference? It's probably 2nd because that's where they'd stood in conference winning percentage since PSU joined the conference in '93. So they were seeded #2, and thus had to be placed in a separate division from #1 OSU, to protect competitive balance. As it should be. The primary goal is to determine who is the most deserving team of being called conference champions. Pitting the #1 team in conference with #3, or maybe even 4, doesn't do that.

My problem in their seeding of conference teams is that they used Nebraska's Big 12 conference winning percentage since '93 as if it's 1 to 1 applicable. It's not, seeing as though '93 was an arbitrary cut off for them because that's not when PSU joined their conference, and the Big 12 may have been the inferior conference during that period. Nebraska was seeded 3rd, but more realistically they should have been third based on their diminishing returns and the fact they didn't necessarily project to return to past glory when their in state recruiting base is so suspect.

[LUKE23]

I really don't know if I buy that this will have any kind of significant impact on recruiting. I mean, we're going from playing PSU and OSU 80% of the time to 100% of the time. I don't see it as any kind of impact either way.

[InsideOut]

I just don't get why everyone in the Big 10 doesn't just play everyone once. Then the team with the best record wins. I'll assume the answer has something to do with the money that can be made by playing the sisters of the poor at the start of the season. Either way I can't take college football seiously. I mean what other sport has a team play for a title based on computers, biased voters and rankings that come out before anyone has even played a game?

[James1980]

So what were Iowa, Wisconsin, and Penn State's seeds? I agree that Michigan is one of the top teams, I just don't think they will make it to the conference championship for awhile. I would have gone for the East/West seeding.

[LUKE23]

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/102028028.html

If you're seeding based on Big Ten W-L since 93 (bolded teams Wisconsin's division):

1. OSU (.783)
2. Michigan (.691)
3. Nebraska (.670)
4. Penn State (.632)
5. Wisconsin (.592)
6. Iowa (.526)
7. Purdue (.474)
8. MSU (.467)
9. Northwestern (.434)
10. Illinois (.335)
11. Minny (.324)
12. Indiana (.243)

[Bernman]

I really don't know if I buy that this will have any kind of significant impact on recruiting. I mean, we're going from playing PSU and OSU 80% of the time to 100% of the time. I don't see it as any kind of impact either way.

You changed it from not any significant kind, to not any kind.

It's not just the games against PSU and OSU, but the staff will be in closer proximity to recruiting hotbeds in their two trips to Indiana. Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska are all pretty isolated states recruiting wise; as is Wisconsin.

Also, our profile will be greater in the northeast because Wisconsin will be fighting more for the same accomplishments, thus be talked about more, and potentially esteemed amongst kids growing up in the area.

It's not going to make Wisconsin a power by itself, but it's a potential catalyst.

[LUKE23]

I just can't believe that UW only gets to play Iowa, Michigan, and Nebraska 2 out of every 5 seasons. Just doesn't seem right to me.

[Bernman]

But I digress. I hope they add a ninth conference game in 2015 and give us Iowa every year.

Assuming, as aforementioned, Barry/BB truly desire that in spite of what they say publicly. Iowa has arguably been the biggest thorn in our side relative to their caliber over recent years. If not them then the Nerds. Barry purports to hate them, but that doesn't mean he wants any part of them if the program's perceived success is his #1 motivator.

Besides, officials might be concerned that if they protect yet another rivalry, along with having two divisions, that the conference is just too separate on the whole.