A Rebuttal to Dan Wetzel

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On Thursday, Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports posted a column entitled “Nebraska’s messy marriage with Big Ten getting uglier every day“.

While the impetus for the column was the news of Nebraska’s proposal to play Tennessee-Chattanooga this weekend (filling a hole created when Wisconsin cancelled) being rejected, it quickly turned into a rehash of the same over-inflated talking points used by national writers when Nebraska (amongst other schools) were pushing the conference to restart the football season.

In the interest of fairness – and to avoid taking any of Wetzel’s words out of context – everything he wrote is below in bold font. My responses are not.

On a Thursday morning conference call, Big Ten presidents discussed an exemption request from Nebraska to allow the Cornhuskers to replace Saturday’s canceled football game against Wisconsin with a non-league opponent, the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.

It got zero traction, league sources told Yahoo Sports. There was no need for even a show of hands, let alone an actual vote. No one was in favor of granting it. The league’s previously agreed-upon rules — conference games only — was reaffirmed. 

Hold up.  “No one was in favor of granting it”?  So you’re telling me Nebraska brought this request to the committee, but was not in favor of supporting it.  That seems…..um……unlikely.  Your credibility is off to an amazing start.

Also reaffirmed was the belief around the Big Ten that Nebraska, even after nine years of membership, remains a difficult philosophical fit for the league.

Did they do an actual vote on Nebraska being a “difficult philosophical fit”?  A show of hands?  Or are you adding 1 + 1 and assuming it equals 3?

The Huskers’ request was met with knowing eye-rolls … of course it would be Nebraska that is already trying to rewrite the protocols everyone agreed to just last month in an effort to get a 2020 season played.

Dan, I know Barry Alvarez is a Nebraska alumnus, but when he said the conference should “reevaluate” the 21-day policy for positive tests on Tuesday, he was most definitely speaking as a Wisconsin Badger.

Likewise, Jeff Brohm was not speaking as a representative of Nebraska when he asked to be able to call his fellow Purdue coaches during the Iowa game as he recovered at home from COVID-19.

Even worse, rather than simply obeying the rules or even just asking for permission in the first place, Nebraska had gone out and negotiated a potential deal with Chattanooga.

This contradicts what Dennis Dodd of CBS reported.  He tweeted that the Nebraska – UTC game had been through “many levels of approval” within the conference: 

(More UTC-Nebraksa) UTC AD Mark Wharton: "We were in talks. We went through many levels of approval with the Big Ten. We lost on the final approval." Wharton said there were no specifics.

— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) October 29, 2020

I’ll trust an athletic director speaking on the record over an anonymous source every day.

Then the Huskers took it to the league and basically made the presidents say, “No.” 

There is some suspicion that it was done to purposely create headlines and signal how football is more important to Nebraska than the other schools. The Huskers say it was an honest argument.

“We believe the flexibility to play non-conference games could have been beneficial not only for Nebraska, but other Big Ten teams who may be in a similar position as the season progresses,” said Nebraska chancellor Ronnie Green and athletic director Bill Moos in a joint statement. “Ultimately, the Big Ten Conference did not approve our request, and we respect their decision.”

I’ll be honest: you may be right.  It is definitely in the realm of possibility that Nebraska only asked the league to convey how important football is here; or as way to thumb their nose to the conference. If so, then the Huskers would owe Tennessee-Chattanooga an apology for using them as a pawn in their PR gambit. Of course, this is all in the same realm of possibility where Illinois could still win the College Football Playoff.

But I would argue that going to the league for approval is exactly what a good, respectful conference citizen is supposed to do.  Nebraska went through the proper channels and asked for permission. 

I’m glad you quoted it, but I feel the final sentence in the joint statement from Bill Moos and Ronnie Green is worth repeating:  “Ultimately, the Big Ten Conference did not approve our request, and we respect their decision.”

Again: Nebraska got stood up by Wisconsin, and sought out a replacement game. Nebraska asked for permission and was denied. Nebraska said they respect the decision. By all accounts, the matter is closed.

In a perfect world, that would have been the final sentence in your column. But you’re just getting warmed up.

This is the state of affairs between the Big Ten and Nebraska, a partnership borne of equal-parts desperation and money that has turned into misreads and mistrust.

“It’s like an unhappy marriage,” one Big Ten source said. “It doesn’t work. It doesn’t fit. Yet no one can afford or figure out how to divorce. So nothing is going to change.”

Regarding your source’s quote, something you wrote previously applies here too:  “There is some suspicion that it was done to purposely create headlines.”

But your anonymous source is correct in one regard:  Nothing is going to change.  Nebraska is not going to go anywhere voluntarily, and the Big Ten is not going to kick NU out. 

There was nothing inherently wrong with Nebraska contemplating adding a new opponent, of course. 

It wasn’t the Huskers’ fault that Saturday’s game was canceled — Wisconsin pulled the plug as its COVID testing approached (but did not exceed) the league’s mandated numbers. While that decision is allowed under the Big Ten’s rules, it hasn’t stopped speculation across the league that the Badgers were motivated to avoid playing without head coach Paul Chryst and some of their key players, all reportedly out with COVID.

I appreciate you acknowledging this.  I just wish that before you took a column’s worth of shots at Nebraska, you would have written 1,100 words on how Wisconsin failed themselves and the league by being the first team to cancel a game. Or written about the “speculation” the Badgers are gaming the system by avoiding playing. Or even investigate the rumors of how/why the Badgers have such a widespread outbreak.

But why put in the time and effort (and risk alienating a charter member of the league) when there is low-hanging fruit to be picked?

If Wisconsin couldn’t play, then why shouldn’t Nebraska change gears on the fly and try to get a game in? After all, who knows if the Cornhuskers will be hit by COVID and have to cancel additional games. Might as well get as much of a season in as possible while you can.

Again, it’s not an argument without merit.

But watch as Dan ignores the valid argument he just made in order to make a point!

What it is, however, is an argument made to the wrong entity. There was simply no way the Big Ten was going to grant it. Even asking spoke to a complete lack of understanding about how the venerable league operates and what it values. 

The Big Ten is about unity. It’s about following the rules everyone previously accepted. It’s about erring on the side of safety and precaution. It’s about not rocking the boat. Right, wrong or ridiculous, it is what has worked for well over a century.

It is both wrong and ridiculous. The Big Ten’s “unity” is, at best, a century old piece of mythology.  I’d put it right up there with the dubious (and pompous) fantasy that the Big Ten is the purest, most perfect mix of amateur athletics and higher education to ever grace God’s green earth.

I’ll freely acknowledge that we Nebraskans knew about the all-for-one / one-for-all mythos when we joined.  Heck, coming out of the selfish dumpster fire that was the Big XII, it was a huge selling point.

But how can anybody with a shred of credibility claim that storied “conference unity” survived Ohio State, Iowa, Penn State, and others (and yes, that includes Nebraska) fighting to play football in the last three months?  The conference publicly acknowledged the August vote to cancel the season was 11-3. (On a related topic, presidents of public universities lying to their constituents must be another thing that that – right, wrong, or ridiculous – has worked for well over a century).

To paraphrase all of our parents:  “Nebraska, if the rest of the conference jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?”  Dan, your answer appears to be that the Huskers should jump, while singing odes of praise to Jim Delany that they ever got the opportunity to stand on such a prestigious and storied vessel.

It’s why despite the quarterback depth chart red flag, Wisconsin will get the benefit of the doubt for canceling the game earlier rather than later. And it’s why trying to play a non-conference opponent with unknown or unsupervised testing requirements won’t.

I know you read part of the statement released by Bill Moos and Ronnie Green. You must have missed this part:

“The discussions we had were with teams that had already implemented stricter testing protocols than those mandated by the Big Ten Conference. Those details were non-negotiable if we were to bring a non-conference opponent to Lincoln.“

The Big Ten isn’t alone in this. The SEC has similar conference-only standards this season. And when, say, an outbreak at Florida caused its game against Missouri to be postponed, leaving Mizzou with an open date, the Tigers didn’t go out and try to schedule a fill-in. Missouri stayed in line and didn’t play.

I love the subtle dig of using Mizzou in the example, as the Tigers were long rumored to be a favorite to join the conference before Nebraska was invited to join.  Sadly for the Tigers, the biggest requirement for B1G membership is not total, unwavering obedience to the company line. 

 So why did Nebraska think it was special?

“This might fly in the Big 12,” another Big Ten source said of Nebraska. “But they aren’t in the Big 12 anymore.”

Maybe they should go back.

SMH. 

Look: I’m a big fan of using this format to take shots at horrible opinions barfed up (pun intended) by writers looking to score some cheap hate clicks.

But some takes are too stupid to mock.

To be clear, there is no movement to kick Nebraska out of the league and there is no known movement for Nebraska to leave.

But as Wetzel and others (Hi, Pat Forde!) have shown, the lack of any such movement will never stop wild speculation.

But as the COVID crisis has shown, there is a clear gap between the two entities’ ways of doing and thinking about business. 

Since Dan does not expand on this point, allow me to do so.  Nebraska wanted to play this fall, wanted to do so safely, and believed they could do so with fans in the stands. 

The Big Ten did not. 

Once Ohio State sided with Nebraska, the Big Ten reconsidered their position.

It was June of 2010 when Nebraska accepted the Big Ten’s membership offer. The Huskers were eager to leave the Big 12, which they felt was overly influenced by the University of Texas and on the verge of collapse. Due to geography, there weren’t a lot of options. Joining a safe, stable and very wealthy conference to the east made a lot of sense. 

The Big Ten, meanwhile, was seeking a then-12th member (it’s now at 14). A border state school with a huge football brand (it won three national titles in the 1990s) was appealing. 

The belief that the Nebraska name would deliver strong television ratings, despite having such a small population, overrode the concerns that the university as a whole wasn’t as committed to academics as the rest of the league. 

Without going point by point, can we acknowledge that Dan is viewing this through a hindsight prism that makes the Big Ten like a benevolent savior, instead of a pirate who raided the wreckage of another league for their collective monetary gains?

What seemed like a potential fit, however, hasn’t been. 

Nebraska football has struggled in the Big Ten, failing to find new recruiting turf to make up for the pipeline of Texas talent the Big 12 offered. Since 2014, it’s under .500 in league play. It has shown no ability to contend for championships. Its national brand, meanwhile, continues to grow weaker with high school talent and television viewers alike.

And its sparse population adds little to nothing for other schools to recruit (both in terms of football talent and potential students, the way Rutgers and Maryland do).

Yes, it is no secret that NU has struggled in the Big Ten – especially by NU’s standards.  I, like many people who know Nebraska football beyond the 30,000 foot overview you’re using, will tell you many of those struggles are due to a poor coaching and leadership.  The three coaches who recruited the talent involved in those “since 2014” teams had three different recruiting strategies, three different systems, and limited levels of success with development, strength & conditioning, and culture.

And yet… your claim about the national brand growing weaker is dead wrong.  At the high school level, the 2019 recruiting class was NU’s highest ranked in eight years, with a similar ranking in 2020. 

As for TV viewers, the 2020 game against Ohio State was the highest rated broadcast of the season.  The 2019 matchup between the two teams had equally high rankings.  Obviously, the Buckeye juggernaut plays a big role in that number. But I’m guessing OSU vs. Rutgers or Maryland are not matching those ratings – even with their much larger population bases.

Meanwhile, in 2011, Nebraska lost its membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities, of which every other Big Ten school belongs.

This is true, but much like everything else you’ve written, you have never bothered to look past the headline to learn why.  This article from the Columbia Missourian has some excellent details, but here are the Cliffs Notes:

1. Due to how the University of Nebraska system is structured, the Lincoln campus (what the sports world knows as “NU”) no longer received credit for research done at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
2. As a land grant school in a Midwestern state, NU obviously does a lot of agricultural research.  The AAU does not consider ag research to be equal to economic and medical research.

One other note:  almost a decade later, aside from the stigma of having been “kicked out” of the AAU country club, there has been little to no impact on the University of Nebraska.

In the meantime, Nebraska continues to operate in a way that is sometimes foreign to many in the conference. The mentality and experience that makes the school think it is doing the right thing just isn’t prevalent elsewhere in the conference. 

I guess this is true, too.  Unlike most of the Big Ten, Nebraska does not consider the Rose Bowl to be the pinnacle of athletic competition.  The results on the field aren’t there yet, but I can assure you that Nebraska’s goals go way beyond Pasadena. Most of what Nebraska is doing under Scott Frost is geared towards rebuilding a championship caliber program.

It’s unlikely any other Big Ten school would have even considered adding a Chattanooga to the schedule.

Dan, is your issue with Tennessee-Chattanooga?  Would Nebraska have been okay if they tried to schedule a MAC school?  Does that satisfy some double-secret Big Ten by-law for non-conference games?

Nebraska doesn’t have any (or many) options of course to change leagues.

Despite a vocal minority of Husker fans who are fed up with the Big Ten’s poor leadership, holier-than-thou attitude, and perceived reluctance to actually compete, Nebraska fans, faculty, and alumni have no desire to leave.  We understand the academic, financial, and athletic advantages (in that order) that Big Ten membership brings.

We would appreciate it if the league would realize that Nebraska standing up for their student-athletes (including those in non-revenue sports that continue to complete because football makes money), as well as the local economy is not a threat to THE BIG TEN WAY ®. 

Its football team’s mediocrity only weakens its hand even if it wanted to leave.

Dan, you have typed yourself into a hypocritical conundrum.

You’ve made it clear that a mediocre Nebraska football team is bad for NU and the Big Ten (I agree, btw). So it would naturally behoove the Huskers to make some serious strides – and soon. For a young team (like, for example, the 2020 Cornhuskers), the best way to build is through live games against actual competition. Intra-squad scrimmages aren’t going to cut it.

Do you see the issue yet? Okay, I’ll keep going…

So far this year, the Big Ten has reduced Nebraska’s schedule from 12 games to 10, and then down to 8+1. With the Badgers bailing to get their COVID under control, Nebraska lost yet another opportunity.

Nobody is saying the Huskers are a threat to make the playoffs – or probably even win the West, but any experience this young core can get now will pay off down the road, which – say it with me Dan – IS GOOD FOR THE BIG TEN.

Meanwhile, you are chiding the Huskers for wanting to improve, while criticizing them for not improving.

Meanwhile, the Big Ten is loath to do anything other than grumble privately.

Well….grumble privately (and anonymously) to you in the hopes that you’ll turn it into a column that becomes fodder for national talk shows. Mission accomplished!

It’s way too even-keeled to boot some school out. 

A fact that surely gives comfort to schools like Rutgers and Maryland who have brought nothing athletically to the conference.  Not to mention the many conference schools who have been involved in scandals, criminal activity, and other things just slightly more distasteful than trying to schedule a football game with an FCS school. 

In this article from Forbes (titled, “As Scandals Mount, It’s Time To Ask: Does The Big Ten Have A Cultural Problem?“, there are seven schools listed who have been involved in a major scandal in the last decade.  The article is from 2018, so it doesn’t have the racism claims that rocked Iowa’s football program this summer.  It may surprise you to learn that article makes zero mention of Nebraska.  Maybe Pat Forde and you can update it with a list of Nebraska’s sins over the last two months.

So this carries on, like a lot of nuptials. Neither side is happy, or even sure they know who exactly they married in the first place.

Should Nebraska and the Big Ten ever break up, we’ll make sure they get full custody of you.

Big Ten Power Rankings – week of 10/24

We’ve crossed the half way point in the season, so it’s time to start looking ahead to the division races, and who can make it to a bowl game.  As always, I make no apologies if you feel your team is too high (or too low), but feel free to let me know in the comments.

1. Michigan.  Ohio State’s loss means the Wolverines move up to the penthouse.  More importantly, it means Michigan can afford a slip up in one of their remaining non-Buckeye games.  Path to Indy:  Win out, beat Ohio State, or hope for a second OSU loss.
2. Ohio State.  All is not lost for the Buckeyes, who still control their destiny to win the East and yes, make the Playoff.  But they cannot afford to make any more mistakes.  Path to Indy:  Win out or beat Michigan and pray the Wolverines drop a game.
3. Wisconsin.  The Badgers stayed alive in the West race by knocking off Iowa.  Next up is another do-or-die game against the Huskers.  Very little that the Badgers do is pretty, but for the most part it is effective.  Path to Indy:  Beat Nebraska and hope the Huskers trip one more time.
4. Nebraska.  Don’t hate on me for having unbeaten NU fourth.  The Huskers get two straight opportunities to prove themselves worthy of a promotion, starting with a trip to Madison.  The Huskers can all but wrap up the West with a win.  Path to Indy:  Beat the Badgers.
5. Penn State.  Unfortunately, I never published last week’s rankings so you’ll have to trust me that I said “PSU is coming off a bye week, and gets to host Ohio State who played a physical overtime game against Wisconsin.  I’m not going to call the upset, but it would be tough to script a better scenario”.  Regardless, a big win for PSU.  Path to Indy:  Win out, and hope for Michigan to lose twice.
6. Northwestern.  The Wildcats are silently playing some good football, rattling off three straight conference wins.  But their road gets much tougher, starting with a trip to Columbus to face an angry bunch of Bucks.  Path to Indy:  Just keep winning and pray Nebraska loses twice.
7. Iowa.  This is the point in the rankings where we have teams with chances of winning the division should be categorized as “mathematically possible, realistically improbable”.  Iowa is a great example.  With only two losses, they could technically still win the West, but considering the losses are to division foes ahead of them (Northwestern and Wisconsin) it means the Hawkeyes have to root for every upset.  Meanwhile, the Hawks get the week off to get ready for a tough stretch run.  Path to Indy:  Win out, let chaos reign.
8. Minnesota.  The Gophers also have two losses (Penn State and Iowa), and have yet to play most of the teams in front of them (Wisconsin and both NU’s).  But when you allow Rutgers to score 18 more points than they did in their previous four games combined, I wouldn’t go making any hotel reservations.  Path to Indy:  Win out, hope everybody else loses.
9. Maryland.  The Terps are also technically alive, with games to come against Michigan and Ohio State.  But let’s be realistic, their focus should be on getting bowl eligible.  Path to bowl game:  beat Indiana or Rutgers.
10. Indiana.  Since their dramatic win over Sparty, the Hoosiers have dropped three straight and will need to kick-start the offense if they want to go bowling.  Path to a bowl game:  find three wins in their remaining five games.
11. Purdue.  In their first game post-Hazell, the Boilermakers showed some fight, but could not hang with the Huskers at home.  I think the Boilers are good enough to sneak out at least one more win.  Path to a bowl game:  Like Indiana, they need three wins in five games, but Purdue has a much tougher schedule.
12. Michigan State.  I really, really, really want to have the Sputtering Spartans lower than 12, but Michigan State’s last win (at Notre Dame, five weeks ago) is better than either of Illinois’ two wins (Murray State and Rutgers).  Path to a bowl game:  Surprisingly still open, but as MSU needs to win four out of five (including at least one over Michigan or Ohio State) it is not likely.
13. Illinois.  It’s hard for me to justify a lot of words on a team whose best win is over FCS Murray State.  Path to a bowl game:  Hope four of their next five opponents don’t show up.
14. Rutgers.  The Knights broke 30 points for the first time since September 17 – a day when #12 Michigan State beat Notre Dame, Indiana and Maryland were undefeated, and Northwestern improved to 1-2.  This  week allows me to use one of my favorite Lee Barfknecht one-liners:  “Rutgers is idle – and should remain that way.”  Path to a bowl game:  Not out of the question, but they would need to win out against Indiana, Michigan State, Penn State, and Maryland.

Big Ten Power Rankings – Week of 10/10

Here are this week’s Big Ten Power Rankings:

1. Ohio State.  Did what championship teams do – pull away from a team not on their level.  The Buckeyes have won each of their games by at least 21 points.  Can Wisconsin break that trend?
2. Michigan.  Holy Harbaugh, that 78 point win over Rutgers is the absolute definition of “domination”.  So many eye-popping stats came out of that annihilation, that picking one doesn’t do justice to the totality of that victory.  The Wolverines will face a tougher test this week when they are idle.
3. Wisconsin.  Coming off of their bye week, the Badgers get Ohio State at Camp Randall.  In classic “something’s gotta give” matchup, Ohio State is averaging 53 points per game.  Wisconsin has not allowed more than 14 points to FBS competition.
4. Nebraska.  Back in the Top Ten for the first time in five years, are the Cornhuskers for real?  I dunno.  The argument can be made that Wyoming is their best win.  Coming off the bye week, Nebraska will be battling Indiana and injuries – and not necessarily in that order.
5. Penn State.  The Nitany Lions handled previously unbeaten Maryland 38-14 for their best win of the year.  Now, they get a week off to prepare for Ohio State.  After that, the rest of their schedule (Purdue, Iowa, Indiana, Rutgers, Michigan State) looks doable.
6. Indiana.  The final score of the Ohio State loss doesn’t show that the Hoosiers played the #2 Buckeyes pretty close for a good chunk of the game.  That fact should not be lost on the top ten team Indiana faces this weekend (Nebraska)
7. Iowa.  Since blowing out Iowa State, the Hawkeyes are 2-2, with four unimpressive outings.  Is this a long hangover from how their 2015 season ended?  Or after a magical season where almost everything went their way, are they returning to the norm?
8. Maryland.  Last week, we speculated that Maryland’s (then) undefeated record might be a mirage, a theory proven emphatically by Penn State.  A tangle with Minnesota should help confirm or debunk that notion.
9. Northwestern.  The Wildcats are 2-3 overall, but don’t count them out of the West race yet.  They come off of their bye week with an intriguing matchup against Michigan State (as much as a game featuring two 2-3 Big Ten teams can be intriguing)
10. Michigan State.  What is going on in East Lansing?  The Spartans are 2-3 and have lost three straight.  If they are going to salvage a bowl game out this season, beating Northwestern this weekend will be huge.
11. Minnesota.  The Gophers are not technically out of the West division race, but to keep their hopes alive, they better not lose another game in the next month (at Maryland, Rutgers, at Illinois, Purdue).
12. Purdue.  It wasn’t pretty, but give credit to Purdue for earning a rare conference road win.  With Iowa coming to town, the Boilermakers have an opportunity to keep moving up.
13. Illinois.  Illini fans are probably the only people in the conference happy that Rutgers is a member of the Big Ten.  My condolences to whomever has to broadcast the Illinois – Rutgers game this week.  I recommend drinking heavily.
14. {open}
15. {open}
16. Rutgers.  After losing back to back games by scores of 58-0 and 78-0, I cannot in good conscious put Rutgers at 14.  Last place just doesn’t do this team justice.  I don’t care that both teams are in the Top 5.  I’ll lay down a gauntlet for the Scarlet Knights:  Beat Illinois, and you may get #13 next week.  Lose to the Illini, and I’ll consider promoting you to #14.  Get blown out, and I’ll run these rankings all the way to 50.

Big Ten Power Rankings – week of 10/3

With the first full week of Big Ten play in the books, it’s time to roll out the weekly Power Rankings.  These are no specific by division, but rather reflect where each team is from week to week.  I make no apologies if you feel your team is too high (or too low), but feel free to let me know in the comments.

1. Ohio State.  Still the best in the league, by a wide margin, but playing Rutgers makes that gap look bigger than it probably is.  Indiana should be a good gauge for how the Buckeyes truly are.
2. Michigan.  Held off one of the toughest teams in the league, thanks in part to this super-human interception. For a reward, the Wolverines get two straight bye weeks…oh wait…they play Rutgers, then the bye week.
3. Wisconsin.  If not for one of the craziest interceptions you’ll ever see, the Badgers are easily #2 in these rankings.  So forgive me if I don’t punish them too much for a seven point loss.  A well-deserved week off before the second half of their gauntlet.
4. Nebraska.  The Huskers entered the fourth quarter trailing Illinois by six.  A year ago, the Huskers lose that game.  This year, they win by 15.  That said the Huskers are literally limping into their bye week with the meat of their schedule still to come.
5. Indiana.  It’s possible I’m rewarding the Hoosiers for Michigan State being overrated – and/or melting down in overtime, but who would you put ahead of them?  We are going to learn a lot about the Hoosiers in their next two games (at Ohio State, Nebraska).
6. Maryland.  Yes, the Terps are 4-0, but arguably their best win is a six point victory over Central Florida, who has a new coach.  If Maryland is for real, the next two games (at Penn State, Minnesota) should be wins.
7. Minnesota.  It is way too early to consider the Floyd of Rosedale game to be a West Division elimination game.  But it may be tough to overcome two conference losses before the middle of October.
8. Iowa.  Who is Iowa?  Are they the team that beat up on MAC-level competition (Miami of Ohio and Iowa State) by a combined 87-24?  Or are they the team that lost to an FCS school, Northwestern, and only beat Rutgers by seven?  All I know is I feel like I have the Hawkeyes too high.  What I said about Minnesota applies here too.
9. Penn State.  This is probably as good of time as any to note that while I do consider head-to-head results, they are not a necessarily the final word.  In this case, while Penn State’s three point win over the Gophers was duly considered, it doesn’t overcome the Lions’ 39 point loss to Michigan.
10. Michigan State.  I have a very hard time putting the defending conference champions this low.  But then I realize that they are 2-2, with only one win over a FBS team (an equally disappointing 2-3 Notre Dame).  It was shocking to watch the overtime period of the Indiana game.  Michigan State looked sloppy, undisciplined, and clueless – adjectives rarely connected to MSU in the last five seasons.  The harsh reality is Sparty’s visions of a repeat may already be dead.
11. Northwestern.  Give credit to the Wildcats for taking the battle to Iowa, and having the ability to close out the victory.  I’m looking forward to their next game (at Michigan State on 10/15) as a measuring stick of both schools.
12. Illinois.  With back to back games against Purdue and Rutgers, the Illini have a golden opportunity to distance themselves from the dreaded teen spots (13 & 14) in the rankings.
13. Rutgers.  For those who like to compare teams using common opponents, Rutgers – fresh off a 58-0 drubbing by Ohio State – hosts Michigan this weekend.  Of course, you could also compare the Buckeyes and Wolverines based on how they fared in their spring scrimmages.  Probably the same difference.
14. Purdue.  They say bad things come in threes:  First was a 50-7 beating by Maryland.  Second was this blistering column by Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star, saying that he can’t be care enough to be mad about Purdue because nobody cares about Purdue.  Finally, a burst pipe caused a sinkhole in one of Purdue’s end zones.  I’ll let you make your own joke for that one.

Big Ten Predictions – 2016

My lovely wife works in the financial industry, specifically with retirement plans.  And whenever you discuss retirement plans and investment options you often come across a specific disclaimer:  Past performance does not necessarily predict future results.  In other words, just because that fund heavily steeped in dot com startups grew exponentially in the early years, you shouldn’t purchase that vacation home just yet.

The same thing hold true when attempting to predict how the teams in the Big Ten will finish the season.  It’s easy to look at Wisconsin’s two big wins, or Iowa’s loss to a FCS school and make quick assumptions on who will win the West.  But past performance does not necessarily predict future results.  Iowa may improve, dramatically, from their loss and folks will realize that North Dakota State is, regardless of their “lower tier” status, a pretty damn good football team.  Michigan State may have looked inept against Wisconsin, but you count out a Mark Dantonio team at your own risk.  Past performance does not necessarily predict future results.  Indiana football has stunk for most of this century, but past performance does not necessarily predict future results.  The Hoosiers could challenge for the upper half of the East.

Really, there are only two exceptions to “past performance does not necessarily predict future results”:  Purdue will continue to suck, and there will definitely be a “what the hell was I thinking?” prediction that will look foolish in two months.

So with the first full weekend of Big Ten conference games kicking off this weekend, what will the standings look like on December 1?  What will each team need to have happen in order to make it to the conference championship game in Indianapolis?  Let’s take a look:

East Division

1. Ohio State.  The Buckeyes have the best talent in the conference, a coaching staff that has proven they take talent and produce championships, and Michigan playing in the Horseshoe.
To make it to Indy, Ohio State will need to:  Beat Michigan.  Start preparing yourself now, because the hype for that game is going to be ridiculous.

2. Michigan State.  The loss to Wisconsin was surprising, but it says here that the Spartans have the second best coaching in the conference, and an underrated pool of next-level talent.  Like an 18 play drive to win the game, you don’t count the Spartans out until the bitter end.
To make it to Indy, Michigan State will need to:  Win out.  The rest of their schedule is very manageable.  Both Michigan and Ohio State are at home.  Their remaining West games are Northwestern and Illinois.

3. Michigan.  I remain skeptical of Jim Harbaugh and his ability to restore Michigan as a legitimate power.  He seems to be more distraction than savior.  Let’s put it this way:  if the Wolverines’ on-field success approaches the off-field media attention Harbaugh draws, it could be a special year in Ann Arbor.
To make it to Indy, Michigan will need to:   Beat Ohio State in Columbus, and avoid last second meltdowns.

4.  Indiana.  It should be noted that there is a significant gap between 1-3 and the rest of the East.  I think the Hoosiers are ready to make a step up – six conference wins is not out of the question.  Of course, I’m pretty sure I said that last year…and probably the year before that.
To make it to Indy, Indiana will need to:  Play out of their minds, and root for chaos to open the door.

5.  Maryland. I’ll be honest, I have no idea if Maryland will be good, bad, or indifferent.  In the Big Ten East, that gets you 5th place.
To make it to Indy, Maryland will need to:  Hypnotize teams with their hideous “pride” uniforms and steal a couple of wins.

6.  Penn State.  I’ve seen where James Franklin is referring to this as “season one” with full scholarships, which sounds to me like he’s keeping expectations low.  I think when November rolls around PSU will be wishing they could trade the 9th conference game for another non-con cupcake to get themselves bowl eligible.
To make it to Indy, Penn State will need to:  Fly so far under the radar that nobody knows what is happening until they run out of the tunnel at Lucas Oil Stadium.

7.  Rutgers.  As you read this, Jim Delaney is furiously Googling “conference expansion return policies”.
To make it to Indy, Rutgers will need to:  Go full Jersey mafia on teams 1-6.

 

West

1. Iowa.  Do I think the Hawkeyes are the best team in the West?  No.  So why do I have them #1?  It comes down to what they have (a proven quarterback, experience winning the division, Wisconsin and Nebraska at home) and what they don’t have (Wisconsin’s schedule).
To make it to Indy, Iowa will need to:  Realize that North Dakota State would be picked no worse than 3rd in the West.

2. Nebraska.  The Huskers are off to a best case scenario 4-0 start, with a very manageable road to 7-0.  The challenge for the Big Red is getting past Wisconsin (one win in six tries since joining the league, zero in Madison), Ohio State (they’re kinda good), and Iowa (when the Heroes Trophy  – sponsored by Hy-Vee – is on the line, you throw the records out the door!!!).
To make it to Indy, Nebraska will need to: Keep Tommy Armstrong healthy and win their road games – all three of the games mentioned above are on the road.

3. Wisconsin.  With the Badgers, it’s more about why they won’t win as opposed to why they could win.  Those reasons are:  at Michigan State, at Michigan, (bye), Ohio State, at Iowa, and Nebraska.  They aced the first exam, but that is as brutal of a stretch as anybody in the conference.
To make it to Indy, Wisconsin will need to: Win the head to head contests in division, and brush up on other tiebreaker rules.

4.  Minnesota.  If Wisconsin has the hardest schedule in the league, the Golden Gophers may have the easiest.  When you draw Penn State, Maryland, and Rutgers as cross-over games, you’ll have a fighting chance at the division title.
To make it to Indy, Minnesota will need to: Handle their business in the West, and let Ohio State, Michigan, and Michigan State help them out.  Having Mitch Leidner live up to his hype as a first round NFL quarterback certainly wouldn’t hurt.

5.  Illinois.  Sheesh, the bottom of the West is a mess.  Three teams combined for four wins in September.  I’ve seen Northwestern play (and lose) twice, and I have no confidence in Purdue, so that leaves us with Illinois at #5.  Not exactly a glowing endorsement of the Illini’s chances.
To make it to Indy, Illinois will need to:  Have Lovie Smith pretend he’s still the head coach of the Chicago Bears and get the Illinois players in the stadium when the Bears play the Colts on October 9.

6.  Northwestern.  The Wildcats are not a good team.  I really like their running back Justin Jackson, who could start for most of the teams in the league.  But after that, Northwestern doesn’t have much of anything.  But since I can’t see a Pat Fitzgerald team going from 10 wins to the cellar, I’m sticking them here.
To make it to Indy, Northwestern will need to:  Find a loophole to get Trevor Siemian another year of eligibility, and bring Von Miller with him.

7.  Purdue.  With two non-conference wins, and cross-over games against Maryland, Penn State, and Indiana.  Purdue could get themselves bowl eligible this year.  But as we said at the top:  Purdue is an exception to the “past performance does not necessarily predict future results” rule.  Until they prove me wrong, they live here.
To make it to Indy, Purdue will need to:  take I-65 south towards Lucas Oil Stadium.  They arguably will be able to purchase tickets at the stadium, but I’d recommend using the secondary market to get seats below face value.  They’ll need the extra money to hire a new coach.

In the Big Ten Championship, I’ll predict Ohio State proves they are much, much better than North Dakota State:  Buckeyes 56, Hawkeyes 13.

For a dark horse prediction, let’s go with Tommy Armstrong throwing for 300 and rushing for 100 as the Huskers beat Michigan 38 – 34.

B1G Power Rankings – Week of 10/5/2015

All season, I’ll be ranking the teams in the Big Ten from one to Maryland.  To see my predictions for how the season will play out, click here.

As always, if you think I’m right, wrong, or clinically insane, let me know in the comments.

Prepare to disagree…

1. Ohio State.  The Buckeyes can continue to muddle and struggle along for another month as they should be heavy favorites over Rutgers, Minnesota, and Illinois.  But eventually, they’ll have to play championship level football.
2. Michigan State.  Yes, Sparty’s win was an absolute fluke, but a win is a win.
3. Michigan.  “Golly gee, what an unfortunate way to lose a game in the final seconds” – Mike Riley, probably.  The Wolverines are the first of four teams taking this week off, which means a lot of time to potentially dwell on that epic loss.
4. Iowa.  The Hawkeyes continue to take care of business and get a week off to rest and prepare for a stretch run at an undefeated regular season.
5. Wisconsin.  There is a pretty steep drop off between # 4 and #5 in the league, and one could make an argument for a handful of teams in this spot.  Wisconsin gets the nod for now, but I’m willing to drop them down if another team gets hot.
6. Penn State.  I’ll be honest, this is probably way too high for the Nitany Lions, but their lone conference loss is to the league’s best team.  Nobody below them can make that claim.
7. Illinois.  Speaking of being ranked too high, here are the Fighting Illini.  They were idle last week after beating Nebraska and narrowly lowing to Iowa.  Are they a legitimate middle tier team?  This week’s game against Wisconsin will go a long way to deciding that.
8. Northwestern.  After starting out at a blazing 5-0, the Wildcats are falling apart losing to Michigan and Iowa by a combined score of 78-10.  Pat Fitzgerald’s team usually plays Nebraska tough, so they could get back on track with a win in Lincoln.
9. Nebraska.  It’s tough to overstate just how important the 48-25 win over Minnesota was for this team.  Not only does it give them possession of the $5 Bits of Broken Chair trophy for the first time, it also takes a lot of heat off of Mike Riley and his team.  Let’s see if they can continue their momentum against Northwestern.
10. Minnesota.  Good news:  after getting thumped at home by Nebraska, the Gophers have a week off to get things back on track.  Bad news:  their next three games are Michigan, at Ohio State, and at Iowa.  Yikes.
11. Indiana.  The bottom tier starts out with the confusing Hoosiers.  They go into the Horseshoe and hold Ohio State to 34 points.  Then two weeks later, they allow Rutgers to score 55.  The Hoosiers have an upset opportunity if they can catch Sparty in a Wolverine hangover.
12. Rutgers.  I missed last week, so I did not get a chance to properly mock Rutgers for losing an upset chance against Michigan State by spiking the ball on fourth down.  It’s a good thing they beat Indiana, as the Scarlet Knights may not win again for another month.
13. Purdue.  Losers of five straight, the Boilermakers limp into their bye week dangerously close to being the first conference team eliminated from a bowl game.
14. Maryland.  The Terrapins allowed 42 points to Idle last week.

B1G Power Rankings – Week of 10/5/2015

All season, I’ll be ranking the teams in the Big Ten from one to Maryland.  To see my predictions for how the season will play out, click here.

As always, if you think I’m right, wrong, or clinically insane, let me know in the comments.

Prepare to disagree…

1. Ohio State – Yeah, I know the Buckeyes are still not clicking on all cylinders.  But a game with Maryland should be a good way to work out some of the kinks.
2. Michigan State – What do the Spartans have to do to jump Ohio State?  For starters, they can avoid falling asleep at the wheel like they did with Purdue.  They were probably looking ahead to Rutgers.  Put away the lesser teams and move on.
3. Northwestern.  Northwestern is off to an amazing start, and a shutout over Minnesota makes them the current best of the West.  Now the challenge is to keep that title over their next three games (at Michigan, Iowa, at Nebraska).
4. Michigan.  I thought about having the Wolverines at #3, but gave the nod to Northwestern for their overall body of work.  Besides, blowing out Maryland isn’t exactly newsworthy.  Beat the Wildcats and we’ll talk.
5. Iowa.  Who is this team, and what have they done with Ferentz’s Follies?  I’m not sold on Iowa in the long-term, but give them credit for what they’ve done so far.
6. Indiana.  Was taking Ohio State deep into the fourth a sign of progress or a fluke?  For progress, the Hoosiers will need to beat Penn State this week, not just play them close.
7. Wisconsin.  The injury bug has hit the Badgers hard.  Fortunately, their next four opponents (NU, Purdue, Illinois, Rutgers) are a combined 9-7, with Illinois having the best record of the bunch.
8. Illinois.  Give credit to the Illini for hanging around and finding a way to beat Nebraska.  But they’ll need to play better for the other 59 minutes to beat Iowa.
9. Minnesota.  Minnesota’s total points in 2015 (77) will likely be matched by Baylor when they play Kansas this weekend.  The lack of offense at Minnesota is startling – even by Big Ten standards.
10. Penn State.  I continue to be underwhelmed by what I see out of Penn State.  I’m not sure if that will change this year.
11. Nebraska.  You have to go back a long ways to find a more surprising and painful conference loss than Illinois.  The Huskers must bounce back, and quick.
12. Purdue.  Credit to the Boilers for not quitting against Michigan State.  If they can score 21 point this week, they’ll have a great chance against Minnesota.
13. Rutgers.  Lee Barfknecht of the Omaha World-Herald had a great line on Saturday:  “Rutgers is idle, and should remain that way.”  No arguments here.
14. Maryland.  The Terps should be thankful that Hurricane Joaquin knocked them out of prime time.  Maryland’s three losses have been by 21, 39, and 28 points.  On a related note, South Florida (who Maryland beat by 18) must be a horrible team.

Big Ten Predictions – 2015

The Big Ten conference schedule kicks off in full this weekend, which means it’s time to predict how the teams will finish within their division.  I purposefully wait to make my picks until the non-conference schedule is over, so I can have a better idea of who is a contender and who is a pretender.  Given my prognosticating history, I need all the help I can get.

Once conference play gets rolling, I’ll do a weekly ranking of Big Ten teams 1 through 14, but for the initial round we’ll keep it East and West.  As we’ll discuss, the two divisions could not be more different this year.  Let’s start with the East…

East Division

The second edition of the Big Ten East reminds me a lot of the Big Eight of the 1980s.  Ohio State and Michigan State play the role of Nebraska and Oklahoma – legitimate national championship contenders, who will fight for the title.  Michigan has the role of Colorado – a team with potential, but one that’s probably a few years away.  The other four teams will play the role of KU, KSU, ISU, MU, and OSU – teams that will peak at average and will pose little threat to the two big dogs.

1. Ohio State.  I know the Buckeyes have not been clicking on all cylinders.  Quarterback is still a bit of a question, but this program has earned the benefit of the doubt until somebody knocks them down.  Also, they host Michigan State in the Horseshoe.
2. Michigan State.  Oregon’s blowout loss took some of the shine off of what initially looked like a big Spartan win.  Regardless, it’s still the best win by a Big Ten team this year.  Michigan State has a challenging conference schedule with road games at Michigan, Nebraska, and Ohio State.  If they win all three of those, they will have earned the division title.
3. Michigan.  It’s not that I think Hail to the Harbaughs are the third best in the division, it’s that nobody else has impressed me enough to be ranked ahead of the Wolverines.  If I could, I’d insert a blank space to help illustrate the gap OSU/MSU and Michigan.
4. Indiana.  Picking the Hoosiers fourth is as much about the mediocrity of the division as it is about Indiana discovering how to play non-awful football.  They may be 4-0 now, but there is a good chance they;ll be 5-3 or even 4-4 by November 1.
5. Penn State.  There are good arguments to be made for any of the three remaining teams to be picked last.  From what I’ve seen of Penn State, they look rather dreadful despite having one of the finest quarterback talents in the country in Christian Hackenberg (hashtag sarcasm font).  But, they already own a head to head win over Rutgers.  Expect the Nitany Lions to beat a team they have no business beating, but to lose a lot of ugly games.
6. Maryland.  In my first draft, I had Maryland ahead of Penn State.  But as miserable as PSU has looked, they haven’t been blown out by West Virginia and – yikes – Bowling Green.  Maryland’s season may be uglier than their uniforms, which is saying a lot.
7. Rutgers.  I’m a little disappointed that Rutgers beat Kansas.  Had they lost to the Jayhawks, Rutgers would have been locked into the #14 spot in the weekly power rankings for the season, no questions asked.    Seriously, it might have taken wins over Ohio State and Michigan State to remove them from the cellar.  As it is, the odds are very good the Scarlet Knights will have more suspensions (five, not including coach Kyle Flood) than wins.

West Division

The West should be wild this year, as every team except Illinois and Purdue has a puncher’s chance of winning a trip to Indianapolis be blown out by a far better team from the East.  Before the season, this looked like a three horse race between Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Minnesota.  But strong starts from Iowa and Northwestern have pushed them into the conversation.  Predicting an order of finish is like flipping a five-sided coin – it’s damn near impossible.  The two biggest factors in the West will likely be a) who can protect their home field and who has favorable cross-over games with the East.  Teams that can win on the road and/or avoid OSU and MSU will have a leg up.  Regardless, I’ll be surprised if a team wins this division with fewer than two losses.

1. Wisconsin.  Much like Ohio State, Wisconsin gets the nod based more on track record than clear potential.  The injury to Corey Clement is big (Husker fans, feel free to insert a cell phone joke here), and the NFL scouts aren’t lining up to see Joel Stave.  But the Badgers do have the easiest cross over games (Rutgers and at Maryland), have Iowa at home, and likely have a healthy mental edge on Nebraska.
2. Minnesota.  Arguably the best defense in the division, the Gophers would likely be a strong favorite if a) their offense was better and/or b) they didn’t have the toughest schedule in the division (Michigan and at Ohio State).  Still, you underestimate Minnesota at your own risk.
3. Nebraska.  The Huskers have the best offense in the division, a very strong run defense, and game-changing weapons on special teams.  But the Big Red has big issues with pass defense and pass rush, and is paper-thin at many critical positions.    There are other concerns with NU’s ability to avoid penalties and mental errors, and to avoid the one quarter each game where nothing goes right.  NU certainly has the talent and coaching to win the division, but this program needs to prove it can win big games again.
4. Northwestern.  In the relatively short time I’ve been following the Big Ten, one pattern has become clear:  When Northwestern gets preseason hype, they fall apart.  When the Wildcats are ignored, they are sneaky good.  This is a sneaky good year, having beaten Stanford and Duke (thus winning the Brainiac Cup).  October is big for the other NU:  if they can go 4-0 or 3-1 against Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa, and Nebraska, they could coast into Indy.
5. Iowa.  Kirk Ferentz’s seat was getting very very hot, but four straight wins have the Hawkeye faithful ready for a return to glory  – or at least willing to hold off on shoving Ferentz out the door.  If he can get a program that has been mediocre (if not bad) in the last three years to Indy, he deserves a contract extension.  Cross over games with Maryland and at Indiana will help his cause.
6. Illinois.  It’s never good when you fire your head coach a week before the season starts, yet the Illini may be better for it – especially in the long run.  The issue in Champaign is talent and consistency.  Don’t be surprised if they play a spoiler role for one of the teams above them in the standings.
7. Purdue.  The bad news:  The Boilermakers do not currently have a win over a FBS team.  The good news:  Purdue probably could finish fifth or sixth in the East.

 

Big Ten Championship

If everything holds to form, we’ll see a repeat of Ohio State and Wisconsin in Indianapolis.  This time, the Badgers make the game interesting…for a quarter, before the Buckeyes rout them again.

Dark horse prediction:  Michigan State pulls the upset in Columbus and heads to Indy undefeated and ranked #1.  They face a Nebraska team who lost 35-17 to the Spartans in Lincoln as Connor Cook threw for 375 yards and five touchdowns.  This time, Cook goes out with an early injury and Mark Banker’s run defense shuts down the Spartans.  Mike Riley’s offense clicks on all cylinders as Nebraska shocks the nation with a 31-9 win.

End of Year Blowout – 2014

If it’s the end of the year, that typically means two things:  1) I’m a couple of posts shy of my annual goal and 2) I’ve got some odds and ends that never got finished.  Therefore, we grab one virtual stone, take aim at two metaphorical birds and fire off some miscellany:

Randy Gregory goes pro.

All year, I’ve been seeing Nebraska defensive end Randy Gregory listed as a top 5 – or at least high first round – pick in the 2015 NFL draft.  Some experts have him as the #1 overall pick.

Coming into the season, I probably would have agreed with that.  Gregory had a great 2013 season and looked to improve as a junior.  But four months later, I am not sure why Gregory is still considered a lock to be a top 10 pick.

Don’t get me wrong, Gregory is an athletic freak with a strong upside, but when I watched him play this season I rarely thought “this is one of the best players in college football” or “this guy is NFL ready right now”.

He has an amazing motor, hustles like a walk-on, and is relentless in his pass rushing – and maybe that’s what the Mel Kipers and Todd McShays are going off of.  But I also see a guy who – while improved – is still questionable on run defense, appears injury prone, and sometimes loses his composure.

Clearly, if he’s going to be a top 10 pick he made the right decision to go pro, but I’m not sure I’d want my NFL team to take him with their first pick.  The reward may not be worth the risk.

There’s Bo place like home.

Author’s note:  I wrote this after it was announced that Bo Pelini was going to return home to be the head coach at Youngstown State.  This also happened to be the night before the second Pelini Audio Bomb was dropped.  After that beauty hit the fan, I didn’t think this would be well received:

Good for him.  Whether or not you liked Bo, supported him, or wish he would have been fired a year ago, I would hope you think this is a good move for him.  It was very clear during Bo’s tenure just how much he loves his hometown, and how much pride he has in his roots.  I don’t want this to come across as a swipe at Bo, but I think that when a coach truly loves the school, city, or state he represents, it generally leads success.

I don’t claim to know what Bo’s career goals were two months ago, or are today, but Youngstown State seems like a good fit for where he is at now – and a great stepping stone for future opportunities.  Even with Youngstown State’s history, there won’t be nearly as much pressure to win as what he felt at Nebraska.  It’s unlikely that Pelini will face 20+ media members after every practice.  Once again, his boss is the legendary, championship-winning coach and not a lawyer.  And most importantly, he’s back around family and friends.

Nebraska gets a new trophy game

Author’s note:  This was from a post tentatively titled “Freedom isn’t Free (but apparently, ugly trophies are)”

Big Ten loves it some trophy games.  Fine.  That’s part of who they are, so it should be embraced and cherished.  In that regard, I’m all for putting a trophy at stake in the Nebraska – Wisconsin series.  With both teams now in the West division, that matchup looks like an annual winner-take-all battle royale.

But whomever is responsible for the actual trophy has no idea what makes Big Ten trophy games so unique and fun.  The draw and desire is not to see two programs honoring “freedom”, “heroes”, or some other broad term that most everybody already respects*.

*I’m looking forward to future trophy games honoring “America”, “Moms”, “Apple Pie”, and “Three Day Weekends”.  Maybe Nebraska can get a trophy game going with Purdue or Rutgers for one of these themes!

Big Ten trophy games are about peculiar items that are only considered “trophies” by the teams involved:

A bronze pig.  A jug.  A wooden turtle.  A giant ax.  A spittoon.

Yeah, some of these are cheesy and corny*, but I feel that was part of the draw for Nebraska fans when we joined the Big Ten.  We could picture ourselves getting worked up over a bronzed ear of corn, a big cow, or some other random item.

*Yeah, that was intentional.  Memo to Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Big Ten leadership:  stop being embarrassed by the agricultural roots of our great states.

Nobody is getting worked up over the ultra generic Heroes Trophy (presented by Hy-Vee!) and I don’t see many players or fans getting too hyped over the Freedom Trophy.

And that is what is the most disappointing about this – it is just such a huge missed opportunity.  Nebraska and Wisconsin seem like natural rivals – and they have since the day NU joined the conference.  Two traditionally powerful schools, priding themselves on homegrown talent, big offensive lines, powerful run games, and passionate fans.  The ties between the two programs (Wisconsin legend Barry Alvarez was a NU player and assistant.  Nebraska’s AD Shawn Eichorst worked at Wisconsin) are big.  With both teams in the same division, the matchup just seems destined for a heated rivalry.  Adding a trophy should have been the cherry on top, but in this case, it was a swing and a miss.

Both Wisconsin and Nebraska are states that are proud of their agricultural roots, and are widely known for the food they produce.  Wisconsin is synonymous with cheese and if you want a good steak, find a cow raised on Nebraska corn.  A cow would have been a natural trophy – something with meaning to the two schools and states, something unique, and something that respects and honors the legacy of Big Ten trophy games.

But apparently somebody thought it would be better to go broader.

And that is disappointing to me.  The Big Ten could have done something unique to honor the people and culture of the teams involved.  Instead, they opted for something vague, non-specific, and unnecessarily self-important.  It makes me sad, but given this is the same conference that gave us Legends and Leaders, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the Big Ten went for the most pompous route instead of the one that makes the most sense.

Ironically, the design inspiration appears to be taken from a December 2013 post on knowitallfootball.com, where J.P. Scott wrote:

“I was rooting through some Husker gear when I came across a lunchbox that had “Huskers” painted onto one side and the Wisconsin “W” misprinted on the other.”

Seriously, toss a big ol’ flag in the middle and there’s your Freedom Trophy!

2014 World Series Games as Husker Bowl games

Author’s note:  The genesis for this post was the heartbreak of the Kansas City Royals’ Game 7 loss to the San Francisco Giants.  It reminded me of the 1984 Orange Bowl, where Nebraska was so close, but fell just short.  The original idea was to take each game of the World Series and find a comparable Husker bowl game (preferably one with national championship implications).  I didn’t games 2 -5 done, but here is what I had:

Game 1:  Giants 7, Royals 1 is the 2002 Rose Bowl (Miami Hurricanes 37 – Nebraska 14).  Some may question if the Royals should have been there, much like Eric Crouch’s Huskers were questioned for appearing in the Rose Bowl.  A game that was not as close as the final score indicated, as the Canes and Giants were dominant in all phases of the game.

Game 6:  Royals 10, Giants 0 is the 1996 Fiesta Bowl (Nebraska 62, Florida Gators 24).  Few gave the Huskers a chance against the vaunted Fun and Gun offense (“Nebraska can’t run on grass”) just like nobody gave the Royals much of a chance of coming back down three games to two.  At best, it was expected to be a close, hard-fought game that came down to the wire.  Instead, it was over in the second.  The Huskers exploded for 29 second quarter points to take a 35-10 halftime lead.  The Royals batted around in the second inning to score seven runs.

Game 7:  (Giants 3, Royals 2) is the 1984 Orange Bowl (Miami Hurricanes 31, Nebraska 30).  The games were so close, yet so far away.  The opponent controlled most of the game, a key injury (Rozier / Sal Perez HBP) left fans wondering what could have been.  But these two games will be forever remembered for a critical decision made late in the contest.  Should Nebraska go for two to win outright?  Should third base coach Mike Jirshelle have tried to send Alex Gordon home after his single was bobbled and booted around the outfield?  As much as fans may disagree (Nebraska probably would have won the National Championship by kicking the extra point to tie / Gordon may have beaten the throw or the relay may have been off-target) it says here that the right decision was made.  Osborne gained so much more than he lost by going for two.  Gordon likely would have been out by 10 feet, and the next batter (Salvador Perez) had homered off of Bumgarner earlier in the Series).

Braxton Miller is out for the season. 

Author’s note:  This was written shortly after Ohio State star quarterback Braxton Miller was lost for the 2014 season due to injury.  A local radio station was making the case that this injury was bad for the Big Ten, and therefore, bad for Nebraska.  I didn’t buy that.

It sucks for Miller and to a far lesser extent, Buckeye fans.  But I just do not feel compelled to feel bad because the Big Ten’s “best chance” at getting a team in the playoffs and therefore, restoring glory and respect to the conference is gone.  Yeah, Ohio State has a far tougher road to get into the playoffs – let alone win the Big Ten East, but I’m not really sure how that impacts me as a Nebraska fan – especially since Ohio State was not on Nebraska’s schedule, nor do they play either of the teams expected to contend for the West title (Wisconsin or Iowa). 

This may be 15 years as a fan of a Big XII school talking – but I don’t take a lot of pride in the successes of fellow conference schools.  Sure if the championship game came down to say, Alabama or Florida State versus Michigan State, I’d want the Spartans to win.  But I’m not going to chant “B-I-G” the next time a Big Ten school wins a title. 

*Or would it be “Bee-One-Gee”?

Heck, I think Nebraska fans are more likely to find amusement in the stumbles of conference mates (such as the typo in the Texas media guide) than gain pride in something that Illinois does.  Besides, getting a team into the playoffs isn’t going to magically erase the stigma that the B1G is the weakest of the Power 5 conferences.  That will take multiple years of bowl wins, non-conference victories, and most likely a national title or two.  As good as Braxton Miller is, he can’t do all of that by himself.

The “Obama Presidential Library” is unveiled in a Norfolk parade

Author’s note:  A Fourth of July parade in Norfolk, NE contained a controversial float of the “Obama Presidential Library” – a Obama caricature sitting in front of a dilapidated outhouse.  

As is my custom, I’ll do my best to leave my political views out of the discussion.  If you want to read an impassioned response from a conservative or a liberal, you have many options.  I’d rather try to view things from both sides of the street.

I am not at all surprised by the float’s popularity.  The joke seems to be lifted right out of my Facebook feed, which is often filled with images and other memes mocking President Obama.  Obama is not popular with many of my Facebook friends, and I’ve seen more than one person use language that was rather disrespectful.  That’s part of life with a left-leaning President in a very conservative state like Nebraska.

I’ve seen many people asking what the response would have been if it was a conservative politician being lampooned.  Certainly, in an ultra red state like Nebraska there are several options (the governor, both Senators, and all three U.S. Representatives are Republican – and the odds are microscopic that a Democrat will win any of those offices in November’s elections).  So I can understand that a hypothetical float mocking the accomplishments of Governor Dave Heineman’s 10 years in office would not be well received – if it was even allowed entry into the parade in the first place.  But that’s not the point.

Personally, I’ve had enough with the “where was the outrage when so-and-so was ridiculed” straw-man arguments.  Yes, folks mocked George W. Bush (as well as Bush Sr, and Reagan), just like folks mocked Clinton and Carter.  And I’ll guarantee that whichever Republican wins in 2016 will be mocked too.

Let’s all acknowledge that democrats bash republicans and republicans bash democrats.  Let’s also acknowledge that this childish back and forth is one of the things most people hate about our current political culture.  At some point, somebody needs to be the bigger person and say “This is over the line.  There is a time and place, and this is not it”.

In one local article, a defender of the float said it is nothing worse than a “political cartoon” in a newspaper.  That is a fair point.  I’ve seen sharper jabs in political cartoons than what the float was trying to convey.  But there is a difference:  There are not too many young minds who read the editorial/opinion pages.  The ones that do probably can understand the concept of political satire.

But when an outhouse float goes down Main Street USA to the applause and laughter of the crowd, it becomes tougher to explain to a child why we should continue to respect the office, especially when the current President is depicted outside a dilapidated outhouse.  I don’t have a problem if you don’t respect the current President, but I do take issue with being disrespectful of the office.

 

Husker Hot Takes – 12/11/2014

Fill your Christmas stockings with a fresh batch of Husker Hot Takes:

What in the holy Incarnate Word is going on with Nebrasketball?

That was a meltdown of epic proportions.  Fouling a shooter taking a three pointer.  Twice.  Throwing away in-bounds passes.  Mental lapses and physical breakdowns.  All while a less than capacity crowd watches quietly.  Somewhere in Indiana, Barry Collier said “Damn, that’s a bad loss.”*

*He probably didn’t say that.

I heard a conspiracy-minded person hint that maybe Nebraska lost on purpose (for reasons that are still unclear to me).  My response:  “If they were trying to lose, they would not have been as obvious as what happened”.

So what now?  Obviously, there are issues both physical and mental going on with this team.  This team isn’t going to develop a dominating post game anytime soon, nor are they likely become three-point marksmen.  My guess is Tim Miles will figure out what his team does well and try to accentuate it.

But if you’re panicking about not making the NCAA tournament or seeing the program backslide, it is important to remember just how unlikely – and incredibly ahead of schedule – last year’s run was.  You may not agree that Coach Miles is playing with house money right now, but surely you can appreciate all of the big steps forward this program has taken – even if they took a giant step back Wednesday night.

 

Mike Riley is winless as Nebraska’s coach – and his old boy network of assistants is to blame!!!

I am bemused by the hand-wringing over Mike Riley and his future staff.  He’s bringing too many guys with him.  He’s not keeping enough of the current staff.  He should be getting Scott Frost and an all-star cast he’s never worked with before.  Why is he not paying millions for a big name coordinator?  Did you see Oregon State’s defensive stats?  Nebraska is doomed!

Relax.  Take a deep breath.

It should go without saying that Riley wants to surround himself with the best possible staff.  He didn’t come here to lose.  In his mind, the only thing he’s going to gravitate towards is a championship.  If that means bringing along people he knows, trusts, and believes in, I’m okay with that.

Admittedly, my initial reaction to the Riley hired was rather underwhelming.  But, that initial disappointment was not as great as when Nebraska introduced some unknown coach named Tim Miles.  I’m not saying Riley will replicate Miles’s success or popularity, but maybe we should wait until September (or even October) before we call the hire a failure.  Okay?

 

 

Jack Gangwish is not going to be PETA’s Man of the Year

Sheesh, you club one little raccoon to death with a crescent wrench and you have to deal with PETA sending letters to your athletic director implying that you are on the fast track to domestic violence.

All joking aside, let’s call that PETA letter what it is:  an attention-grabbing stunt that is unfortunately far too common from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.  It’s a ridiculous “me-too” move from an organization that derails any positive work they could do with stupid antics like this.  I know I’ve already given them far too many pixels.

The whole story is silly.  College aged male sees raccoon on side of road, improbably* thinks “this would be a great photo opportunity!” and attempts selfie.  Raccoon feels camera-shy and bites man, who reacts quickly and harshly with a crescent wrench.

*I say “improbably” for those of us who are not males in the 16-22 demographic, as my wife would never think to take a selfie with roadkill  But for boys in that particular age range, almost no idea is improbable. 

As for Jack, my affinity for tough, hard-working walk-ons is well documented (Mackovicka, Jeff & Joel; Rigoni, Brandon; etc.) and Gangwish certainly fits that bill.  As legend of this grows, I suspect it will only make me a bigger fan.

I am bummed that he announced that the rabies test came back negative.  Not that I want Gangwish to have rabies, but I love the idea of him lined up against some Trojan tackle in the bowl game, foaming at the mouth.  In other words, use this to your advantage!

 

Are the Huskers secretly working to destroy Wisconsin?

Let’s recap:  Husker AD Shawn Eichorst fires Bo Peini (1-3 vs. Wisconsin with three big losses). Eichorst replaces Pelini with Mike Riley, creating a vacancy at Oregon State.  Oregon State hires Gary Anderson, leaving Wisconsin to have to replace a coach that just took the team to the Big Ten Championship game. Rumors swirl that Anderson bolted for Oregon State because he did not like working for Nebraska grad Barry Alvarez.  Alvarez now will coach the bowl game and will hire another head coach.

Is this all part of some elaborate plot that Eichorst and Alvarez cooked up to neuter Wisconsin and give Nebraska a clearer path to the Big Ten West title?  Probably not.  I won’t claim to know (or want to speculate) why Anderson thinks Oregon State is a better job than Wisconsin, but it’s not a great look on Wisconsin.  But if Eichorst and Alvarez are conspiring on anything, it should be to get rid of the ugly-ass Freedom Trophy.

 

Erstad on Hall of Fame ballot.

The former #1 draft pick and veteran of the Angels, White Sox, and Astros appears on the ballot for the 2015 Baseball Hall of Fame.  Erstad would need to appear on 75% of the ballots to be inducted.  However, with Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz also appearing for the first time, his chances are not that great.

The balloting process for the Hall of Fame has been under criticism for a while.  My suggestion is to make it an online fan vote.  With Husker Nation behind him, Erstad would be elected for sure.