[Husker] divisions leaked

Wed Sep 1 19:33:46 CDT 2010

OK, I waited a bit to respond to this.  I wanted to see what the big 10 had
to say about it first.

As a Nebraska fan, I'm pretty happy.  Everything is new, its all exciting.
New rivalries will develop.  Its set up towards Iowa being that rival.
We'll see what happens.  If they beat us a couple times, it will be.  I even
think its a step up in competition from the big 12 north. It's going to be
tough for sure.  For Nebrsaka, I think its fair but really tough
competition.  It's good.  Nothing will be given, it must be earned.  Other
than Kansas and maybe Iowa State I think there is some hatred towards us in
the big 12 north.  Those guys love to beat us but don't hate us when we beat
them.  I think we'll be feared but respected and it will be good healthy
competition in the big 10.  At least that's my hope.

In terms of what the big 10 wanted, to achieve competitive balance primarily
and secondly preserve rivalries.  Let me say I think the big 10 succeeded.
They did that and did a great job.  To me, I believe they definitely have
competitive balance in the two divisions.  If anything, the nebraska
division may be a bit stronger of the two.

Here is the thing, and tell me if I'm wrong.  Coming from the big 12, that
had two divisions, its my opinion that the biggest, most important thing is
winning your division.  You start out the season with goals.  Win your
division.  Win the conference.  Win the bowl game, hopefully National
Championship which is likely the case if you take care of your business.  In
that order.  You don't start out the season saying beat Ohio State if you
are Michigan (maybe you do now but I don't think you do anymore and that's
my point).  Or beat Penn State if you are Nebraska.  You worry about
division first and foremost.  Rivalries factor into that.  I think its great
the big 10 preserved rivalries with their cross over game.  It's way better
than what happened in the big 12.  I understand it may not be fair,
especially considering we have to play Ohio State and Wisconsin the first 2
years and Michigan every year.  It's not fair to us at all but its better to
preserve those rivalries.  (If we had those traditional rivalries previously
established, we are basically taking one for the team).  I like it better
than the big 12 fairness model.  Wouldn't we have preferred to have
protected that Oklahoma game every year?  However, its my belief that some
of the biggest rivalries are those rivalries because they are the biggest
road block to your goals and can break your heart the most when you lose.
That's why Oklahoma was our rival.  We had to win that game to win the big
8.  That was our biggest/toughest competition standing between us and our
goals.  That's why it was such an amazing rivalry.  I'm glad that the
conference protected these rivalries as carry over games.  Michigan/Ohio
State.  Wisconsin/Minnesota.  Northwestern/Illinois.  Purdue/Iowa. etc.
Those are major major rivalries.  The idea is you can get Michigan/Ohio
State to play twice and again for the championship.  Agreed, if that
happens, it will be pretty awesome and make major dollars.  But that will
happen on average, lets say 1 in 10 years.  I think its good they did a
great job with keeping that michigan/ohio state game the last game of the
year.  That will add to it and definitely help.

However, its my belief that putting those games in cross over/other division
hurt those rivalries.  They are lessened in terms of importance.  If you are
Ohio State.  You can win all your games in your division and lose to
Michigan and still go to the championship game.  How heart broken are you
now that you lost that game?  As a nebraska fan, we beat everyone in our
division and lose to Penn State.  How much do we hate Penn state when we are
playing in the big 10 championship game two weeks later.  Lose a tough game
by a field goal and Bo comes out saying, that was a tough loss but our goals
are still in tact.  Let's move on.  You still have head to head over
everyone in your division.  In the big scheme of things, you still control
your own fate.  It's ok.  You can still win the division. That game is
simply not as important as it once was.  It's no longer critical to
achieving your goals.  It helps if you win and is fun but it doesn't take
away your goals and rip out your hearts if you lose.  Those heart breakers
are the fuel of those rivalries.  Don't fool yourself.  Michigan/Ohio State
is on par with Nebraska/Oklahoma all throughout the 80s.  Those cross over
games are their biggest rivalries.  They will be fun and exciting.  But for
a coach and a team and achieving your goals.  It's a conference game, its
important.  It's got a lot of history and tradition, the fans and players
will be juiced.  But its not a division game.  It's just not as important.

What do you think?

Don

... Just something to ponder and think about for next year, we have a game
to play.

On Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 4:55 PM, Andy Knipp <andy at knipp.com> wrote:

> Crossover games are reportedly: Northwestern-Illinois, Penn State-Nebraska,
> Wisconsin-Minnesota, Purdue-Iowa and Indiana-Michigan State.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jay Saunders [mailto:jaydsaunders at yahoo.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 2010 2:16 PM
> To: Andy Knipp; huskers
> Subject: Re: [Husker] divisions leaked
>
> The way the divisions are now, I see very little chance of the crossover
> game
> being NU and UW. Wisconsin and Minnesota have such a long-established
> rivalry
> (and Paul Bunyan's Ax) that both schools would have a fit if they couldn't
> play
> each other every year.
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Andy Knipp <andy at knipp.com>
> To: Jerry Meyer <jerry0315 at yahoo.com>; huskers <husker at tssi.com>
> Sent: Wed, September 1, 2010 4:04:16 PM
> Subject: RE: [Husker] divisions leaked
>
> I was thinking UW would be the crossover game. They have been very vocal in
> lobbying for it.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: husker-bounces at tssi.com [mailto:husker-bounces at tssi.com] On Behalf
> Of
> Jerry Meyer
> Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 2010 1:54 PM
> To: huskers
> Subject: Re: [Husker] divisions leaked
>
> Now look at the schedule each year.  Iowa, Michigan, Penn State (assuming
> the
> crossover game) and one of either Ohio State or Wisconsin.  Anyone want to
> bet
> that any non-conference games (other than those already scheduled) are not
> going
> to be from the upper tier?
>
>
> Jerry Meyer
> Murfreesboro, TN
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Mike Nolan <nolan at romaine.tssi.com>
> To: Jay Saunders <jaydsaunders at yahoo.com>
> Cc: huskers <husker at tssi.com>
> Sent: Wed, September 1, 2010 4:01:44 PM
> Subject: Re: [Husker] divisions leaked
>
> > I don't like all of the rivalries they are breaking up.
> >
> > Yes, we don't know about cross-over games yet. And I know the Big 10
> wants
> the
>
> > chance for UM and OSU to play TWICE. But good luck with that. Nebraska
> and
> Iowa
> >
> > are both (and likely will be for quite a while) better than Michigan and
> would
>
> > be favored to finish 1 and 2 in that division.
>
> Naah, if RichRod can't turn things around this year ( I set the bar on
> that at 8 wins in the regular season), he'll be out in December.
>
> If Bo can turn the Huskers around in a couple of seasons, there's someone
> out there who can do the same at Michigan.
>
> Would Michigan look at someone like Carl Pelini?
> --
> Mike Nolan
>
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