[NU Sports] Big Ten image ...

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

As we've seen for years (at least since Bobby's Noles were last relevant), the "B" in B(C)S stands for Big XII.

I'll say it again - the Big Ten needs to stop trying to sell the lame division names and go on an SEC-style image campaign nationally to counter all this Big XII hype.

Oklahoma #3 and Okie State #4??? Really???

Wisconsin's thrashing of Nebraska is arguably the biggest win of any top 10 team so far this year (maybe LSU over Oregon) ... Oklahoma's big wins have come against teams who were clearly overrated (FSU, Texas) and Okie State has the Texas A&M comeback, which was nice but not UW/UNL level.

At least the B(C)S has Penn State in the top 25 -- the AP still has the 6-1 Lions unranked, yet a 1-loss Arkansas team (who like PSU lost to Bama, but by more) is in the top 10?? Do the polls give extra points for beating Texas A&M or something???

The Big Ten has six top 25 teams in the B(C)S ... the SEC and Big XII each have five ... seems like Wisconsin should be getting a little more love from the computers for being the top team in the league with the most teams. They're #4 in both human polls, but dreadful in the computers (which have Okie State #1 in four of the six?!?!?! and #1 overall ... with Wisconsin #11?!?!?!?)

And THIS is what we use to determine a champion??? Give me a break.

Why does this matter to NU and the Big Ten? Money. Wisconsin will be fighting it out with the Big XII and Pac 12 (if it's Stanford) champ to play sacrificial lamb to the SEC in New Orleans. So part is prestige. But the Big Ten will also be battling those leagues for an at-large berth and that means more money and more bowl spots open (should NU get to six wins). It's the SEC, then the Big Ten and then everyone else ... no matter how much ESPN hype or computer digits try and make the Big XII or Pac 12 better, they're just not as deep or solid.

And above all, it's just further proof that the B(C)S sucks. This is the worst possible system to determine a champion of the nation's most exciting sport. It's so bad that you simply can't say it enough - the B(C)S sucks.

The Huskers should have stayed in the Big XII if they want to play for a national title down the line - heck, they'd probably be ranked #2 in the computers had they stayed! :)

Yes folks, it's that time of year again ... just when you thought the B(C)S could not get worse - their computers come out with a ranking that has Wisconsin #11 and Oklahoma State #1. How can anyone seriously defend this joke!

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

PS - I'm about the last person who wants to see the Smug Smirk play for a national title (though the thought of having him get there and then get smacked around by LSU and its home crowd does make me smile a bit) ... but they just are not the #11 team in the country. No way.
 
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STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!! GEAUX SAINTS!!!
Super Bowl XLIV Champions!
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