[NU Sports] Big Ten finale ...

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

The B(C)S still sucks - but at least the games have been interesting this year for once.

Nice win by coach of the year Hoke and the Wolverines. Once he gets his recruits in there (i.e. linemen who are Michigan size linemen), they're gonna be pretty darn good.

So four B(C)S bowl wins in the last three years for the Big Ten ... 1-0 vs. the SEC / 2-0 vs. the ACC / 1-1 vs. the Pac 12 and 0-1 vs. MWX ... and I can't really say I feel bad that the two losses both came at the hands of the Smug Smirk. At least the bowl season ends on a high note for the league with two thrilling wins by the Michigan teams. We're not the SEC, but no one is. Obviously, we still have two games and a week to go (why?), but over the past four years, the B(C)S records of each league ...

- SEC: 4-2 (will be 5-3 ... with five titles and losses to the SEC, Big Ten and Utah)
- Big Ten: 4-4 (razor close losses to Oregon, TCU and Texas and a bigger loss at USC)
- Pac 12: 3-3 (losses in title game to Auburn and close to Okie State and Ohio State)
- Lil' 12: 3-3 (losses in title game to Bama and Florida and that inexplicable one to West Virginia)
- ACC: 1-3 (Orange Bowl yet to go - only win by VaTech against Cincy)
- Big East: 1-3 (Orange Bowl yet to go - only win by WV against Oklahoma)
- Non AQs: 2-0 (Utah over Bama, TCU over Wisky)

So on to next year ...

* Michigan and Michigan State look like the cream of the crop in the Northwest Division, though UNL will be in the mix ... Iowa and NU are big ???s and Minny is, well, rebuilding
* Wisconsin should cruise through the Southeast with OSU and PSU rebuilding from disaster, Purdue in the middle and Indiana and Ill-noise rebuilding

So while our schedule is the best it will be in the next three years, we're definitely in the tough division next year.

Bowl standings should be out soon after the glut of games and woefully mislabeled "Bowl Week" finally comes to an end.

GO CATS!!!
-SjT


 
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STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!! GEAUX SAINTS!!!
Super Bowl XLIV Champions!
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