Is the BIG TEN CONFERENCE Living Off the Past?

[WorkHorse]

Many in the college football world believe the Big Ten Conference has been providing a second-rate football product for some time, which seemed to be reaffirmed in the recent NFL draft. The twelve team conference had only 22 players selected...the lowest number since 21 were taken in the 1994 draft. There were 78 skilled players taken this year and only 5 came from the Big 10. The conference is now on a five-draft streak without having a player taken in the top ten.

Looking at the final 2012 AP poll, only one Big Ten team was in the top 15. Ohio State finished third with Michigan (24th) and Nebraska (25) barely making the list.

I'm not bashing the Big Ten Conference....simply posing a question about the talent level being recruited the past few years and the strength of conference teams. Welcome your comments.

[BigdaddyQH]

There is no question that the Big 10 has been regressing big time in the past 10 years. The SEC, Pac 12, and Big 12 surpassed them years ago, and now the ACC threatenes to do the same. The Big 10 is the ONLY AQ Conference that does NOT have a legitimate Championhsip race this season. Everyone knows that Ohio State will win it. Every other AQ Conference has at least two legitimate challengers for their Confrence championship.

[WorkHorse]

Some say its culture: In the north, mom and dad are worried about concussions and are pointing their boys toward soccer and lacrosse. In the south, the ole man is pounding his son on the shoulder pads and saying "Get out there and pound'em son." There is a hugh competitive gap between the Big 10 and say the SEC.

[Gameday]

I agree, but I feel the addition of Urban Meyer @ Ohio State will hopefully play a major role in rejuvenating the conference. The fact Notre Dame beat Purdue, Michigan, and the Spartans last year proved the Big Ten to be a declining conference after the IRISH got spanked by BAMA. SEC competition is kind of untouchable at the moment and its a little unfortunate for college football in my opinion.

[BigdaddyQH]

I disagree about the SEC being "untouchable". There are several Pac 12 teams that could put a major whipping on most SEC Teams and could beat any SEC Team. The catch is that the SEC simply will not schedule them. Just ask USC. Now before you tell me that A&M will play USC in a home and home series, remember that this was schedculed when A&M was still in the Big 12. Just saying. Lets see the outcome of this years Pac 12-SEC games, each of which should be a rout. Auburn over Wazzu and Oregon over Tennessee.

[WorkHorse]

Final AP Poll

1. ALABAMA*
2. Oregon
3. Ohio State
4. Notre Dame
5. TEXAS A&M*
6. GEORGIA*
7. Stanford
8. SOUTH CAROLINA*
9. FLORIDA*
10. Florida State

11. Clemson
12. Kansas State
13. Louisville
14. LSU*
15. Oklahoma
16. Utah State
17. Northwestern
18. Boise State
19. Texas
20. Oregon State
21. San Jose State
22. Northern Illinois
23. VANDERBILT*
24. Nebraska
25. Kent State

[SuperHappyTime]

Even as a homer, I agree the The SEC isn't "untouchable". The Top 3 teams in each division will easily go 2/3 if not 3/3 when playing the creme de la creme of the other conferences, but they'll win 14 out of 15 times against teams that aren't even close to the top. The other teams have a 50-50 shot at winning, but you can clearly see how the top teams tend to hold up the reputation.

Back on topic, I think the Big 10's downfall can be attributed to a few things: 1. The various school scandals. 2. The addition of Nebraska and the Championship and 3. The University of Michigan. It should be very apparent why having two of your best schools (OSU & PSU) on permanent probation is a problem; the best schools aren't playing in the better games, so there's no way that team will be able to perform against them. Nebraska is a mediocre team at best, so it doesn't bring anything huge to the conference. But Nebraska's addition pushes a championship game, and when the team that wins it is clearly not the best team in the division (because of point 1.), having a championship game feels moot. But the biggest problem is Michigan. Defunct as "sharing" the #1 and #2 spots with OSU, their recent failure in the past years to compete with OSU or even other teams such as App State is the surefire sign the conference is in a downturn.

[Hadley13]

Some say its culture: In the north, mom and dad are worried about concussions and are pointing their boys toward soccer and lacrosse. In the south, the ole man is pounding his son on the shoulder pads and saying "Get out there and pound'em son." There is a hugh competitive gap between the Big 10 and say the SEC.

This was a joke right? The big ten sucks because no talented football player wants to play up there! If you were a high level recruit would you rather go play for a dominant team like Alabama, a sexy team like USC or Oregon, or would you go play in the shittty states of Ohio, Pennsylvsnia, and fucing Wisconsin?

[compsmoker]

This was a joke right? The big ten sucks because no talented football player wants to play up there! If you were a high level recruit would you rather go play for a dominant team like Alabama, a sexy team like USC or Oregon, or would you go play in the shittty states of Ohio, Pennsylvsnia, and fucing Wisconsin?

Agree on this one. Yes the big 10 does get some talent but it is much harder for them to get the same level of talent as the SEC. Still in the end I'm one of those people who don't care as much about the best team having the best players, I would rather my son's and daughters go to the better school that meats their educational needs the best.