[JayLA]

Now that football is coming back, I'll get in the discussion more. Whether we agree or not, I'll add my input. Who knows, maybe fading everything I say makes you some money...but I do know my foots.

Anyways, just recently got into the college game. Planning to start "capping" read: throwing darts.

based on what i've gathered you fks arguing about (and others), I notice people tend to label conferences and even judge them. Like a common thing i read/deduce is that ACC football "sucks", even in hoops, too. Which based on my limited knowledge, is an exaggeration. You have Clemson, Georgia, FSU, and of course my native UofM...are they really that bad? I get the impression you can't compare them to the SEC schools, but I was wondering if somone could break down other conference "labels"?

so far i have:

SEC: top dogs, best recruiting, best games, most talent

ACC: "Sucks" joke of a conference

i'll give some points to some help.

and save the "never fukn heard of ya" lol

[Deuce]

B1G: top heavy conference. Blow through schedules and contend in rankings all season. Big stage let down usually in BCS games. Ohio St chokes on cocks. Michigan did literally though were in the game. Michigan last to win a BCS game. Huge name programs generally get nods for big games because of revenue. Look for Ohio St and Michigan to have solid years though. MSU should be strong too. Wisky always contends just to get ran out of the arena in big games.

[JayLA]

I've heard "Crazy" shit happens in some MAC conference? like fishy games, maybe fixes?

[SamDiamond]

B1G: top heavy conference. Blow through schedules and contend in rankings all season. Big stage let down usually in BCS games. Ohio St chokes on cocks. Michigan did literally though were in the game. Michigan last to win a BCS game. Huge name programs generally get nods for big games because of revenue. Look for Ohio St and Michigan to have solid years though. MSU should be strong too. Wisky always contends just to get ran out of the arena in big games.

I am quite sure what you are talking about there Deuce. No one has run Wisconsin out of any arena in the last 4 years, their biggest league loss was a 34-24 loss to Michigan State back in 2010.

Wisconsin has been to the last 3 Rose Bowls--- they lost to TCU by 2 points, Oregon by 7, and Stanford by 6. All three teams finished the year ranked in the Top 5.

I mean, I know that is very Bo Schembechler-esque, but they didn't get rolled in any of those games.

Wisconsin lost 21-14 in OT to Ohio State last year, and they lost 4 games by 3 points or less.

If anything, Wisconsin has been the class of the Big 10 since 2009.

[BigDeem5]

Deuce buried

[JayLA]

Wasn't Wisconsin very good ATS last year?

[SamDiamond]

Wasn't Wisconsin very good ATS last year?

6-7-1.

But man, that is a little misleading.

They were a 2.5 point favorite against Ohio State and lost in OT.

They were a 2.5 point dog, and lost by 3 to Penn State in OT.

And they were a 4.5 point favorite and against lost in OT to Michigan State.

Last 3 years, the Badgers are still a solid ATS play, going 22-19-2.

[BigdaddyQH]

No excuses. Wisky was 6-7-1 ATS PERIOD. If they were a good team, they win those games. Wisky was also 6-7 in 2011. Wisky is a decent team, but far from a Top 15 team. Maybe not even a Top 20 team. Let's see what they do at Arizona State. I do not know where you get your ATS figures, but in the past three years, Wisky is 19-19, which is a LOSER. Even if they were 22-19, that is far from a solid ATS play.

[SamDiamond]

No excuses. Wisky was 6-7-1 ATS PERIOD. If they were a good team, they win those games. Wisky was also 6-7 in 2011. Wisky is a decent team, but far from a Top 15 team. Maybe not even a Top 20 team. Let's see what they do at Arizona State. I do not know where you get your ATS figures, but in the past three years, Wisky is 19-19, which is a LOSER. Even if they were 22-19, that is far from a solid ATS play.

Come on Big.

Everyone is hanging on Stanford's nuts, and I think even you have suggested Stanford is a Top 5, and Wisconsin gave them every bit they could handle in last year's Rose Bowl.

The 2013 Rose Bowl was a slugfest, it was 17-14 Stanford at half, and Stanford managed one second half FG to win 20-14.

Wisconsin ran for 218 yards on Stanford, and only gave up 187. Both teams had 17 first downs, both teams punted 7 times. It was as even a bowl game as I watched all season.

Wisconsin is every bit a Top 15 team, especially if you are giving Stanford Top 5 status.

[Huckleberry Pig]

I am quite sure what you are talking about there Deuce. No one has run Wisconsin out of any arena in the last 4 years, their biggest league loss was a 34-24 loss to Michigan State back in 2010.

Wisconsin has been to the last 3 Rose Bowls--- they lost to TCU by 2 points, Oregon by 7, and Stanford by 6. All three teams finished the year ranked in the Top 5.

I mean, I know that is very Bo Schembechler-esque, but they didn't get rolled in any of those games.

Wisconsin lost 21-14 in OT to Ohio State last year, and they lost 4 games by 3 points or less.

If anything, Wisconsin has been the class of the Big 10 since 2009.

Which is why I'm quite excited to now have their coach.


And J, your analysis of the ACC had some error to it - Georgia is not in the ACC, they are in the SEC (east division). I actually think the ACC has gotten better the last couple of years. FSU is very solid along with Clemson and Miami finally seems to be picking it up a little bit. Also, NC State has been a decent team the last few years as well. UNC might surprise some people this year but they are not consistently good.

SEC is far and away he best conference in the nation, best teams, best talent (recruiting), best depth (recruiting), best coaches (for the most part).

Big 12 used to be up there with them but they have really fallen off as of late. UT is not what it used to be, and in the past two years OU has fallen off a bit as well (though both have a pretty high standard set there). The bottom of their conference has really come around though. Baylor is no longer a write-off win, OK State is now one of the leaders of the conference, and even Tech is getting better. The conference has really middled out I'd say.

Big 10 is pretty top heavy with Ohio State and Michigan at the top (though Michigan recently got back to form after a rough couple of years). Wisconsin actually took Michigan's place the last few years IMO. MSU can be decent but other than that the rest of the league is pretty sub par (though look out, Northwestern trying to make a name for itself now!)

Pac 12 has really flip flopped recently - used to be USC #1 followed by Oregon. Stanford used to be the bottom of the barrel. Not anymore! Stanford and Oregon have now been competing for the conference titles while USC struggles to post a winning record. Oregon State is decent some years but has trouble with recruiting/competing because of Oregon. The rest of the league is pretty mediocre.


Those are really the only ones I pay attention to. Some of those descriptions may be a bit off, someone please correct me if I am wrong on something, was just going off the top of my head.

Hope this helps

[BigdaddyQH]

Sam. My High School could win 6 games against the schedule that Wisconsin playes this season. They will lose to Ohio State in Columbus. If they lose to Arizona State on the road, they will be the worst 10-2 team in the nation and will get crushed in their Bowl Game, as they have in their last three Bowl Games. By the way, the second half of the Wisconsin-Stanford Rose Bwol had to have been the absolute worst half of football that I have ever witnessed in a Rose Bowl Game and I have seen all of them since 1961. I have little respect for a team that lost three straight Rose Bowls, including one to a MWC team. As you can imagine, I do not hold out much hope for Arkansas this season either.

[Huckleberry Pig]

Sam. My High School could win 6 games against the schedule that Wisconsin playes this season. They will lose to Ohio State in Columbus. If they lose to Arizona State on the road, they will be the worst 10-2 team in the nation and will get crushed in their Bowl Game, as they have in their last three Bowl Games. By the way, the second half of the Wisconsin-Stanford Rose Bwol had to have been the absolute worst half of football that I have ever witnessed in a Rose Bowl Game and I have seen all of them since 1961. I have little respect for a team that lost three straight Rose Bowls, including one to a MWC team. As you can imagine, I do not hold out much hope for Arkansas this season either.

Bielema had a pretty solid tract record at putting guys in the NFL (especially lineman) - and that was with mostly 2-3* recruits... what's not to like about him?

[Night-Tripper]

I've heard "Crazy" shit happens in some MAC conference? like fishy games, maybe fixes?

You'll hear that crap from gambling degenerates that don't follow or handicap the MAC and simply toss *action* money on the favorites when they're the only game in town. Personally, I've found the best value to be in MAC and Sun Belt games.

[ChalkyDog]

You want advice on this subject as it relates to gambling?

Stop caring about big conferences, and focus on the smaller ones that get 1/10th of the action.

Thinking of becoming an expert on the Sun Belt this year.

[Night-Tripper]

You want advice on this subject as it relates to gambling?

Stop caring about big conferences, and focus on the smaller ones that get 1/10th of the action.

Thinking of becoming an expert on the Sun Belt this year.

One of my Gamgling Rules of Thumb: The harder/more difficult it is to find information on teams, the more likely to find soft (or even incorrect) lines.

Also, there's a reason that books only offer 20% juice on FCS games.

[SamDiamond]

Sam. My High School could win 6 games against the schedule that Wisconsin playes this season. They will lose to Ohio State in Columbus. If they lose to Arizona State on the road, they will be the worst 10-2 team in the nation and will get crushed in their Bowl Game, as they have in their last three Bowl Games. By the way, the second half of the Wisconsin-Stanford Rose Bwol had to have been the absolute worst half of football that I have ever witnessed in a Rose Bowl Game and I have seen all of them since 1961. I have little respect for a team that lost three straight Rose Bowls, including one to a MWC team. As you can imagine, I do not hold out much hope for Arkansas this season either.

Come on Big.

You're better than this.

No respect because they lost to a Gary Patterson coached TCU team? Seriously?

You do realize Nick Saban also lost a BCS game to Mountain West team (Utah)?

And Bob Stoops lost a BCS game to Boise.

And Muschamp lost a BCS game to a Big East team.

You very well know Wisconsin DID NOT get "crushed" in their last 3 bowl games.

Their last 3 bowl games were all Rose Bowls.

2011 Rose Bowl, Wisconsin scored late, to make it 21-19 and went for 2 and didn't get it. They lost 21-19.

2012 Rose Bowl, Wisconsin LED Oregon 38-35 in the 4th quarter of this game, and lost 45-38.

2013 Rose Bowl, and again, if you recall-- Wisconsin was at midfield with 2 mins and change left when Stanford made that pick.

None of those games had Wisconsin getting "crushed".

[gojetsgomoxies]

grunching and not sure if this has been true in very recent years, but it does seem like big 10 gets pretty badly exposed in bowl games....... i hadn't actually seen the comments right before this when i went to post this comment.

if it's true, i would think the betting markets have caught on to reasonable degree.

sun belt was big money maker the last few years. esp. on the road (i think conf and non-conf)

pac 10 seems to have so many crazy high scoring games. and doubt that slows down with UCLA QB maturing a year (lost a bunch of starters though), USC having something to prove, another year under RRod's belt at arizona, washington having some excellent talent at skill positions and a much improved OLine, and leach with another year at WSU.

i know it changes every year anyway, but conference usa just seems like the most uninspiring conference. a bunch of universities you think should be better than they are.