When the Big Ten swept five bowls last winter–including an unprecedented four on New Year’s Day–it had every reason to thump its chest. The Big Ten defeated the two best teams in the Big 12 (Kansas State and Texas A & M), the best team in the Pac-10 (UCLA) and the team with the country’s best quarterback (Kentucky’s Tim Couch). It also whipped the chin straps off Arkansas for good measure.
But the New Year’s Day glow has diminished in the first month of the 1999 season. As its teams turn their guns on each other for the start of the 104th conference season, a mixed non-conference performance has raised questions about the Big Ten’s strength–at least in some corners.
Ask a Big Ten coach if the league might be overrated and he’ll howl as if he has had his complimentary Town Car reclaimed.
“The style of play and the quality of play in the Big Ten is really second to none right now,” said new Northwestern coach Randy Walker, on his second tour in the league after serving as a Wildcats assistant from 1988-89.
What else is he supposed to say? We stink like week-old pepperoni?
But results speak for themselves and they don’t exactly shout “We’re No. 1!”
Wisconsin lost to Cincinnati. Northwestern lost to Miami of Ohio. Iowa lost to Iowa State. Indiana lost at home to so-so Kentucky and North Carolina.
The Big Ten’s September victories have been less than impressive. Ohio State was tied with Ohio University at halftime. Penn State had to block a field goal to hold off Pittsburgh in Happy Valley and then needed a lightning-strike touchdown to escape at Miami (Fla.), while Michigan survived at Syracuse with the help of a controversial non-call in the final seconds.
Dominance, it ain’t.
On the plus side, Michigan, Purdue and Michigan State turned in a tidy sweep of Notre Dame. But each game seemed a stronger indictment of Notre Dame’s mediocrity and clock mismanagement than a tribute to the might of the conference it snubbed.
Six of the Big Ten’s 11 teams are ranked in this week’s AP (media) Top 20, more than any other conference. But Wisconsin and Ohio State have dropped from their preseason Top 10 perches. The Badgers tumbled all the way to No. 20 from No. 9 after their banana-peel act at Cincinnati, an underpowered outfit that was coming off a loss to Division I-AA Troy State.
Often clouded by regional bias, conference comparisons tend to generate debate. It’s difficult to determine the fairest measurement.
In terms of postseason prowess, the Big Ten is unquestionably the strongest in the land based on last year’s 5-0 record.
“I think in the long run, everybody evaluates it based on non-conference schedule, and certainly the bowl records always seem to leave a lasting impression on people’s minds,” Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said.
The Big Ten also ranks No. 1, a shade ahead of the Southeastern and Atlantic Coast Conferences, in Jeff Sagarin’s computerized rankings for USA Today. Sagarin’s ratings, part of the formula used in the Bowl Championship Series standings, factor in such elements as home-field advantage, strength of schedule and victory margins.
But other standards say the Big Ten isn’t so big. Looking for a dominant national team? Look somewhere else: the Big Ten has won only one national title in 31 years. By contrast, the SEC has taken two in the last three years.
Looking for the best talent? The Big Ten has two of the top Heisman Trophy candidates in Wisconsin tailback Ron Dayne and Purdue quarterback Drew Brees, as well as the leading Butkus Award candidate in Penn State linebacker LaVar Arrington. But last spring’s NFL draft indicated a dip in the conference talent pool. The Big Ten produced 27 draftees, fewer than the SEC (37), the Big 12 (33) and the ACC (31).
In the end, it might come down to games against other leagues.
“Look at what they do in non-conference games,” Illinois coach Ron Turner said. “How do teams fare top to bottom, not just the top three teams?”
After one month, the answer is inconclusive.
The Big Ten brags about its overall 27-7 non-conference record. But take a close look at the numbers. The Big Ten is 8-1 against overmatched Mid-American Conference opponents but only 1-4 against a trio of big-time leagues–the SEC, Big 12 and ACC.
Turner’s improved Fighting Illini pulled out a big victory at Louisville. But Penn State’s victory at Miami (Fla.) was canceled out by Ohio State’s loss to the Hurricanes. Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions’ rout of Arizona lost luster when Stanford put a similar pounding on the Wildcats in Tucson. Purdue, Minnesota and Northwestern rolled up an 8-1 record against teams that have won a total of three games against Division I-A opponents.
“I think we’ll know for sure where we stack up at the end of the season, after the bowls,” Carr said.
While the Big Ten’s strength is debatable, its balance is undeniable. In the eyes of the coaches, that sets the Big Ten apart from some of its rivals.
“Week in and week out, you have to play your best football,” Walker said. “It’s not a situation where you have a couple of haves and a lot of have-nots. You have a league full of haves.”
Florida State has won an Atlantic Coast Conference title every year since it joined in 1992. The Southeastern Conference crown has gone to Tennessee or Florida for six consecutive seasons.
By contrast, eight Big Ten schools have claimed at least a share of the conference crown in the 1990s (Purdue, Indiana and Minnesota have one year to join the crowd). This season, at least six teams (Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin and Purdue) can be considered credible Rose Bowl contenders.
“In all my years in the Big Ten, this is by far the most teams with a legitimate chance to win the championship,” said Carr, in his 20th season in the conference.
