I’m a Big Ten fan — always have been, always will be. But even diehard Big Ten fans should be tipping their cap to Alabama and the teams of the SEC, which have established a dominance in college football that would make the New York Yankees of old green with envy.
Alabama crushed unbeaten Notre Dame last night, 42-14. The game wasn’t that close. Alabama has won three of the last four national championships. Add the championships won by LSU, Florida, and Auburn — all of the SEC — and you have an amazing record of success. The truth is that, right now, the SEC teams are better.
We can argue about why. Some Big Ten fans will tell you its because SEC teams oversign, or boot kids who aren’t performing as expected for bogus reasons so they can sign other prospects, or don’t have the academic standards that Big Ten teams and other schools do. But on the field, the results are inarguable: the SEC teams are just better, and they are proving it, year to year and national championship game to national championship game.
Ohio State and Urban Meyer hope to get to the mountaintop, where Alabama has set up camp. Last night’s trouncing of the Fighting Irish shows what the Buckeyes need to aim for. It’s not going to be an easy target to hit.
Every Browns fan knows the team is cursed and can expect only miserable failure come draft day. Against that backdrop of complete and utter pessimism, I have to say that . . . I think Richardson is a good pick.
In recent years Big Ten fans have paid careful attention to the conference’s bowl record. They feel like the Big Ten is disrespected on the national level, particularly in comparison to the SEC. (I regret to say that Ohio State is responsible for a lot of this perception. The Buckeyes are one of the Big Ten’s flagship programs, and they have never beaten an SEC team in a bowl game. That record unfortunately includes two national championship game losses.) Bowl games are supposed to be fun, but for the Big Ten they are serious business, and not just because they produce significant revenue for the member schools. Big Ten fans want everyone to recognize what they believe to be true — that the Big Ten is the best conference in the country, with the biggest stadiums, the richest traditions, the greatest rivalries, and the most dedicated fans. If you want to exercise such bragging rights, however, you have to earn them on the field.
This year the Big Ten has gotten off to a good start in bowl season. It is 2-0, with Illinois and Iowa both posting bowl wins. Today will tell the tale, however, particularly since three of the bowl games match up the Big Ten and the SEC. Each of the games, moreover, poses intriguing questions and matchups. How will Northwestern perform without their fine quarterback, Dan Persa, and will it be able to win its first bowl game since the Truman Administration? Can Michigan State put a signature win over the defending national champions as a capstone on a break-through season that has seen the Spartans win 11 games? How will Michigan’s Denard Robinson fare against the Bulldogs, and can the beleaguered Michigan defense keep the Wolverines in the game? And which Penn State and Florida teams will show up for the Outback Bowl?
