Around the Big Ten

[Hannibal]

We need more pros and fewer amateurs. Paying players works. Just ask Auburn fans.

[THE_WIZARD_]

...and Bama...and LSU...and...

[entropy]

The Teeny (formerly Big) Ten

Ole miss...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[THE_WIZARD_]

EFZ

[BlueInFlorida]

I fondly remember the days of the "Big 2 and the Little 8".

Now it's the "Mediocre 2 and the Little 12".

And we are not part of the Mediocre 2. Sad.

[Wild Hoss]

Adam Rittenberg article...good stuff in here. Good to see that some of the BIG coaches identify problems beyond just "There's nothing we can do because they have more players".

The Big Ten's nonconference struggles the past two weeks don't come as a major shock to those around the league.

"We do subpar in our nonconference schedule year in and year out," one league coach said. "[Against] the SEC and the Pac-12 and the MAC, it's subpar. And then you get into bowl games and it's a s---storm."

“
It's not like 2014 came about and the league is weak. This league has been weak for a long time. If you list the Power 5 conferences, you know who No. 5 is.
”
- Former Big Ten coach
Added a former Big Ten coach: "It's not like 2014 came about and the league is weak. This league has been weak for a long time. If you list the Power 5 conferences, you know who No. 5 is."
The league's 8-33 regular-season record against Power 5 teams since 2010 bears that out, and the bowl record (10-21) isn't much better. But a conference that has spent much of the past decade closer to college football's basement than its penthouse has moved down yet another floor.

After Big Ten newbie Rutgers beat Washington State in Seattle on college football's opening night, the league has lost 10 consecutive games against Power 5 teams and Notre Dame. The Big Ten didn't just drop its two marquee showcases -- Wisconsin-LSU and Michigan State-Oregon -- but games it was heavily favored to win (Ohio State-Virginia Tech, Northwestern-Cal, Iowa-Iowa State). The 1-10 mark against the Power 5 is compounded by three home losses to Mid-American Conference foes.

Big Ten bashing, seemingly a national pastime every September, has intensified.

"When you go 0-and-whatever," one league coach said, "you're an easy target."

Why has the Big Ten seemingly gone from bad to worse? Inside Access asked those who best know the league.


Recruiting: The Big Ten's recruiting challenges are nothing new. A population drain in the Midwest has shrunk the pool of prospects in the Big Ten footprint.

"It's our location," one league coach said. "I go recruit down through Georgia, and I see more kids [by] going to seven high schools than going to Ohio for three days. That's probably the biggest problem."

The Academic Issue
In February 2007, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany wrote an open letter responding to a newspaper article that suggested the league needed a new talent base because of poor recruiting rankings, especially compared with the SEC.

"I love speed and the SEC has great speed, especially on the defensive line, but there are appropriate balances when mixing academics and athletics," Delany wrote.

The Big Ten has never hidden its desire to maintain academic excellence while competing for championships. But has the desire to blend the two hurt the league on the field?

Some say yes, especially when recruiting far-flung prospects.

"Our funnel is pretty big when you first start recruiting -- every kid in the country," one coach said. "Then you see the test score and the GPA and you see the fit and the distance, and it becomes a very small pool."

Asked about Big Ten recruits who just barely meet NCAA qualifications, one league coach said, "There are very few if any that I'm aware of. And the midnight-hour qualifiers, the guys who sign but are not eligible but become miraculously eligible the summer of their senior year, that's pretty rampant around the country but not many cases I'm aware of in our league."

Other coaches disagree on the academic piece.

"That's bulls---," one said. "We've just got to find them."

Added a former coach: "We were able to recruit pretty much all the kids that were qualifiers."

A former Big Ten coach added, "There's not enough numbers in some states with Big Ten teams to fill your team and be competitive at the Power 5 level."
The league's newest members, Maryland and Rutgers, have added new territories that generate plenty of Power 5 recruits. Big Ten schools also are extending their recruiting reach to talent-producing states in the South. Southern imports like Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah (Homewood, Alabama) and Ohio State's Joey Bosa (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) have become Big Ten stars, but convincing groups of elite prospects to play far from home isn't easy.

"The Texas part got real tough when A&M opened up and the Big 12 really changed into what it is today," one former Big Ten coach said. "That really stopped Texas kids from going to the Big Ten. There's some, but they're not elite. That's really hurt."

Certain positions seem to have been hit hard, especially wide receiver and defensive back.

"You're getting out-athleted at the end of the day," one Big Ten coach said.

A former Big Ten starting quarterback notices a more surprising trend.

"The Big Ten has always been known for incredible offensive and defensive lines," he said. "That's the biggest issue right now. These teams are getting manhandled up front."

Soft upper crust: There's a potentially simple fix for the Big Ten, but not an easy one.

"Nothing will change until the four powers get better," one former coach said.

Three of the top six winningest programs in college football history -- Michigan, Ohio State and Nebraska -- reside in the Big Ten. Add in Penn State's vacated wins and it's four of the top seven. But only Ohio State won a national title during the BCS era. Nebraska hasn't won a conference title since 1999. Michigan is approaching a decade without a league championship. Penn State is just now emerging from the cloud of scandal and sanctions.

"When have those four teams or three out of the four been to their standard as a national power?" one former coach said. "Michigan's been a disaster for years now, and Nebraska, when they try to compare it to the years of Tom Osborne, that's a joke."

Others see the league's lack of depth as a bigger issue. Purdue is just 2-13 since the start of 2013. Illinois is 8-19 under coach Tim Beckman. Indiana hasn't made a bowl game since 2007. Northwestern has lost nine of its last 10 games.

"You could take the bottom teams in the late 1990s and early 2000s, they could beat you," a former Big Ten coach said. "Now from top to bottom, the league's not very good."

Resources: The Big Ten's on-field downturn has coincided with unprecedented revenue growth, especially from the thriving Big Ten Network. Most Big Ten schools received nearly $26 million from the league in fiscal year 2012-13, and future projections have schools getting north of $30 million for fiscal year 2014-15.

"Resources are there," one Big Ten athletic director wrote in a text message. "It comes down to recruiting and teaching. Have to have talent across the board."

Every Big Ten school has either recently completed or has plans to upgrade its football facilities. Many have increased recruiting-specific staff. But in the never-ending arms race with other major conferences, is it enough?

"Training tables have been average at best," one former Big Ten coach said. "One school, I was embarrassed seeing what they would feed the kids after a long scrimmage."

Another former coach thinks the Big Ten is playing catch-up.

"Big-time salaries, those showed up first in the SEC," he said. "Big-time facilities, how many Big Ten programs can say their facilities rank in the top 10?"

[+] EnlargeWisconsin's Melvin Gordon
Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports
Wisconsin fell to LSU, but the Big Ten's bad losses didn't stop there.
Culture: College football is often cyclical, and some hope that a once-great conference can be great again. But is there a deeper issue going on?
One word several former coaches kept mentioning: culture.

The Big Ten celebrates its broad-based philosophy toward athletics. Football is king on many campuses, but it's not the only game in town.

"I think we try to have our cake and eat it too," one current coach said. "We try to be this pure, perfect conference and have all these standards and then expect to go beat those people."

A former coach added that some Big Ten schools are "too politically correct" when it comes to priorities and spending.

"There's some people on campus who are saying, wait a second, is this necessary?" another former Big Ten coach said. "Well, yes it is if you want to win championships."

The Big Ten's national championship drought sits at 11 years, and judging by the way this season has started, it could reach 12.

"If you're not careful, you create a culture," a former coach said. "You lose games, and the theatrics of modern-day football gets involved. It's on TV and it's all you hear about and it starts to hurt you in recruiting because recruits hear about it. The fans are hearing about it. It's not just your team any more. It's the whole Big Ten. It's collective."

The collective problem could require a collective answer. Coaches say the league should gather to address its football problem.

"A think tank, why not?" one coach said. "There's no downside. It might be just the coaches. It might be just the ADs."

A former coach thinks it must go past the athletic director level.

"Is it a concern at the presidential level? Do they worry about how Big Ten football is perceived nationally?" he said. "If they do, those guys ultimately have the power to identify the problem and the solutions.

"But just to keep hoping things are going to get better, they're not."

Asked recently about a possible summit, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany told ESPN.com that these are local issues between competitors, adding that he couldn't envision Alabama and Florida or UCLA and Stanford in the same room brainstorming solutions.

But coaches point out: Other leagues don't have the same issues.

"They ain't gonna stop," a Big Ten coach said. "They have their hands around your throat, and they're going to choke you out."

[Dr. Strangelove]

Ferentz needs to retire

[Dr. Strangelove]

Iowa steps it up big time in the second half and steals a 24-20 win on the road at Pitt

Maryland somehow wins 34-20 in the Carrier Dome despite giving up almost 600 yards. How the heck do you gain 600 yards and only score 20 points?

Indiana scores probably the upset of the year in Columbia, Missouri.

Rutgers goes on the road and beats Navy

Wisconsin sets a team rushing record against Bowling Green

Would be a nice day for the conference to salvage some pride if Nebraska can beat Miami

[Wild Hoss]

Done.

[lineygoblue]

Congrats Huskers.

Any time you can lay a loss on the Thugercanes, its fine with me.

[entropy]

The Teeny (formerly Big) Ten

I think even the local media has bought into the hype. Aka drew sharp

[Dr. Strangelove]

This week's early games:

Northwestern has completely dominated Penn State in Happy Valley but is only up 14-3 at halftime.

Wisconsin and South Florida tied 3-3 in an ugly-ass game

Sparty blowing out Wyoming...bad opponents the past two weeks but Sparty's offense has looked pretty good this year.

Rutgers taking care of business...Iowa & Purdue in another ugly game

[Dr. Strangelove]

Penn State getting beat badly now. Their boards are in meltdown mode. Reality's a bitch

Wisconsin with a very uninspiring 27-10 victory over South Florida. Rutgers easily beat Tulane

[Dr. Strangelove]

Starting to look like Maryland may be the 3rd best team in the East

[Hannibal]

Reality's a bitch

Yup. It will be interesting to see how much of a honeymoon James Franklin gets there. He's having to work around some major roster issues.