It was somewhat surprising Michigan would open the season against a worthy opponent such as Florida, at a neutral site of course. After a semi-impressive win, they got back to their old ways. Scheduling patsies before the conference season begins -- at home, of course. Cincinnati? Really?
Ohio State, the former #2 team in the country, just got blasted at home by a pretty good, if boring Oklahoma team. Hey, when one team controls both sides of the line of scrimmage throughout, it's a pretty safe bet they'll come out on top. Let's not forget these are the same Buckeyes that marched into the football playoffs last year, only to be absolutely obliterated by Clemson. Their #2 ranking was a sham to begin with this year. Kiss that goodbye, by a long shot. They'll be lucky to remain in the top 10 after such a woeful performance against the Sooners.
Elsewhere, the usual mighty Alabama should be ashamed of themselves. They might well be the #1 team in the country -- again. So why is it they load up their pre-conference schedule with patsies as well? Fresno State? Really? Maybe the Campfire Girls had a previous commitment they couldn't get out of to make the trip to Tuscaloosa and suit up against the Tide. Of course Nick Saban and company have never been much at being even remotely capable of shame.
It appears Penn State is back, Good for them. After the horrors that program went through with the boy-toy sexual scandal a while back, it's nice to see them thriving again.
In my opinion, the perennial sad-sacks of the Big 10 -- actually 14 -- but who's counting? -- should be relegated to a lower division, much like what happens in European soccer. If a team hasn't been able to compete for a few years, ship them down a level and bring the best ones of the lower tiers up. Do you hear me Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Purdue, and Northwestern? Rutgers and Maryland are still going through their probationary period, but it's not looking good for them either. This was the Big 10's genius idea of expanding their audience all the way to the east coast.
Here's a thought. Other than the financial windfall (see TV and conference sharing money) that comes with it, nobody out there cares about the Big 10. True, Maryland recently went into yee-hah land and knocked off Texas. LOL. But they'll get blistered in the conference before the season is over, and Rutgers remains the weak sisters they always were. Who's kidding who?
And why, somebody tell me WHY, the Big 10 insists on keeping the same name, when they've expanded to 12, and now 14 teams? Can't they count? This might not be the best conference to spend countless thousands of dollars sending one's mathematically gifted child to in order to further their education.
If anybody seriously thinks ANY team in the Big 10 -- 14 -- whatever -- is capable of competing for a national title any year soon in football -- they've either drank way, WAY too much of the Big 10 Kool-aid, or stared too long at the sun during the recent eclipse -- without proper eye protection.
They're either hopelessly inebriated or have the vision of, say, Stevie Wonder.
In the meantime, and for the foreseeable future, the Big 10 may offer an exciting moment here and there.
But for the most part, it remains dreary football compared with so many others around the country.
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