If you watch college foorball enough you constantly hear the hating on the Big Ten. How the Big Ten is slow. How the Big Ten doesn't go out and play anybody. Or how about the myth that the Big Ten can't win big games.
Watching the Arizona State game on Saturday the commentator made a remark about how the Big Ten didn't play anybody out of conference this week. Kind of an odd comment being that Wisconsin just beat Arizona State the week before.
Sticking to being the great minds of football they obviously are...they neglected to mention that Arizona State played two FCS schools before the Wisconsin game. Oregon on the other hand played Portland State the week before playing the Sun Devils in Tempe...that's right another FCS school.
Today on the Scott Van Pelt Show, SVP and Ryan Rusillo mentioned that they can't take the Big Ten seriously because they have "beaten up on the MAC." Obviously SVP and Russilo must be forgetting the bowl teams that the Big Ten has played this year. So for a refresher course here is the list.
Illinois: Missouri, Northern Illinois
Michigan: Connecticut, Notre Dame
Michigan State: Notre Dame
Ohio State: Miami (FL), Ohio, Marshall
Penn State: Alabama, Temple
Minnesota: USC, Northern Illinois
Purdue: Notre Dame
Northwestern: Central Michigan
Iowa: Arizona, Iowa State
That appears like a list that many conferences would fail to fill themselves. Not only is it a list of bowl participants from last year, but many bowl game winners...including the defending national champions.
Wisconsin does not appear on the list because none of their opponents played in bowl games last year, but Arizona State last season lost four games last season by five points or less. Not too shabby when your schedule includes Georgia, Oregon, USC, and Cal all in the same season.
A key thing to remember when bashing on teams for the schedules they play is that these games are scheduled years in advance. Three years ago Arizona State went 10-3, and lost to Texas in the Holiday Bowl.
So, I guess the moral of the story is that you shouldn't judge a schedule by it's cover. And not to mention don't just look at this week...look at the whole season.
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