And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're going through
~ David Bowie. Changes.
In the next couple of weeks, there is going to be an announcement regarding the future construct of the Big 10 conference. There have been very strong indications that Michigan and Ohio State will not be in the same division and THE GAME will not be played as the last game on the schedule.This change will be met with predictable disdain and a universal outcry from both sides of the rivalry. Personally, I am not sure how I feel about it. I understand that M/OSU is the greatest rivalry in sports. I recognize this contest has been the jewel of the Big Ten conference for decades. I acknowledge the historical importance of Bo & Woody. In a perfect world this would go on forever. The days of the Big 2 and Little 8 are gone and they are not coming back.
The truth is, the rivalry has lost some of its luster at the same time other conferences have spiked in national attention. In some respects, I believe we brought this upon ourselves. I can’t help but think the bright national spotlight and overwhelming hatred has become so heavy it has collapsed upon itself. To many outside the rivalry, this thing we have with the Buckeyes is just not that important compared to real conference championship games. We have certainly not been holding up our end of the deal by losing 6 straight games. Couple this one sided situation with the fact Ohio State was whipped twice by SEC teams in the BCS Championship games, and you can understand why the Big Ten Conference is seeking this change.
To the leaders of the Big Ten, this is all about national perception and responding to the competitive challenge presented by the SEC/Big12/Pac12. They are faced with these choices.
- Place Michigan & Ohio State in the same division and leave THE GAME untouched at the end of the regular season schedule. Run the risk of creating a lopsided balance of power for a single division (see Texas & Oklahoma in the B12 South) and lose all possibility of Michigan/Ohio State ever meeting in the B10 championship game.
- Place Michigan & Ohio State in different divisions and leave THE GAME untouched at the end of the regular season schedule. Run the risk of having M/OSU face each other two weeks in a row. I (along with many others) didn't want to see this in 2006 and don't want to see it now.
- Place Michigan & Ohio State in different divisions and move THE GAME to another part of the regular season schedule. Allow the rivalry to continue and set up the possibility of a eventual M/OSU B10 championship game.
Yes, all this is very unsettling. In a perfect world, traditions would continue and no change would be necessary. In the real world, this change is necessary. We have been playing the Buckeyes the end of the season every year since 1935 except when we didn’t, like in 1942 (Iowa), 1986 (Hawaii) and 1998 (Hawaii). The world did not shatter during those seasons, and it won’t now.There was a time when Oklahoma v. Nebraska was part of our last game of the season club. That rivalry game was changed with the birth of the B12 and both of those programs have moved on and have found new success. There is no reason we won't both survive and thrive.
Rather than rip my hair out and moan about the “good old days” – I am willing embrace this change and see it as a new opportunity. Replacing Ohio State with Sparty that weekend before Thanksgiving sounds like a lot of fun to me – plus if we are both good enough, the prospect of watching Michigan play the Bucks in the B10 Championship game is just too much fun to imagine.
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7 comments:
I say different divisions and they move The Game to the first conference game of the season. That way if they do play in the championship game you have the perfect scenario of starting and ending the B1120 season with The Game. Plus this leaves enough time in between for injuries and schemes to play out and have it be a completely different game than it was 10 weeks ago.
Andy,
Very good post.
I’d take the analysis back a bit further than the last 6 years. Even if Michigan had had good seasons/ won half of the tosu games over this time period, it wouldn’t change the underlying problem of the parity we now have. We haven’t had the “Big 2” consistently since the ‘80’s. Both tosu & michigan have been consistently good, if not at the top of the conference over the last 30 years, but we have almost never been alone in that time frame. Starting w/ Illinois & Iowa in the mid ‘80’s, there has been a steady mix of “other” teams at the top of the conference. Wisconsin, MSU, Illinois, Purdue, NU, PSU, and Iowa have all shared conference titles since Woody & Bo fought the 100 yard war.
To put a specific date on it, I think the “Big 2” ended the day PSU joined. Not that they have been as good as either Michigan or tosu have at times, but PSU is a “big name” in college football, and adding them has since meant that there are always 3 big names in the conference. Adding Nebraska simply finishes what started back in ’93.
Since you’re a baseball guy, i thought of the phrase: “you can’t get to second w/ one foot still on first”. You can’t go to a 12 team league w/ a conference championship and not have something change. The end of year, regular season finale deciding who goes to the Rose Bowl is going to end (you could argue that w/ the BCS, it ended a long time ago- no one in Columbus is shooting for the Rose Bowl this year anyway). There’s going to be a championship game, and the Michigan- tosu rivalry is going to adjust to it.
Like it or not.
BTW- caught your references to dropping your kid off at college. I feel your pain. Our oldest is leaving in early September (her school is still on quarters). It’s killing me every day just thinking about it. Hardest part? Being w/ her now, shopping for dorm “stuff” & the like, while she’s so amazingly excited and me trying not to show how much it hurts to see her go.
Sigh.
I think it's curious that you bring up Nebraska/Oklahoma as an example because breaking up those two was a failure that ruined a rivalry and didn't help the Big-12 achieve balance either.
Also the Big-12 had a tougher situation with that game because Oklahoma had rivalries with the two other national powers that made up that conference and putting them all in the same division wasn't an option. Michigan on the other hand has two main rivalries, one with a power the other with MSU, all of which could fit in the same division and be balanced by Penn State and Nebraska in the other division.
It just seems like a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.
I use OU/N as an example because their "game" at one time was on the same level as M/OSU. For many reasons, it was changed. Both schools moved on and have carved out their own success.
The potential of Michigan & Ohio State playing each other in the B10 championship game is the primary intent of the conference here.
If you place them in the same division, that can't happen. If you allow "the game" to remain as the last game of the season, that "dream championship match-up" is diluted.
I don't like conf. championships. The revenge factor helps the team who lost the first round. Plus, it leaves things undecided for the fan base (we won one/you won one).
I would think the emotional and physical toll on the two rivalry teams to be enormous.
I love the magic surrounding "The Game." I hate to see that diluted.
Alas, I have no answers. I am an unfortunate victim of the power-brokers.
Whet
You can always become a fan of Ivy League football. No silly championship games to worry about.
Ivy league + football.
Hmmmmm. Those words should never be included in the same sentence. Never....Ever.
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