re: Where do you see the Big10 headed?

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I agree with this.

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I mean it sucks because I have to basically admit we suck and need to be overmatched to win bowl games, but a few months down the road you don't care about what the matchup was. For example Pac-tards are beating their chest about going undefeated (I think?) in their bowl games, but they were all favorable matchups.

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Having at least a .500 record with some BCS wins sprinkled in?

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Besides OSU and Penn State and Mich, How many teams have even been to a BCS game?? ILL???

BTW, here's how I look at all the Big10 teams:

Indiana - Perennial doormat of the big10, and I don't see them moving out of the bottom half of the conference. If Bill Lynch isn't gone after this year, his time will be numbered. Sure they can bust out a season with a bowl game every 5 years or so, but thats about it.

Purdue - Really to tell where they'll end up in a few years with new coach Danny Hope. The thing working for them is they at least have something going on and they aren't just sitting around. For example they are trying to reshape the team through recruits and JUCO guys right now, similar to what Brewster did with Minnesota. I think that they'll share the same fate of Indiana though.

Wisconsin - They are currently crumbling. They are able to still bring in great back after great back, but the rest of things seem to be tanking. They'll be in the basement for a little while I think.

Iowa - Two years of sub .500 records, two years of bowl games. Rinse and repeat. Never a threat for anything consistently, they can make a run for the league title every 3 or 4 years.

Minnesota - New stadium and a new attitude in Minneapolis. Their new digs will help recruiting a lot I think, but the question is can they keep their momentum up and become a consistent player in the Big10? I doubt it - they'll alternate "up" and "down" years with Iowa.

Illinois - Zook can recruit and can't coach. This team will win a few games they shouldn't and lose a few games they shouldn't ever year. Similar to Iowa/Minnesota, they'll alternate years of contention with years of being in the bottom half.

Northwestern - One of the best coaches who has to work with a team that never gets any respect. All this team does is produce without much top talent. I truly admire Fitzgerald and this team will consistently be mid-to-top of the conference.

Michigan St - The other great coach and program builder in the ranks of the Big10. This squad will constantly be improving and in 5 years they WILL be an annual talk about the league title. Here's how recruiting in Michigan will shape up: If you are an elite defensive player, you go to Michigan St. If you are an elite offensive player, you go to Michigan.

Michigan - As painful as it is for me to say it, this program is going to be scary down the road, and you're blind if you can't see it. The problem for them though will be can DickRod avoid losing the games he shouldn't? Shades of WVU/Pitt in 07 creep into my vision...

Penn St - When Joe Pa goes (which should be shortly I think) they will not miss a beat. They have a great stadium and great fans and that will keep the Penn St buzz going after Joe Pa goes. They will consistently have a down year or two every five years though.

Ohio St - not slowing down anytime soon. The only shocker for some will be when Tressel steps down in ~5 years from now, and OSU tries to woo Dantonio away from Michigan St.

i would answer "yes" to both those questions

Short answer: both.

I had not really thought of it as penalizing the SEC, but I get what you mean. The new rule will certainly cause the average SEC school to have fewer recruits to choose from as they whittle down their class between February and August to meet the NCAA's 85 and 25 limits.

In the 4 years from 2004-2007, Big Ten programs averaged 85 recruiting commitments. In that same period, SEC schools averaged 101 signings. That is a difference of 16. So for a 4 year period, the average SEC school signs practically an entire extra recruiting class.

Now that SEC schools will not be able to oversign quite so egregiously, those extra recruits will have to choose another school if they want a football scholarship. Many of them undoubtedly will choose Big Ten schools.

This will also have an effect on the SEC's use of junior colleges as a sort of farm system. In the past, oversigned recruits would often resort to junior college after being removed from the program of their choice in that program's effort to comply with the NCAA's 85 and 25 limits and/or as a result of their own academic or legal problems. Although not required to do so, those recruits would typically use junior college to prepare for another shot at joining the program to which they originally committed.

Those junior college relationships have been very important to several SEC schools because they can basically pick and choose from their former recruiting casualties who went the juco route to better prepare themselves, physically and mentally, for Division I FBS football.

Another way schools have managed to stay within the NCAA's 85 scholarship limit despite oversigning is to decide not to renew the scholarship of a current player who is unlikely to contribute significant playing time to make room for a new recruit with better potential. That is just another advantage that should be reduced somewhat by the SEC's new rule.

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