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Finebaum " The Big Ten owns college football"

Still hate this mindset. Teams win titles not conferences.
Exactly. every conference is really the same. You have two or three really good teams, a clump of mediocre teams in the middle and some real bottom dwellers and they all line up about the same. A bad B1G team is a bad SEC team and vice-versa. Who wins on any given day is just the nature of sports, it doesn't prove dominance.
 
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and there is now way you can say it doesn't." Dang, that had to hurt to say

Not so sure about that. I do believe that Ohio State and Michigan have been effective utilizing the Transfer portal and NIL, which payed off for them recently, but if you look at high school recruiting, other than Ohio State, the SEC still seems to Dominate.
 
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Exactly. every conference is really the same. You have two or three really good teams, a clump of mediocre teams in the middle and some real bottom dwellers and they all line up about the same. A bad B1G team is a bad SEC team and vice-versa. Who wins on any given day is just the nature of sports, it doesn't prove dominance.
This isn't true. The SEC and Big Ten are on a completely different level than everyone else.
 
Not so sure about that. I do believe that Ohio State and Michigan have been effective utilizing the Transfer portal and NIL, which payed off for them recently, but if you look at high school recruiting, other than Ohio State, the SEC still seems to Dominate.
Yep. I read Ohio State only has four kids from ohio in their top 22 players. Amazing given the richness of Ohio's HS football programs. But this year, three of the top five are B1G (OSU, Oregon, PSU) and four of the top ten (add in Indiana). One more in the top 20 (Illinois).

There is also a good argument to be made that we should have been rated higher than TX. While we lost three games, none was to a team outside the top four (OSU, Oregon, ND). TX lost to GA twice and OSU.

In the end, WR killed this team vs the top teams. AK's scheme? Bad Recruiting? Poor Development? Position coach? Allar? Probably a little of all.
 
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It’s amazing what happens when you don’t eye test teams into a 2 or 4 team bracket. Other teams win!

The SEC was given a pass for the last 30 years. And people bought it. And the league and coaches benefitted from that artificial perception.
Georgia not being in the playoff last year was criminal. I get what you're saying but the SEC/Big Ten should have the majority of the teams...betting they get 4 auto bids each with expansion to 14
 
Not so sure about that. I do believe that Ohio State and Michigan have been effective utilizing the Transfer portal and NIL, which payed off for them recently, but if you look at high school recruiting, other than Ohio State, the SEC still seems to Dominate.
Disagree. The B1G has 5 of the top 15 teams in the 2025 HS recruiting rankings according to 247 Sports Composite.

But the real strength of the B1G is their alumni's deep pockets which is starting to show up in the Transfer Portal with the very best players

 
Yep. I read Ohio State only has four kids from ohio in their top 22 players. Amazing given the richness of Ohio's HS football programs. But this year, three of the top five are B1G (OSU, Oregon, PSU) and four of the top ten (add in Indiana). One more in the top 20 (Illinois).

There is also a good argument to be made that we should have been rated higher than TX. While we lost three games, none was to a team outside the top four (OSU, Oregon, ND). TX lost to GA twice and OSU.

In the end, WR killed this team vs the top teams. AK's scheme? Bad Recruiting? Poor Development? Position coach? Allar? Probably a little of all.
We should have overcome it vs ND if we could have made one clutch play down the stretch. Add to that their train wreck kicker somehow pulls out of his a## a 42 yard field goal to win it. But there is no way we would have beaten OSU in the title game with the our clown show at WR.
 
We should have overcome it vs ND if we could have made one clutch play down the stretch. Add to that their train wreck kicker somehow pulls out of his a## a 42 yard field goal to win it. But there is no way we would have beaten OSU in the title game with the our clown show at WR.
Hard to figure out why PSU's WR room is such a mess. Every other position group is solid
 
Hard to figure out why PSU's WR room is such a mess. Every other position group is solid
The million dollar question. Parker Washington was our last good viable #1 then what happened? We thought it would be KLS and if not him we had Wallace, Evans, Saunders. Got Cephus in the portal. Surely one guy could match what PW did but somehow no. Really weird. I do think it is correlated to the emergence of our TE room becoming a big offensive weapon.
 
Cool, maybe he can get on national TV and cry like Herbstreit what a bunch of Clown's.
 
Yep. I read Ohio State only has four kids from ohio in their top 22 players. Amazing given the richness of Ohio's HS football programs. But this year, three of the top five are B1G (OSU, Oregon, PSU) and four of the top ten (add in Indiana). One more in the top 20 (Illinois).

There is also a good argument to be made that we should have been rated higher than TX. While we lost three games, none was to a team outside the top four (OSU, Oregon, ND). TX lost to GA twice and OSU.

In the end, WR killed this team vs the top teams. AK's scheme? Bad Recruiting? Poor Development? Position coach? Allar? Probably a little of all.
I agree our WR issues are probably a lot of things in combination. In my mind, a good part of it must be player development and coaching. I see other teams with even less overall WR talent find ways to get people open. That's why I'm surprised we're sticking with our WR coach.

I think overall our talent level is still behind these top teams and we're thin at certain positions
 
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But for a BS call, the semis would have been 2 Big Ten, a partial ACC, and a Big 12 (that had a 4 way tie for first).

I don’t see an SEC team in there.
We don't know ASU wins that game if the call is different
And that doesn't alter the SEC/Big Ten are far superior than Skatterbo being a beast for a year
 
The million dollar question. Parker Washington was our last good viable #1 then what happened? We thought it would be KLS and if not him we had Wallace, Evans, Saunders. Got Cephus in the portal. Surely one guy could match what PW did but somehow no. Really weird. I do think it is correlated to the emergence of our TE room becoming a big offensive weapon.


You already answered the question. KLS transferred is what happened. Even when the room is good we really only have one or two good WRs. OSU has the best room and only had 4 WRs with over 5 catches during the season.
 
Disagree. The B1G has 5 of the top 15 teams in the 2025 HS recruiting rankings according to 247 Sports Composite.

But the real strength of the B1G is their alumni's deep pockets which is starting to show up in the Transfer Portal with the very best players

Yes,2025 was a good recruiting year for the big with the addition of the pac teams and Michigans recent NC, however prior to that it was mainly Ohio State, with either Penn State or Michigan a distant second. Point is, I would not Count out the SEC just yet, I’m sure they will get their NIL and Portal programs going soon enough.
 
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I agree our WR issues are probably a lot of things in combination. In my mind, a good part of it must be player development and coaching. I see other teams with even less overall WR talent find ways to get people open. That's why I'm surprised we're sticking with our WR coach.

I think overall our talent level is still behind these top teams and we're thin at certain positions
OL certainly is currently a strength and it took awhile. Perhaps we should give the WR coach a bit more time.
 
Yes,2025 was a good recruiting year for the big with the addition of the pac teams and Michigans recent NC, however prior to that it was mainly Ohio State, with either Penn State or Michigan a distant second. Point is, I would not Count out the SEC just yet, I’m sure they will get their NIL and Portal programs going soon enough.
I agree but wonder how much of this stuff is self-fulfilling prophecies. In other words, the services rate FL kids higher than in other states. A lot of that is because they have gotten the SEC offers, which were considered better. OSU has done a great job in TX and PSU is now pushing into FL and GA. In the end, And in the end, the portal with NIL will have a big effect. Today, kids think nothing of going across the country to play as 18-year-olds. Honestly, I'd never endorse my 17/18 year old kid going that far away mostly due to the potential need to intervene. Especially true in a high-injury sport. I'd like to be there if my kid had to have surgery, for example.

But I do agree, the SEC is a little down but not out. I think they had a model that worked year in and out. They need to tweak their models in the age of NIL and portals. We'll see how they respond.
 
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I agree our WR issues are probably a lot of things in combination. In my mind, a good part of it must be player development and coaching. I see other teams with even less overall WR talent find ways to get people open. That's why I'm surprised we're sticking with our WR coach.

I think overall our talent level is still behind these top teams and we're thin at certain positions
I don't want to hijack this thread, but I've been thinking that the poor output by our WR's is a combination of scheme, player ability/development and attitude. We had an all-world TE, and 2 tremendous RBs who can contribute in the passing game. AK clearly schemed toward getting the ball into those play makers' hands. Presumably, part of the reason for choosing that scheme is that we did not have particularly talented WRs.

On top of that, over the course of the season, if you're a WR and you're not getting targeted, it takes a tremendous amount of discipline and team-first attitude to continue putting in 100% effort on route after route when you don't think you're going to be getting the ball. So it's kind of a chicken and egg thing. Were the receivers lazy route-runners or did they get lazy because they weren't targeted enough? Who knows, but either way it points toward bad attitudes.

With Warren leaving AK will need to figure out how to spread the ball around and get the WRs involved more.
 
and there is now way you can say it doesn't." Dang, that had to hurt to say

And with Ohio State , Oregon , Penn State and Michigan ( eventually USC will be back)..you can easily put these Big 10 teams up against anything the SEC has to offer..what if PSU wins the Natty next year..Michigan , Ohio State then Penn State..three years in a row as Nat'l champions ? Yes..along way to go BUT..impressive..,.and..really hate to admit it..but this years Ohio State without the hiccups ie Oregon and Michigan losses..easily IMO one of the best College Football Teams we have seen in the last 10 years..,
 
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They shouldn't need auto bids. Just do it by the rankings.
Why? If the Big Ten and SEC have 4 auto bids then the ACC & Big XII have 2 we all the objective. Finish in those spots and secure a spot. That leaves two at-large teams--one of which is reserved for an AQ team. Rankings determine seeding.

I'd be fine with just rankings but we know the Big Ten/SEC are going to have demands and the conference commissioners already gave them more power for the next playoff. Bama/USCe being left out hurt the ACC/Big XII long term.
 
They shouldn't need auto bids. Just do it by the rankings.
It's always going to be subjective. What rankings would they use who does the rankings. Sports writers are as biased as they come. The previous year with FSU proves you can't generally trust the selection committee/or people to do the right thing.
 
And with Ohio State , Oregon , Penn State and Michigan ( eventually USC will be back)..you can easily put these Big 10 teams up against anything the SEC has to offer..what if PSU wins the Natty next year..Michigan , Ohio State then Penn State..three years in a row as Nat'l champions ? Yes..along way to go BUT..impressive..,.and..really hate to admit it..but this years Ohio State without the hiccups ie Oregon and Michigan losses..easily IMO one of the best College Football Teams we have seen in the last 10 years..,
Lastly..to show again the power shift and not getting ahead of ourselves..IF PSU wins it next year..you would have 3 different teams from the same conference ( LOL at one time SAME division) win the Natty..when was the last time that happened ? never happened with the SEC I believe...
 
Lastly..to show again the power shift and not getting ahead of ourselves..IF PSU wins it next year..you would have 3 different teams from the same conference ( LOL at one time SAME division) win the Natty..when was the last time that happened ? never happened with the SEC I believe...
Didn't that just happen...maybe I have the years wrong but
2019 LSU
2020 Bama
2021 UGa
Then 2022 UGa
Now Michigan Ohio State and hopefully Penn State
 
SAME DIVISION ?
You realize when you use ( ) that you don't factor that into the statement itself as you're isolating it. Take that out and read the statement.
There are no divisions now so it doesn't even make sense to talk about this year or next as a division hence you said "at one time"
Nice backpedaling though. A+
 
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