Big Ten Conference football long ago gave up its claim to playing the best college football in the land, but its slump in 2011 is newsworthy.
The league’s highest ranked team in the BCS standings is Nebraska at No. 10. There’s not one undefeated team among the 12 Big Ten schools. No one is betting his or her IRA account on the Big Ten having a team in the national championship game next January.
Don’t look for Big Ten players to come even close to hoarding the post-season college football individual awards that recognize player of the year and best performers at various positions. Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson was the league’s glamour guy earlier in the fall but he’s fading fast in the Heisman Trophy race.
And don’t expect search firms to park outside the offices of league coaches after the season trying to woo them to other football programs across the country. The Big Ten football coaching scene is short on star power, although Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz is among the top paid coaches in the nation and Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald ranks with the best 40 and under coaches.
What’s the problem with the Big Ten? Let’s start with the reality that the mighty Ohio State program has slipped because of tattoo-gate. And Michigan, college football’s winningest program, is trying to recover from three seasons under coach Rich Rodriguez.
Ohio State and Michigan were once national powers but not in 2011. Conference newcomer Nebraska boosts the league’s resume and adds a program serious about football, but these aren’t the Cornhuskers that Tom Osborne had winning national championships.
The Big Ten simply doesn’t have enough programs that are both capable and want to compete at the highest level of college football. Southeastern Conference teams have won the last five BCS national titles. The best college football every fall is played in the SEC and Big Ten fans can only drool in anticipation of Saturday’s game of the year showdown between No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama.
Big Ten teams have won two national championships in the last 30 years. During that time conference teams have only won 11 Rose Bowls. There have been five players from Big Ten schools who won the Heisman Trophy, and a few head coaches who have won various national coach of the year awards.