The Big 10 conference has been known as a powerhouse football program for decades for having grueling tough schedules. However, how does a school become a powerhouse? Is being a powerhouse determined by the number of championships you have? Having a consistent winning record? The successful teams you play and regularly defeat? If you consistently have a winning record, but play very weak teams, are you really powerful?
These days, we get to watch powerhouse programs such as Penn State and Ohio State start their seasons with very weak schedules. These games continue to draw criticism as we watch other conferences such as the SEC and the ACC play tough grueling schedules. Quite honestly, the Big Ten is vastly becoming the Big Joke. Furthermore, the Big Ten really needs to stop scheduling non-conference games against Akron and start scheduling games with Stanford, Oregon and Arizona State. Penn State starts a new series with West Virginia, in 2023?
At the end of the day, I personally think its a joke for fans to pay money to watch these exhibitions. Yes, I called them exhibitions because there is no reason for FCS schools to be playing top ranked teams, let alone in the fourth week of the season. I think it’s a joke to watch these powerhouse programs blow out teams, such as Ohio State playing Florida A&M, holding them to 80 yards total, winning 76-0. Who wants to be on the losing end of that game?
Being in the Big Ten is no longer seen as being a difficult conference with strength of schedule being the major component. This must be a top priority for the league, after years in a system where teams are punished for losing one game. Teams are now being punished for winning against weaker opponents. An example of this is Boise State. Boise State was never going to play for a national championship with the lack of strength of schedule.
That being said, we won’t be seeing this happening anytime soon as Penn State has released their 2014 schedule. Non-conference games for the Nittany Lions include: Central Florida, UMASS, Akron and Temple. Ohio States 2014 non-conference schedule: Navy, Kent State, Virginia Tech and Cincinnati.
For most of its history, the Big Ten has been a model of old school football and mean battles in the trenches. For the Big Ten to gain back some much needed credibility that it’s lost over the years, teams like Penn State and Ohio State must play tough, grueling schedules.
