The B1G. Outside of having three teams ranked in the Top 6, the rest of the conference is mediocre to bad. The conference is currently the very definition of “top-heavy.” Michigan and Illinois are flirting at the bottom of the Top 25, but they have a low ceiling. Even our Mr. FishDuck took a break from his study of the DFS NFL optimizer to chime in his agreement of my contentions.
I have decided to make two lists, each broken into four tiers. The first list is how the conference tiers SHOULD look based on historical performance and/or potential. The second list is how they are TODAY.
HOW THE CONFERENCE SHOULD LOOK
TIER 1 – ELITE
Ohio State: A gold standard blue-blood.
Oregon: New kid on the block elite program. Time to win one.
USC: There is no reason they should be this mediocre for so long.
Michigan: Another gold standard blue-blood.
Penn State: Traditional blue-blood.
TIER 2 – CONTENDERS
UCLA: For decades, the Bruins flew just under the radar of the blue-bloods as a very good program. But, in the past 25 years, the program has not kept up in the college football arms race.
Washington: Like UCLA, a history of success, but Oregon’s Northwest foe is not at the same level as the Ducks.
Iowa: Perennial second-tier B1G program.
Nebraska: A blue-blood through and through that has fallen on hard times. A casualty of chasing money by switching conferences.
Wisconsin: Has had great success over the past 30 years, but, with NIL, is that time over?
Michigan State: Like Iowa, a historical second-tier conference program.
TIER 3 – MEDIOCRE (Occasionally Not Bad, Occasionally Bad)
Illinois: Good coaching makes them interesting.
Minnesota: Ditto. Good coaching keeps them interesting.
Purdue: Needs the right coach.
TIER 4 – BOTTOM OF THE CONFERENCE
Indiana: Elite at the moment, but we need some history.
Rutgers: The king’s ugly daughter who married into a rich family because she’s the king’s daughter. Rutgers is in the New York metro area, so the B1G decided to marry the Scarlet Knights. Who cares? Bad fit.
Maryland: Like Rutgers, but not as bad overall. The B1G must regret adding these two bottom feeders.
Northwestern: Just focus on the academics.
The Ducks danced all over Rutgers. (photo by Evan Bernstein)
HOW THE CONFERENCE LOOKS TODAY
TIER 1 -ELITE
Ohio State: The standard bearer.
Indiana: NKOTB. The New Kid On the Block. Gotta”Hang Tough” to stay here. Will they?
Oregon: Chip on the shoulder alert. Has something to prove after losing to Indiana.
TIER 2 – MAYBE SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE
USC: Pull your head out of your ass. Then again, don’t.
Washington: Getting better, but Jed Fisch is a huge flight risk.
Iowa: The old reliable. Rarely great. Rarely awful.
Illinois: Mediocre program has a good coach. Making some noise.
Michigan: They seem to be getting it together. A year or two away?
TIER 3 – MEDIOCRE
Minnesota: Solid coach , P.J. Fleck, at a traditionally lower-half of the conference program. He keeps them interesting, but, not so good that he has been offered a better job.
Nebraska: Should have stayed in the Big 12. But, chased $$$.
UCLA: Are they ever going to invest in football? If they do, they could be pretty good, like in the old days.
Northwestern: The B1G’s Stanford. Can be decent with the right coach.
TIER 4 – AWFUL
This category makes up one-third of the conference.
Maryland: Seemed like a good idea to expand to the East Coast. Hmmm….
Michigan State: Dear Mr. Smith, maybe Corvallis is not that bad.
Penn State: The ultimate fall from grace.
Rutgers: Probably the least raw talent. (Also, see Maryland.)
Purdue: I have always liked their nickname.
Wisconsin: Not looking good in this new NIL era.
So, there it is, folks. Let the disagreements begin in our OBD forum!
Darren Perkins
Spokane, WA
Top photo credit: Evan Bernstein
Natalie Liebhaber, the FishDuck.com Volunteer Editor for this article, works in financial technology in SLC, Utah.
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Darren Perkins is a sales professional and 1997 Oregon graduate. After finishing school, he escaped the rain and moved to sunny Southern California where he studied screenwriting for two years at UCLA. Darren grew up in Eugene and in 1980, at the tender age of five, he attended his first Oregon football game. His lasting memory from that experience was an enthusiastic Don Essig announcing to the crowd: “Reggie Ogburn, completes a pass to… Reggie Ogburn.” Captivated by such a thrilling play, Darren’s been hooked on Oregon football ever since. Currently living in Spokane, Darren enjoys flaunting his yellow and green superiority complex over friends and family in Cougar country.