Don't Worry About Big Ten Bowl Record

Bowl Games are Just Bowl Games

There are a lot of reasons you shouldn't worry about the Big Ten bowl record this year. First off, the bowl games are not the most ideal measuring stick, as teams have many distractions: including almost a month between games; players going home for the holidays; players distracted by the NFL; players making the banquet circuit with season awards; and of course final exams in December. Another factor to consider is the travel involved for teams, as many teams are far far away from home while others are practically in their own backyard. Some players didn't travel across the country in high school, so these trips can be overwhelming. The cards were stacked against the Big Ten this year, so it should not be shocking that many teams lost.

 

Tough Matchups for Big Ten

Let's look at the results so far this year:

1. Iowa beat Missouri-In Arizona so there was no location advantage, but Missouri was favored

2. Illinois beat Baylor-In Houston so Baylor had an advantage with the location, and Baylor was favored

3. Northwestern lost to Texas Tech-In Dallas so TTU had an advantage with the location, and TTU was favored

4. Michigan State lost to Alabama-In Orlando so Alabama had a slight advantage with the location, Alabama was favored

5. Penn State lost to Florida-In Tampa so Florida had an advantage with the location, Florida was favored and it was Meyer's last game (we think)

6. Michigan lost to Mississippi St-In Jacksonville so Miss. St. had a slight advantage with the location, Miss. St. was favored

7. Wisconsin lost to TCU-In Pasadena so there was no location advantage, TCU was favored

 

Let me sum that up for you the opposing team had a location advantage in five of the seven games, and all of the opponents of the Big Ten were favored. Three of the opponents not only had a location advantage, but the games were in their home states! It was indeed a stacked deck this year.

 

Only OSU Favored to Win

The only team favored to win in all of the eight Big Ten bowl games is OSU over Arkansas. OSU is only favored to win by a field goal, and Arkansas has a location advantage as the game is in the neighboring state of Louisiana.

 

I want the Big Ten to do well and succeed, but the analysts are not fair in their assessments of the Big Ten results. The Big Ten was not favored to beat any of the SEC teams on January 1st. The Big Ten was strong this season, and the Bowl Games are not a fair way to judge a conference.