The Fumble: Watch Out, Big 10
The Big 10 is crumbling.
At the end of last season, it was generally agreed that the Big 10 was the second strongest conference in college football, behind only the SEC and firmly ahead of the other three power five conferences. Five different teams ended the year with 10-win seasons, and six made the final CFB Playoff poll. The conference looked strong, and with a few consistent years from Penn State would allow the conference to potentially challenge the SEC in the future. 4 weeks into the Big 10’s shortened season, things have not gone as planned.
Michigan is 1-2 and out of the top 25, having lost to Indiana and state rival Michigan State.
Last year’s feel-good story and preseason top 25 team Minnesota is also 1-2 and unranked after losing to Michigan and Maryland, both unranked.
The team that has been consistently the second-best team in the conference, the Penn State Nittany Lions, are 0-3 after losses to Indiana, Ohio State, and Maryland. This team spent four combined weeks in the top 10 nationally and lost to Maryland. Maryland doesn’t have a top-50 scoring offense OR defense nationally!
Even Wisconsin, usually a consistent Big 10 presence in the 8-12 range in the rankings, has played only one game due to COVID issues. It’s not really indicative of the Badgers’ talent, but suffice it to say that they haven’t been doing anything positive for the conferences’ national standing.
That is four, count ‘em, four teams that came in with hopes, and even expectations, of respectable, top-25 caliber seasons and have disappointed in one way or another.
It hasn’t been all bad: Indiana has been a pleasant surprise at #10, and Ohio State has been as consistent as is necessary. But this season thus far has devastated a conference that entered the season with a lot of hype. If Ohio State loses, it is a virtual guarantee that there won’t be a Big 10 representative in the playoff, and Michigan and Penn State, in particular, seem to need to do some soul-searching to figure out what’s going wrong. It may be too late to save this season, but it isn’t too late to fix the problems and create some semblance of a successful year. Either way, I’m honestly shocked at the lack of success for the Big 10 this year, and it is the opportunity for another conference to fill the void before the Big 10 returns. I’m not sure which conference that will be, but this could be the chance to build momentum going into next year for the sake of recruiting and conference imaging. It’s an important time in college football.
On with the Fumble…
Down Goes Clemson
To be fair, Clemson was missing quarterback and potential top draft pick Trevor Lawrence. But this win still marks an impressive moment for Notre Dame, which has been just below the top tier of playoff teams for years. Now the Irish are ranked second and don’t have a game scheduled as difficult as the Tigers until the ACC championship. Can they keep it together that long?
The Two Little Guys
In many ways, I just want this column to be a Cincinnati fan page. I’m a huge fan of head coach Luke Fickell, I was born in Cincinnati, and the Bearcats represent the best chance for a Group of Five schools to make the playoff in years. But Cincinnati isn’t the only team outside the Power Five that is making moves in the rankings: BYU, an independent school, is currently ranked right behind UC at #8. In a ranking that is usually dominated by the same 15 schools, it’s good to see two smaller programs have serious success, and I’m throwing a party if Cincinnati makes the playoff. Speaking of which…
If the Season Ended Today, the Playoff Teams Would Be…
Alabama
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Clemson
Alabama moves into Clemson’s spot after the Tigers lost, but due to circumstances and opponent Clemson only fell to fourth. The Irish were able to jump Ohio State, but it will take a loss or some particularly impressive performances for Notre Dame to step in front of the Crimson Tide.
The Top of the G5 Rests With…
Cincinnati would probably have this spot even with a loss, but ever since UCF faded badly, there seems to be no real dangers on the rest of Cincinnati’s schedule. They need a few teams to lose, maybe twice, to make the playoff, but they have the New Year’s Six bowl wrapped up if they keep winning.
Writer
-By: Alex Spieldenner