Big Ten plans to rotate football title game
Good.
Bought time for Michigan to rotate its ass into that game - wherever it is played. Shameful that we have never even made it there.
Let's make it happen! Go Blue!
The list of Power 5 teams that have at least played for a conference championship includes such perennial heavyweights as the Duke Blue Devils, the Arizona Wildcats, the Missouri Tigers, the Virginia Cavaliers, the Northwestern Wildcats, and the Utah Utes (twice!).
You know who is not on that list? MICHIGAN.
What one thing that all those teams you listed have in common? They don't have an Alabama, Clemson, or OSU in their division. The ACC Coastal division has been a random team every year. The Pac 12 has been greatly weakened by USC and Oregon being way down. Missouri made the title game in the period of post Urban Florida and pre Kirby Smart Georgia. And Northwestern plays in the Big Ten West.
You know what else they have in common? The ability to score more than 13 points against Iowa.
While it’s true those teams don’t have to go through Alabama you know who has gone through OSU to make it to the B1G title game? Penn State 1x and Michigan State beat OSU in the title game when the divisions were different, and beat them to go and win B1G in 2015.
More excuses. Hell at this point I’d much rather have the 2016/2019 MSU type years of we could occasionally win something worth a shit.
Yes, but he didn't name Michigan State which has been to a title game when OSU was in their division. And PSU (which is slightly less embarrassing but we should at least be even with them in appearances).
ALSO, Michigan didn't have OSU in their division for several years specifically so they could get to the title game and still couldn't get there.
Bought time for Michigan to rotate its ass into that game - wherever it is played.
How much did you pay for it?
Won't even get a sniff of the title this year.
December 8th, 2021 at 2:33 PM ^
For anyone reading this now, let this be an example to never get too far deep in BPONE. Michigan won the Big Ten Championship game 42-3 against Iowa.
I am all for this.
Yep, I like this. NYC area would be a fun destination and honestly easier to get to than Indy for anyone flying (i.e. anyone more than about 300 miles from Indy).
What other destinations would we like to see?
Ford Field should be in the rotation. Soldier Field.
What other destinations would we like to see?
Yooper Dome, ftw.
Best idea I’ve seen in a long time.
these days I have ZERO interest in going anywhere near NYC after how badly their Mayor and Governor let them down during Crazy time 2020
BUT,
Michigan is never going with osu in their division so no worries of wanting to attend
Oh, seriously, fuck you.
Edit: Sorry about the repeat. Damned iPhone.
Oh, seriously, fuck you.
I get that Cuomo fucked up with the nursing home thing. But they were also hit first and hardest and generally did as well as a state could given the tsunami they faced. New York survived, despite the worst possible circumstances, and is doing well now; meantime, the hillbilly heaven states are STILL facing big and deadly surges due to ignorant morons like Ron DeSantis. Look which states are killing us: https://news.yahoo.com/florida-missouri-and-texas-now-account-for-40-percent-of-new-us-coronavirus-cases-172032337.html
Just stop it. Both of you.
Doesn't 300-400 miles from Indy cover more than half the schools in the B1G though? The only thing moving the game to NYC does is price out more fans which sucks, IMO.
Really the only school that can't make it a single day driving to Indy is Rutgers. Everywhere else is less than 10 hour drive which is significant considering the last minute nature of the travel for the championship game.
Eh, Google Maps says it's 11 hours from Rutgers to Indy. That's easily doable in a day. We just did a similar 11 hour (per Google) drive from Chicagoland to TN last week, both times in a day.
That said, geographically, Cleveland, Detroit, and Cincy probably make the most sense other than Indy, since they are more centrally located and have NFL stadiums. Then again, Ford Field is the only one among those that is domed, so point in its favor.
But with them probably wanting to chase $$$, I wouldn't be surprised to see NY/NJ, DC, and Chicago on the short list.
And while Lambeau would be totally cool, there is no way they'd go there with the limited transportation options and the fact that it's in the middle of nowhere.
That's actually not bad. I didn't even look it up as I assumed it would be much worse.
I've been to Green Bay and we did a drive by of Lambeau. It was really strange to have the neighborhoods around there and all of a sudden popped up an NFL stadium.
It does but a lot of fans live outside the Big Ten footprint. And for almost all of us, it's easier to get to NYC than Indy (far more direct flight options and usually less expensive but not sure what one weeks notice does to pricing to each location).
Don't get me wrong, Indy is the ideal location and should still host more often than anywhere else. But I like the idea of throwing in NYC once or twice a decade. Especially if I rooted for a team that actually could ever get there!
Fans will always find a way .... but one thing I like about Indianapolis is that it is a fairly reasonable 1-day drive for nearly the entire conference. That's nice when you may not know until 1 week before whether you'll be in the game.
Chicago & Detroit would work in this regard too.
Indy is a lot of fun too w/ the downtown location. The Meadowlands??? Well .......
The downtown location can’t be overlooked. Extremely compact walkable downtown -especially in early December - is a big plus. I can understand wanting to mix it up but I really do believe Indy is the best at hosting these events.
I agree. While spreading the title game around seems more democratic, giving most places a chance to host, a central location works better for logistics overall. NYC is inconvenient for Nebraska and Iowa, Nebraska and Iowa are inconvenient for Maryland and Rutgers.
Actually, the Meadowlands isn't terribly convenient for New York City either, a long drive / ride in lots of traffic. Meanwhile, most people interested in visiting NYC do that, simply visit NYC.
Yes - if "democracy" is the goal, the hoops tourney provides more opportunity.
I think a 14-year cycle would be kind of neat: host it in the home state (applying a liberal definition of "home state" for MD and RU) of a member school.
We'd still hit Chicago and Indianapolis twice each every 14 years.
But we'd also get Detroit x 2, Philly x 1, NYC x 1, DC x 1, Columbus or Cleveland x 1, Milwaukee x 1, MSP x 1, Des Moines x 1, Omaha x 1.
Des Moines and Omaha aren't the biggest cities in the world, but they have arenas that have hosted NCAA games before, and they'd probably be good hosts. If nothing else, different cities to visit for those who make the B1G tourney an annual trek.
I actually feel like the conference is so spread out geographically that it's better to think of ease of flying to vs. driving to. In that regard, you're probably looking at MSP, Chicago, Detroit, and NYC as easiest for fans to get to
Anecdotally, it seems like I've read that all fans over the last 10 years have encountered sky-high flight prices 1-week out. Even flying into O'Hare, skipping a connection and renting a car. That's a headwind as regards flying.
I went to the 2016 game --- nearly all the PSU fans drove in. Even the Philly-area fans with a 10-hour drive and direct flights to Indy available. Not a short drive but it was manageable: they did either all-day Friday, or splitting between Friday night post-work and Saturday. Then a 1-day shot back home Sunday.
If the game is on a Saturday night (last year was weird, it's an outlier), that helps.
PSU didn't deserve to be there in 2016
Edit. Reminder to myself, don't take the bait.
I'm guessing it will be a rotation of:
Indy
Chicago
Detroit
Twin Cities
Wash DC
NY
Sssoooo…those driving get fucked half the time? No thanks, keep it centrally located. Plus, how do the airlines handle 50,000+ extra last minute flights to NYC?
Conference title games should always be played outside. Indoor football is an abomination.
I don't necessarily agree with this, but I understand this line of thinking being in a cold weather state. My feeling is the players should determine the winner, not the weather. I don't want a game played in 20 below, a sideways rain, or a blizzard. I don't mind them playing in temps in the 20's but anything worst than that effects the game adversely. Same thing with playing in 90+ degree weather.
I'm fine with the weather having an impact on the game.
How many times has the 1950 Snow Bowl with OSU been celebrated on MGoBlog as one of the iconic Michigan victories?
I absolutely agree about playing outdoors during the season. Ya win some, ya lose some. Plus, into each life, rain & snow & sleet & lightning must fall. That's what helps make games memorable. Like the 1950 Snow Bowl.
But for a championship? Nah. Let the players decide the outcome, not the weather.
I dunno. I went to an outdoor NFL game in the 2nd week of December recently. Never again. It was miserable and that's coming from someone that was at the Northwestern Fandom Endurance game where it basically freezing rained the entire time
That game was the worst. Couldn't stop shaking and teeth rattling the entire time....will always prefer anything else to freezing rain.
So for a championship, I agree. Let the players decide.
I look forward to the day when the participating teams are rotated as well.
Rotate it to the home stadium of the division champion. Best record hosts the game or, in the case of ties, odd years the west champion hosts, even years the east champion hosts. It might not be the best idea, but I'm 100% in favor of an idea that involves home teams and no NFL stadiums. To be completely honest, it's mostly just no NFL stadiums.
With an expanded CFP coming, I guess it doesn't matter if the game is a 10-9 slugfest in crap weather in Chicago or NJ. I still prefer something in the center of the conference, from St. Louis to Pittsburgh.
Good. I think title games at Soldier Field, Lambeau, Ford Field, and MetLife would be great to have.
I get that Indiana is centrally located but let’s just change it up a bit.
Lucas Oil is the most overused building on the planet. Like, I get it, it has one main road alternating hotels and Hard Rock Cafe's and that's neato once or twice, but we should absolutely be going around to major cities throughout Big Ten territory.
Indy has bad restaurants--St. Elmo's is an overpriced Sign Of The Beef Carver--and not enough hotels downtown for major events. The fun neighborhoods, other than the small strip along Massachusetts, are a hike from downtown like Broad Ripple. The infatuation with hosting events there is annoying.
"St. Elmo's is an overpriced Sign of the Beef Carver"?
That is a bad take.
In small print on the menu, they let you know that your steak may be prime or it may be choice. No difference in price. The cuts themselves were underwhelming each time I went.
The "world's greatest shrimp cocktail" is shrimp of the quality you can get at any higher end restaurant. The cocktail sauce that starts blazing hot and finishes sweet is nothing special.
I'm happy to drop money at a steakhouse, that just isn't a good one.
But will they ever rotate the actual title?
EDIT: My snark was eclipsed by Darkstar above.
I thought this meant they were rotating Ohio State between conference divisions so the rest of the East had a chance.
Womp Womp.
Put the game where Buckeye fans can't afford hotel rooms. Fed Ex Field in Landover, Md/Washington, DC, Soldier Field in Chicago, Giants Stadium in NJ, Lambeau Field in Green Bay...etc.
And then they'll sell their wives, girlfriends, and even their poop coolers to afford the trip.
No thank-you!