The Big Ten takes a shit

Oh and five.

From State College to Iowa City, fans of Big Ten football received a collective kick in the nuts today as Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Penn State, and Wisconsin all lost their bowl games.

The Badgers lost a hard-fought and frustrating Rose Bowl against (not little) TCU. The Great Lakes State schools were blown out by a combined score of 101-21. JoePa’s young QB literally threw away the Outback Bowl (five interceptions, including the game clinching pick-six). And the Wildcats’s late comeback was not enough. With one game left to play, the Big Ten is 2-5. Including Nebraska’s Holiday Bowl loss to Washington, the new-look Big Ten is 2-6. Three of those losses were to the vaunted — practically deified — SEC.

Wow.

A few weeks ago I told Bobblehead the Big Ten got a tough draw in the bowls, but I did not think it would be this tough. I thought the Spartans would prove to be a worthy opponent for Alabama, ol’ Shoelace and RichRod would take a page from Auburn’s playbook to beat Mississippi State, plucky Northwestern could finally capture their first bowl win against the Red Raiders, and Bucky would trample the Horned Frogs underfoot. Though I expected MSU to lose, I thought only Penn State was overmatched. Despite being a down year for Florida, I did not think JoePa’s crew could handle the Gators’s speed and strength. Oddly, Penn State was the only team that actually went toe-to-toe with their SEC opponent. I did not watch a single down of the Gator Bowl, but the Capital One seemed like a match-up between Michigan State and a mid-tier NFL team. It was U-G-L-Y.

Two years ago, only Iowa waved the conference banner victoriously, so at least the Illini join the Hawks in doing so this year. The Buckeyes could do the same on Tuesday, but the damage has been done and the conference has been left fallen and holding its crotch. No doubt the national sports media will be hammering the Big Ten as usual, saying the respect the conference gained last bowl season has been wiped clean by this shellacking, especially in the Capital One Bowl.

It was a day unworthy of legend or leader status, but the sun will rise again tomorrow. As fans, it’s time to take our lumps, celebrate an exciting Big Ten season — the last of the 11-team era — and eagerly anticipate next season.