I watched the Big 10 Network last night...

[basedog]

Man ole man are they butt hurt over the SEC! So much bashing going on I thought I was watching a Black Bear rerun of "why we are better"! Not only were they saying no way Msu was the #1 team in the country although they ranked as either 1 or 2 in their 4 team playoff, but they all 3 agreed no way TSUN should be #4 but they thought the Ducks should be #4. Then they just went off on ESPN and the committee for putting out their top 25 teams.

I can understand their hurt cause they are getting paid by the BTN, oh man were they begging for Michigan State to be in the top 4 which they all agreed they should and will be when the season plays out. They did think ND got what they deserved as for as #10. They just when on and on that the SEC is so over rated!

[FlabLoser]

I hope all this went down after you put the kids to bed.

[ShotgunDawg]

What we are seeing now is all the other conferences ganging up against the SEC. To Big 10 fans, Oregon, FSU, and TCU are all now part of the Big 10.

[TUSK]

speaking of the Big 10... Ya'll dig on this letter written by Commish Delany just after Florida won the NC in 2006... and Imagine what a current comparison would look like... then you'll understand their "butthurt"....

Feb. 9, 2007
Greetings from the Big Ten Conference,
With the conclusion of another tremendous college football season and the recent national signing day, there has been a lot written and said about the Big Ten's recruiting efforts across the country, including a recent article in the Chicago Sun-Times entitled "Big Ten needs to find new talent pool - fast" (see full article here). In response to these commentaries, it seems premature for us to lower our admission standards or give up on the tremendous talent pool in the Midwest. No doubt national programs must recruit nationally wherever the talented students and athletes live. Hats off to Florida and the SEC -- they had a great year. We believe that both the Big Ten and the SEC have been and remain two of the greatest college football conferences in the country. But you may want to keep in mind the following as you review the various recruiting services, listen to talking heads and reflect the blogosphere out there as they compare these two fine conferences. I think most people would agree that head-to-head competition is an effective method to compare relative strengths between competitive entities:
• The Big Ten was 2-1 vs. the SEC in this past season's bowl games.
• The Big Ten is 8-6 vs. the SEC in bowl games over the last five years
• The Big Ten is 13-13 vs. the SEC in bowl games over the last decade.
• Over the last nine years of Bowl Championship Series games, the Big Ten leads all conferences with 15 berths while ranking second with eight victories. The SEC tops all leagues with nine wins and ranks second to the Big Ten with 13 appearances.
• In the last 10 years the Big Ten has produced two national champions compared to three for the SEC.
• In the last 15 years the Big Ten has produced five Heisman Trophy winners, more than any other conference. Over that same time span, the SEC has claimed one Heisman.
• While the SEC ranked first among various recruiting rankings, the Big Ten ranked second or third nationally with four to five programs rated among the top 25 recruiting classes.
• The Big Ten has a history of developing players - the most recent Heisman Trophy winner, Troy Smith, was one of the last players to receive a scholarship from Ohio State.
• The Big Ten has slightly less than 300 players in the NFL while the SEC has slightly more than 300; Sixteen former Big Ten players earned Super Bowl rings with the Indianapolis Colts earlier this month.
I love speed and the SEC has great speed, especially on the defensive line, but there are appropriate balances when mixing academics and athletics. Each school, as well as each conference, simply must do what fits their mission regardless of what a recruiting service recommends. I wish we had six teams among the top 10 recruiting classes every year, but winning our way requires some discipline and restraint with the recruitment process. Not every athlete fits athletically, academically or socially at every university. Fortunately, we have been able to balance our athletic and academic mission so that we can compete successfully and keep faith with our academic standards.
Let's see if the five- and 10-year trend lines hold or whether the recruiting services and talking heads are seeing a new day. We are quite proud of our history and tradition and remain optimistic about the future of Big Ten football.
Thanks.
Jim Delany

[Jack Lambert]

they better hop that KY and Tenn don't pick up their game because they will start taking Big 10 recruits.

[TUSK]

they better hop that KY and Tenn don't pick up their game because they will start taking Big 10 recruits.

I think this is already happening... I don't think UK will ever be consistent winner, but they've improved a lot.

It's just a matter of time before UT is "back"... they just care too much up there....

[CadaverDawg]

I watched the Big 10 Network last night...

You increased their weekly viewership to 1 TV set by doing that*

[engie]

I think this is already happening... I don't think UK will ever be consistent winner, but they've improved a lot.

It's just a matter of time before UT is "back"... they just care too much up there....

You're right -- it IS already happening. Kentucky is taking 3-4 Ohio kids every year under Stoops that may not be priorities but do have OSU offers. Furthermore, between Bielema, Stoops, and Jones, we are getting basically all of the "tier 2" home state recruits that normally would go to another B1G program up there...

Class of 2014(already on campus):
In their recruiting footprint:
Minnesota - 3 4*s, 2 to SEC
Wisconsin - 2 4*s, 0 SEC
Michigan - 4 4*s, 0 SEC
Iowa - 2 4*s, 1 to SEC
Nebraska - no 4*s, 0 SEC
Illinois - 12 4*s, 3 to SEC
Indiana - 6 4*s, 1 to SEC
Ohio - 16 4*s, 4 to SEC
Pennsylvania - 7 4*s, 0 SEC
Maryland - 4 4*s, 0 SEC
New Jersey - 10 4*s, 0 SEC
So, the entire B1G footprint has 66 4*s, 11 of which are headed to the SEC(16.7%). That's gotta sting.

By comparison:
Florida - 42 4*s, 4 to B1G
Georgia - 23 4*s, 1 to B1G
South Carolina - 9 4*s, 0 to B1G
Kentucky - 2 4*s, 0 to B1G
Tennessee - 7 4*s, 0 to B1G
Missouri - 3 4*s, 0 to B1G
Arky - 2 4*s, 0 to B1G
Texas - 37 4*s, 1 to B1G
Louisiana - 16 4*s, 0 to B1G
Mississippi - 8 4*s, 0 to B1G
Alabama - 11 4*s, 0 to B1G
So, the entire SEC footprint has 160 4*s, 6 of which are headed to the B1G(3.75%).

The 'crootin rankings have SEC bias too I guess**