Is this what college football has deteriorated to?

With a total of 35 bowl games being played, (35!) and 12 already in the books, a quick breakdown is necessary to sort out what is going on here.

Mediocrity Defined

Of the 35 games and 70 teams, 13 teams have records of 6-6 and one (UCLA) has a losing record of 6-7, having to petition to get in to their bowl game. How can a team with a .500 record, the very definition of the word average, be considered for the postseason and rewarded with a berth in a bowl game?

Photo credit: Seth Perlman/AP via NWITimes.com

Three of the games feature both teams with 6-6 records, and there is the one bowl game, The Fired Head Coaches Bowl, or officially titled Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, pitting a 6-6 Illini team without fired head coach Ron Zook versus the 6-7 UCLA Bruins team without fired head coach Rick Neuheisel.

A UCLA win and this becomes the first ever bowl game where neither team ends the season with a winning record.

The other match-ups with 6-6 teams competing for their slice of the Mediocrity Bowl Series (MBS) includes:

• Wake Forest vs. Mississippi State
• Texas A & M vs. Northwestern
• Ohio State vs. Florida, being dubbed as the “We used to play in the BCS National Championship Game” bowl. 

If  a playoff system for college football is ever instituted, a new bracket pitting all the 6-6 teams could be created with the winner being crowned MBS Champion, perhaps against the winner of the 7-5 team bracket. But don’t even get me started on those 15 7-5 teams.

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Update: Of the first three 6-6 teams, 2 have won their bowl games and one has lost. Marshall beat Florida International 20-10, Purdue held off Western Michigan 37-32, while Arizona State lost 56-24 to #8 Boise State.

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THE Ohio State University is 62-30-4 all-time against the Illinois Fighting Illini. The winner of this game receives the wooden turtle Illibuck Trophy. This is on the long list of Big Ten trophy games and the tradition started way back in 1925.

Somehow I don’t see this trophy game being preserved in the new divisional alignment starting next year (see lopsided all-time record above).

Look! Ohio State is on the road for the first of only four trips this year!

Now on to the game data and preview:

Ohio State-Illinois Primer

• Ohio State–Illinois Location: Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois
• Ohio State–Illinois Date and Kickoff Time Time: Saturday October 2nd, 2010 – 12:00pm EST
• Ohio State–Illinois TV: Big Ten Network
• Ohio State–Illinois Announcers: Eric Collins, Chris Martin, and Charissa Thompson
• Ohio State–Illinois Odds: Spread – Ohio State -19, Over/under – 50.5 (via Betus.com)

ILLINOIS Fighting Illini (2-1)

• Ron Zook (46-54 career, 6th year at Illinois 23-40)
• Last Week: 28-22 win over Northern Illinois

The Fighting Zooks have their toughest Big Ten game of the year in week one of conference play. Head Coach Ron Zook is on the hot seat but may be able to save face with a good overall year end record. You see, the two conference teams they don’t have to play this year are Iowa and Wisconsin, two of the three teams expected to challenge for the Big Ten Championship.

Illinois’ offense is all run, no pass again, as it has been during the Zook tenure. Leading the team in rushing is junior 230 lb RB Mikel Leshoure, who hasn’t fumbled in his career and is averaging 6.9 yards a carry on almost 20 carries a game in 2010.

Expect them to try to keep Ohio State’s offense off the field and pound the ball with Leshoure and Freshman QB Nathan Scheelhaase who is averaging 5.9 yards a carry. These two in the backfield will run, run, run, unless they get down early. If they do, things could get ugly if Scheelhaase has to prove his arm throwing to his inexperienced wide receivers.

Or their stubborn running attack could simply just end up being the only difference between giving the Buckeye offense an opportunity to score 50-plus points or only 30-plus points.

#2 OHIO STATE Buckeyes (4-0)

• Jim Tressel (233-78-2 career, 98-21 at Ohio State, 10th year)
• Last Week: 73-20 win over Eastern Michigan

Terrelle Pryor passed (four to Sanzenbacher), ran, and caught touchdowns last week against EMU en route to a 73 point output. His talent was on full display and I bet he felt like he was in high school again. But this is Illinois and the Big Ten he facing up against now. Now is the time when he has to keep his stock rising and avoid a mental lapse on the field if the Bucks are truly primed for a special season. The difference from last year is Pryor looked beatable at this time, but now he and Buckeyes look unbeatable.

The Buckeye defense has the obvious game plan to stop the run first and force Illinois to pass, especially if they have an early lead. They have not given up a 100 yard rusher in 27 straight games and plan on extending that streak despite Illinois’ style of play. Even if Illinois can eat up a lot of yards on the ground, forcing field goals and punt situations is key so their offense can get time on the field to put points on the board.

They are focused, so don’t expect Ohio State to overlook Illinois before their home game against Indiana October 9th.

Ohio State-Illinois PREDICTION

All year I have been against and wrong on the spread picks for the Buckeyes. I NEVER bet for or against my favorite team because it takes the fun out of watching it. But with what I thought were too large spreads all year, I’m buying into the Ohio State -19 spread in this one. That is Easily attainable for this team even if you plan on it being “another tough Big Ten conference game” as the Sweater Vest would say. The weather won’t be perfect but don’t expect a downpour.

Ohio State-Illinois Pick: Ohio State 42 Illinois 16

Ohio State-Illinois Spread Pick: Ohio State -19

KVB is 3-0 straight up and 0-3 against the spread on Ohio State this year.

Apparently Northwestern is attempting to schedule a football game or two at Wrigley Field during the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Naturally, the proposed opponent for the game appears to be the Illinois Fighting Illini and their water-skiiing maniac of a coach Ron Zook.

Zook Eyes Game at Wrigley Field – (ESPN Chicago)

Zook, appearing on the “Waddle and Silvy” show on ESPN 1000 on Monday morning, said he would love the chance for the two Big Ten rivals to square off in the “Friendly Confines.”

“Well, to be honest with you, we were there last night and walking around with the people there and I just think it would be an awesome venue,” Zook said. “Obviously, until just a couple years ago, there had been more NFL games played in that stadium than any other stadium, and there hasn’t been a game played there since 1970.

“And can you imagine the national media? I think it would be great to have that opportunity. I’m probably speaking out of turn, the higher-ups make the decisions, obviously.”

Playing a football game at Wrigley would certainly not be unprecedented, as the Bears played there from the 1920s through the building of Solider Field in 1970. Additionally, Northern Illinois played Iowa at Wrigley Field back in 2007.

Northwestern Pushes for Football Game versus Illinois at Wrigley Field — (Chicago Tribune)

We are continuing a dialogue with Illinois,” Phillips said. “Within the next month or so, we’ll decide if it’s something that can work. There are a lot of moving parts, but it’s something I will pursue aggressively.



“I thought of how good the Northern Illinois-Iowa game was at Soldier Field. This may be the next great venue for a special game.”



As NIU’s athletic director at the time, Phillips was the point man for the Huskies-Iowa game, which sold out Soldier Field on Sept. 1, 2007. Iowa won 16-3, and Hawkeyes fans filled at least two-thirds of the 61,500 seats.

Among the details still to be worked out (ALERT! Someone please notify the AP that I am about to link to them and send traffic their way…) for any Northwestern-Illinois game at Wrigley are the financial considerations and the logistics of turning Wrigley Field into a stadium where the home team actually wins venue fit for a college football game. One of the biggest questions is about player safety and about whether there is enough space behind the end zones and on the sidelines to ensure the well-being of the players.

We’ll see what happens with this one. All kidding and Cubs hatred aside, I think this would be a pretty damn cool thing for Northwestern, Illinois, the Big Ten, and sports fans in Chicago. Plus, no one would have to worry about Northwestern or Illinois winning a National Championship and spoiling the history of home team futility at Wrigley.

* – Football at Wrigley Field photo credit: Tribune File Photo

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Other links:

• I don’t want to hear Bob Kravitz or any other ESPN hack lecture me about journalistic integrity ever again — (Stampede Blue)
• Splain it! Chubbs Charleston — (Straight Pinkie)
• 15 awful car tattoos — (Philly Edge)
• Danielle Moinet of the Lingerie Football League — (Gunaxin)
• Tiger Woods > the field — (Sparty and Friends)
• Steroids or gambling, cheating is cheating — (MoonDog)
• Spilled beer led to Philly fan-on-Philly fan violence — (Busted Coverage)
• Part II of Bill Simmons Almost Famous-NBA Offseason mashup — (The Sports Guy)
• Jeff George is creating NFL buzz again? Really? — (Pro Football Talk)
• ESPN Radio host in Dallas quits over ESPN’s non-coverage of Roethlisberger story — (The Big Lead)
• Living Legends — (Hugging Harold Reynolds)
• Michael Vick reinstated, but relax — he isn’t a savior — (Black Sports Online)
• Bad news for Bears and Charles Tillman — (Midway Illustrated)
• Jimmy Fallon works it out — (My Sports Rumors)
• Baseball’s most immovable players — (Rumors and Rants)
• Soriano starting to hit; Cubs in 1st Place — (Zoner Sports)
• Baseball rules I’d change: Part 1 — (Major League Jerk)

According to ESPN.com’s Pat Forde on Friday, head coach Gary Pinkel has agreed to terms to a contract extension that will give him a nifty pay raise. However, a Mizzou spokesperson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Friday that no such agreement has been reached, though one is imminent.

Few details were revealed by Forde, but the extension is believed to put Pinkel’s annual salary around $2.5 million per year. It bears noting that Forde is a 1987 University of Missouri alum, so it’s safe to say Forde is well-connected when it comes to Mizzou and perhaps the Post-Dispatch is taking a cautious approach before reporting any such accord.

Regardless of which source you would like to believe, keeping Pinkel is paramount for the Tigers to continue the momentum they have built in recent years.

Mizzou is 21-4 under his watch the last two seasons and beat Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl last season. The Tigers have a shot for getting a BCS nod next month in the Big 12 Conference title game for the second straight year. The Tigers have already sewn up the Big 12 North Division crown.

Mizzou will undoubtedly want to keep Pinkel and his top assistants in the fold. With the Tigers faced with the reality of not having senior quarterback Chase Daniel, senior safety William Moore and senior tight end Chase Coffman next season, there’s also the chance of Mizzou losing standout sophomore do-it-all Jeremy Maclin to the NFL draft next spring. Since Maclin is a redshirt sophomore, he will be three years removed from high school and eligible for the draft. With Pinkel and his staff in tow, the Tigers won’t have to worry about having any recruiting pipelines severed with a new staff coming aboard.

The Tigers are 9-2 heading into the Nov. 29 showdown with rival Kansas at Arrowhead.

Meanwhile, Missouri’s neighbor to the east — Illinois — will have to brace itself to see if offensive coordinator Mike Locksley stays in the fold. Locksley, according to ESPN.com’s Heather Dinich, interviewed for the head coaching position at Clemson recently.

Locksley, in his fourth season at Illinois, is a highly-regarded recruiter who came to the Illini along with head coach Ron Zook. Locksley was on Zook’s staff at Florida from 2003-04.

Locksley hails from Washington, D.C., played his college ball at Towson and spent six years as an assistant at Maryland. He is a big reason why the Illini have been able to recruit better in the Maryland/D.C. area. Wide receiver Arrelious Benn, backup quarterback Eddie McGee and cornerback Vontae Davis all came from D.C., where the Illini have pulled eight players from.

My, how things have changed.

Illinois now finds itself fighting for the scraps when it comes to the college football bowls. Ron Zook’s squad is 5-6 heading into Saturday’s season finale at rival Northwestern and needs a win to become bowl eligible.

In season’s past, a win over Northwestern could be considered a distinct possibility. But this season, the Illini are scuffling along and by most accounts, have underachieved after representing the Big Ten in the “Granddaddy of Them All” out in Pasadena, Calif. Northwestern takes a 8-3 record into the contest and the Wildcats’ program has been rejuvenated under the direction of former Wildcat All-American linebacker Pat Fitzgerald.

There have been Illinois losses to quality teams like No. 6 Missouri (52-42 to open the season), No. 11 Ohio State (30-20 last week) and No. 12 Penn State (38-24). But there have been frustrating defeats at the hands of Minnesota (27-20 at homecoming in Champaign) and Wisconsin (27-17).

Then on Nov. 8, the Illini couldn’t beat Western Michigan (23-17 loss) of the Mid-American Conference at Ford Field in Detroit. Ironically, if Illinois is able to beat Northwestern on Saturday, it could find itself making a return trip to Detroit for a spot in the Motor City Bowl. The Big Ten has a bowl agreement with the Motor City Bowl to play a team from the MAC.

There are others that Illinois could be a candidate for should it find a way to reach the .500 mark. The Alamo Bowl, Insight Bowl and Champs Sports Bowl are possibilities, too.

But that’s a far cry from Pasadena. Despite the presence of quarterback Juice Williams and wide receiver Arrelious Benn on offense, and NFL prospect cornerback Vontae Davis on defense, the Illini haven’t been able to sustain any success this season.

Illinois has not won two in a row since downing Eastern Illinois and Louisiana-Lafayette in early September, and that latter win (20-17) was a downright struggle — at home, nonetheless.

Arrelious Benn has 63 catches and 1,012 receiving yards, but only has three touchdown receptions. Juice Williams has thrown for nearly 3,000 yards and 22 TDs, but his development into a complete college quarterback has been frustrating at times.

Williams, Benn and Davis each have college eligibility left, with Benn being just a sophomore. If those three return and the development of Williams reaches another level, in addition to finding a stud running back who could match the production of 2008 first-round pick Rashad Mendenhall (junior Daniel Dufrene or freshman Jason Ford anyone?) while getting more takeaways from the defense (they are minus-5), the Illini have a chance at competing for either the Rose Bowl or the other top-tier bowls in the 2009 season. Their offense is ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten in yards per game.

But if those things don’t come to fruition, the Zook and the Illini could be back in the same boat again next season.

(Editor’s Note: The picture to your right is not a photo of Illinois’ next stud running back. Rather, I am fairly certain it is Ron Zook from his playing days. It came up in a Google image search for “Ron Zook”. Either way, all pictures of football players from the 70s with floppy hair, striped tube socks, and Fu Manchu mustaches are awesome.)

[tags]illinois fighting illini, ron zook, college football, big ten[/tags]

Not sure what all of these horrific and disgusting experiences have in common? They are all things I would rather do than watch Big Ten Football today.

Just take a look at these quick-hit facts about the Big Ten football schedule for November 1, 2008:

– The only two good teams in the conference, Penn State and Ohio State, are both off today.

– The most important game in terms of the standings is Northwestern at #17 Minnesota.

– The least important game involves Michigan, as the Wolverines and Purdue have a combined 1-7 record in Big Ten play.

– Indiana is actually taking a step up in competition this weekend by playing a non-conference game…against a MAC team, Central Michigan. Seriously. The Chippewas are 6-2 overall and 5-0 in the MAC. It is not a ridiculous question to ask if they are the best team in the state of Michigan. Michigan State would probably beat them behind Javon Ringer, but does anyone think Michigan would beat them? Right — just like they beat Toledo.

– Iowa and Illinois somehow tricked ABC into broadcasting their game. Truth be told, this game could be exciting to watch. Iowa has an exciting running back, Illinois has Juice Williams, and there is always the joy of watching Ron Zook pace around the field appearing to be in a perpetual state of confusion.

– Wisconsin and Michigan State are playing. Do you care?

I grew up around Big Ten football and have always enjoyed watching the typical noon game on ESPN. And there always seemed to be at least one important game being played on any given Saturday. But in a season where there are really only two teams in the entire conference worth watching, and neither of them is playing this weekend, it makes it pretty difficult to get excited about Big Ten football today.

KVB is a defensive Ohio State fan and likes to defend the Big Ten against attacks on the conference’s credibility, so he will probably post some hippie-infused, I-miss-Woody-and-Bo bullcrap that means nothing in the era of three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-bust appearances by Big Ten teams in BCS title games, and bowl games in general.

Big Ten football has been down for awhile now, and I officially submit this Saturday for consideration as the low point of Big Ten gridiron competition this decade.

[tags]big ten football, ncaa football, college football[/tags]