Ok, I know that I was perfect in my picks for week 1, but that still doesn’t hide the fact that the games that I picked for the Big Ten to lose were ones that I wouldn’t have minded “losing” in terms of my picks. The bottom line of the games that the Big Ten lost were ones that could have assisted a lot in the conference’s image and label of being weak this year–Illinois couldn’t keep up with Missouri, Michigan State trailed California for the entire game, and Michigan got embarrassed for the second straight year in a season opener.

They are just not doing too much to shake the label that they are weak. Sure, the big name teams won big, but come on–those games are supposed to have spreads of 30 or 40+ points, and the competition was just not even good enough to really even think about overall–that’s just typical across all conferences. Where the league will make the most noise is where the nonconference marquee matchups are won by the Big Ten, and they are 0-3 thus far, and the schedule doesn’t get a whole lot easier. While some people are hanging the “weak” label clearly on if Ohio State can march into USC and take a victory away, that’s not really fair or accurate anyways–even if Ohio State loses. The games that should give the Big Ten a bit more notoriety and respect overall are the Indiana-Ball State game, Michigan-Notre Dame, Michigan State-Notre Dame, Penn State-Oregon St, Purdue-Oregon and Purdue-Notre Dame, along with another nationally hyped game of Wisconsin-Fresno St.

The league better start doing something..I’m getting tired of having to defend these guys the day after New Year’s…………….