Pass the A-1 sauce, maybe a little lemon, some garlic and/or oregano perhaps. I’m ready to eat crow after predicting in my last column that THE would beat Indiana’s Hoosiers by two or three touchdowns in Saturday’s Big Ten Championship game between the two top-ranked teams in the country.
In a great game worthy of a page in Conference lore of defensive battles of the highest quality, the Crimson and Cream outlasted the Buckeyes 13-10 in ending the season 13-0 and winning their first conference title since 1967.
When looking at the stat sheet you really get a good sense of just how close this game was as the numbers across the board were basically equal—with three noticeable exceptions. IU outrushed THE 118 yards to 58, shutting down the Bucks running game in the second half.
The Hoosiers converted 6 of 13 third-down plays while State was only 4 of 12, even though they converted three huge third downs in their final drive.
Finally, the Scarlet and Gray were inside the “red zone” or opponent’s twenty-yard line four times and came away with only a single touchdown. Throw in both teams’ usually reliable placekickers missing short field goal attempts, a sell-out crowd in Lucas Oil Stadium, IU’s thirty-game losing streak to THE, and the Cinderella story of the Hoosiers’ past two years under the guidance of miracle worker Curt Cignetti and his defensive coordinator, Piqua native Bryant Haines, and you ended up with a classic for the ages!
All of you Buckeye fans can still take heart, as you’ll have a pathway similar to last year’s national championship run. You’ll find the Bucks having to face either Miami or Texas A&M in the second round after receiving a first-round bye by virtue of a second seed nationally.
Then most likely will come a semi-final contest with Georgia, so even though the road will be bumpy, it’s nothing that can’t be handled!! Things could be worse, you could be a Notre Dame fan after the Irish were left out of this year’s college playoffs while Tulane and James Madison got in!!
How about those St. Henry Redskins manhandling Jeromesville Hillsdale 37-3 in winning the D-VII state title in Canton Saturday, their seventh football title overall, the first since 2006. Coldwater’s conqueror in the D-VI semi-final Hopewell-Loudon was smashed by always powerful Kirtland 41-6 while Tipp City’s loss to Columbus Bishop Watterson a week ago was eased somewhat by the Eagles thrashing of Toledo Central Catholic in the D-III finale. Great football seasons for the final three area teams making it to the Final Fours!!
Here’s some football trivia for all of you Big Ten fanatics out there—since 2000 THE won five titles in a row from 2005-09 and four consecutive championships from 2017-20. Michigan also had a run of three titles from 2021-23. What other Big Ten school won three trophies in a row since 2000? Answer to follow!!
Something else that caught my eye while researching the list of past Western Conference (for you youngsters, that was the original name of the current Big Ten) champions was Northwestern, which most don’t consider a football powerhouse, winning three league titles in 1995, 1996, and 2000!! I, like most of you, had forgotten how good the Wildcats were during that time frame.
Might as well continue with some more Big Ten trivia. The first reference to the “Big Ten” was made in December of 1916. Up until that time, the Western Conference had eventually become known as the Big Nine with original members Purdue, Minnesota, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Illinois, and the University of Chicago (yes, Chicago!!) being joined by Michigan and later Iowa and Indiana.
THE didn’t join until 1912 and the league became the Big Ten until 1939 when Chicago decided to de-emphasize varsity athletics and withdrew. Once again the Big Nine the member schools finally admitted Michigan State in 1948 with the Spartans’ non-football playing sports commencing conference play in 1950 and the football team not starting until 1953.
Known again as the Big Ten, the conference membership remained the same until 1990 when Penn State was admitted. Since then, most of us in the area would admit that it’s become the Wild, Wild West out there as it’s now an eighteen-team league spread from coast to coast!!
Moving on, an article that caught my attention came from the Bloomberg Report. More than 1.9 million Americans ages 25 and over who have at least a Bachelor’s Degree were unemployed in September, accounting for 25% of total unemployment. In data going back to 1992, the share has never been so high. Kind of makes you think of the stereotypical situation of people with PHDs flipping hamburgers doesn’t it?
All I know is that I’m a big proponent of the trades—plenty of demand for builders, plumbers, electricians, welders, etc; little if any student debt; and a good income with unlimited possibilities for advancement. I know that most high school counselors are continuing to stress this career path to many students as well they should!
Finally, the Wisconsin Badgers won Big Ten football titles in 2010, 2011, and 2012 under the tutelage of current Illinois head coach Bret Bielema. The Badgers went 68-24 in his seven years at the helm before he left to take over at Arkansas for five years, where he was 29-34 against SEC opponents. Kind of reminds you of the “grass is greener” saying (or warning!) doesn’t it!! Now in his fifth year at Illinois the Fighting Illini are 36-26 including this fall’s 8-4 record.
Finally, again high school winter sports are well underway, let’s get out and support our young student-athletes!! Have a great week, stay active and healthy!!
