Might be time to revoke the Big Ten’s BCS membership

Yes, I know the Big Ten is one of the “premier” conferences in college football. And they have experienced a great deal of success over the years. But, things change. Hell, at one time Army was one of the most dominant college football teams in the country. Times have changed, because that is pretty far from the truth at this point. Wait, I don’t want to be perceived as disrespecting the service academies or the Armed Forces, so let me edit that a bit. Hell, at one time Notre Dame was one of the most dominant college football teams in the country. Times have changed, because that is pretty far from the truth at this point. (much better)

Back in the day, the Big Ten used to fare pretty well in BCS bowl games. In the 90’s the Big Ten was undefeated in BCS bowl games. But, that was last decade. In BCS bowls played in this millennium, the Big Ten is a putrid 4-11, including going 0 for their last 6. And it’s not just the losing, it’s how they’re losing. In their last 6 BCS games, Big Ten teams have been outscored by their opponents 222 to 118. That’s pretty pathetic. By way of contrast, the SEC is 11-5 in BCS games, including a 4-0 record in championship games (pending Thursday’s game—-see Not-Turner-Gill’s guarantee).

I say it’s time to put the Big Ten on probation. They should have to relinquish their automatic bid until they prove themselves to be a power conference again. In the meantime, maybe we should give their bid to the Mountain West Conference, who is undefeated in BCS games. Anyway, in a few years, once the Big Ten is back on top, we can talk about getting them an automatic bid again. Although, at that point, we’ll probably have to take it from the ACC. They’re pretty terrible, too.

Now, this probably won’t be a popular move. Especially with fans of USC and the SEC schools, who are used to having a Big Ten team to beat up on in their BCS bowl games. But, we can’t be selfish at a time like this. These are proud fan bases we’re talking about, and it isn’t right to subject them to seeing their team get demolished in a BCS game year after year. We’re better than that. But, I guess more importantly, we’re better than them.

On a scale of one to Gus Johnson, I give this a Thom Brennaman.