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No: Current structure
best serves PSU, league
By Neil Rudel
nrudel@altoonamirror.com
I'd like to see the Big Ten keep its East and West Division, especially now that USC and UCLA will be joining.
There's no question the East has been stronger and even more so lately with Michigan matching Ohio State in terms of overall dominance.
That's created a distinct imbalance of power when the conference championship is settled with the West Division representative often being a two-touchdown underdog.
You would have to think the presence of Southern Cal, and maybe an improving UCLA, will help solve that.
Just as when Penn State entered the conference in 1993 -- and ran the table with a perfect 1994 season -- teams had to rise up to meet another challenge of a new annual contender.
I love the tradition of college football and would hate to see Ohio State and Michigan not meeting in the regular-season finale. I'm still getting used to the Nittany Lions not having Pitt after Thanksgiving. (Half kidding.)
If there's no two-division format, and Ohio State and Michigan maintain their dominance, the league will run the risk of having an anti-climactic championship game with the two teams squaring off in a rematch the very next week.
As for how it affects Penn State, I'll give Cory credit. He's been consistent in saying placement in the East Division made the Lions' road tougher.
But I see nothing wrong with that. First off, the East is where Penn State geographically belongs. Plus the Nits have strengthened the East to be one of college football's premier divisions.
The best win both Ohio State and Michigan have this year is over Penn State so the Big Ten has benefited from having three heavyweight programs in or near the Top 10.
Further, when the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten, it was with the expressed intention to measure themselves against the league's best - which meant Ohio State and Michigan.
James Franklin has obviously struggled with both, more so against the Buckeyes, who are 8-1 against him, and he's only 3-6 against Michigan.
But if this year proved anything, it's that the Lions are closing the gap.
They have to figure out how to finish off Ohio State, having squandered repeated fourth-quarter leads. Michigan was a different story, a domination in the final score of 41-17, but midway through the third quarter, the Lions were a play away - a costly offensive pass interference call -- from having a chance to tie the game at 24.
The point is if the Lions get good enough to beat either or both of those teams - and that's their goal -- their path to the College Football Elite will be paved. Right now, it's still gravel.
So staying in the East benefits the Nittany Lions, the Big Ten East and the conference overall. Let's keep it that way.
Rudel can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com.
Yes: Divisions uneven
so no need to keep them
By Cory Giger
sports@altoonamirror.com
Big Ten divisions are a joke. They need to go away as soon as possible, and that's exactly what's going to happen when USC and UCLA join the league in 2024.
To be clear, divisions are going to go away in conferences across the country before too long, because all they do is muddy the water when it comes to scheduling and balance of power.
That's especially true in the Big Ten.
The East has three of the best programs in college football history -- Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State -- while the West is a ridiculously mediocre wasteland.
There's currently a four-way tie for first place in the West with Illinois, Iowa, Purdue and Minnesota all sporting 4-3 records in the league. Wisconsin, having a down year, is a game back at 3-4.
Meanwhile in the East, Ohio State and Michigan are both 7-0 and ranked second and third in the country, respectively. Penn State is 5-2 and ranked 11th.
It's absurd to have that kind of imbalance when it comes to divisions. And since there's really no way to even things out and appeal to everyone in what's soon to be a 16-team conference, the only solution is to do away with the divisions altogether.
When that happens, it will be a very good thing for Penn State.
The Nittany Lions will continue to play Ohio State every year — the game is one of the biggest in the country each year for TV ratings, and that absolutely will be protected — but they probably will not be playing Michigan every season.
Penn State's other protected crossover game almost certainly will be Michigan State.
Even if there's no divisions, the Big Ten will still have a conference championship game. And Penn State's path there will be significantly easier.
As it stands, losing to Ohio State in a given year will most often keep the Lions out of the Big Ten title game. But with no divisions, the two teams with the highest winning percentage will make the championship game, so Penn State conceivably could lose to Ohio State and still get there.
If they don't have to play Michigan in a given year, the Lions' chances would improve even more. They can lose to Ohio State and still have an excellent chance of finishing second in the conference and getting to the title game.
Having to play USC in particular, and to a lesser degree UCLA, would be challenges that Penn State would have to overcome. But not as big of a challenge as being in a division that has only one championship game spot available for Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State in the same division.
I honestly couldn't care less if Ohio State and Michigan meet in the regular-season finale and then perhaps a week later in the league championship game on occasion. If those are the two best teams, so be it. It'll be up to Penn State and everyone else to stack up to those two, and if they can't, then so what?
The bottom line is Penn State can finish second in a loaded Big Ten East forever and would never have a chance to play in the title game, as opposed to having an easier path there by finishing second overall in a conference without divisions.
Cory Giger covers Penn State for DK Pittsburgh Sports and hosts "Sports Central" weekdays from 4-5 on WRTA. He can be reached at cgsports12@gmail.com.