Eleven Warriors

^ I hardly see how we have the sample size to see if that's true. Wisconsin almost lost to a bad team, as did Iowa. MSU looked awful in a unimpressive win, OSU and Nebraska beat up on cupcakes. I don't think we have the information yet to make an informed theory about the conference.

I find it hard to believe that same result wouldn't happen to every other Big 10 team against Bama..Bama is on a whole different level

Miami could have given ttun all they wanted. Not saying they would win but not saying they wouldn't either. Top notch QB and he could have played from the pocket a little more against them than he could OSU. Would not have to game plan a quick throw or rollout on most plays. Also think Miami could have ran the ball against them.

Our d-line would have had a chance to show what they are made of against Bama. The drop back passing would have allowed for a pass rush that some are thinking we should have delivered against a scheme and QB that would not allow time for much of a rush. Our LB play would be telling. I think it would have been much more of a game if from a defensive standpoint and nothing else. It is hard to say exactly as game planning would have been vastly different for that quality of an opponent. It would be a game that would call for great play but it would be much more competitive than we saw. At this point it is all conjecture. More will be known after a couple games of course.

I feel confident after watching the Miami QB that he could win any game with his arm. He will be an NFL QB. Very impressive. Any untested, questionable D, such as ttuns could lose to that QB. We will see that this season. Do not know their schedule but they will beat some teams.

@woody, we would have not faired well but I think we would have faired better. UM was a more senior team in key positions and should be better off at the beginning of the season. I don't see them improving much. I see us improving a ton as the season goes on.

21-0, but I think we would have scored more later in the game. I think our coaches wouldn't of sat Miller in the pocket all day long and have him miss throws. They would have found a way to get him out and make plays.

Its far too early in the season to really know how good or bad any teams are.  Iowa struggled, Wisconsin struggled, MSU looked okay, OSU gave up 300 yards passing to Miami and Michigan looked, well...we all saw what happened.  Each Big 10 clearly has some weaknesses and they were all glorified by either struggling against sub-par teams or extremely great teams...I'll wait until week 4 or 5 to really hammer any nails for any team.

The Big Ten in general looked pretty mediocre at best on the first weekend. Overall it was pretty unimpressive. 

I don't know why people expected the B1G to look any better than last season really, when the best teams in the conference last year lost so much.  MSU is not that great of a team.  They have a good RB, but lost their QB and best WR.  Their Defense is solid but they aren't going to be a legit contender for the BCS championship.  Wisconsin lost a lot, they won't be nearly as strong as the last 2 seasons. We know the Penn State mess.  Michigan had a good season last year but many believe it took dodging Wisconsin, Penn State, and beating OSU on a down year to get them to that great season. 

Ohio State is the one upper echelon program  in the conference that is probably going to have a much better season that last year(hard not to improve from that). Maybe Nebraska.  I think the B1G is going to be worse than last season, and I don't think we need to see more than 1 game from each team to know it. 

I don't disagree with you about the bottom being better.  Unfortunately, the conference is likely to be judged more on games like Saturday's bloodbath than if Minnesota is able to beat Vandy in a bowl game.  Yeah, though, with the improvement of the bottom, overall I guess it would be on par with last season.

Hail, who do you think is the best? I'd say after this weekend that an upper tier of MSU, Nebraska and OSU has been established. I will add that I think Michigan is better than the Alabama game indicated.

I can see that. I'd put UM and Wisky in a second tier right now. Then again we've only seen one week of play so all of this is pretty pointless conjecture.

I think those concerned about conference image hope Nebraska is as good as they looked Saturday,or a team like Illinois is very good.  Ohio State won't be able to play post season and could perhaps at that point be the best team in the conference.  MSU didn't look very good at all in their game with BSU.  Their offense consists of handing the ball off to Bell.  Against Boise it was enough, but I don't know that it'll be enough as the season goes on.  Wisconsin, is a 3 or 4 loss team this year too.  They lost Russel Wilson, some of their line, and some coaches.  They just aren't going to be the same Wisconsin who barely lost the last 2 rosebowls.   I think Michigan will lose 3 or 4 too.  I just look at some of these teams and don't think they are going to have spectacular seasons at all. 

Anyway, I don't know, maybe I'm just way underestimating teams, but I don't see any powerhouses.  I think the best hope lies in Nebraska or MSU finding a passing game.

Hail, I thought you were going to stop posting here once the season started.  Are you just trying to erase that first game from memory and pretend the season starts this Saturday?  Just kidding, glad you guys played Bama.  I think every B1G team would have lost that game, especially because it was the first of the year.

I don't disagree but at the same time, say our BCS berth goes to Michigan State the 1 program that can play some great Defense and that is eligibile.  They'll get Oregon or USC in the Rose Bowl, or an SEC team if they happen to make it to the title game(which I just don't see).  It'll be a tall task.

Which will leave some combination of Nebraska, Michigan, and Wisconsin to face the likes of South Carolina, Georgia, and Arkansas.  Which will all be tough games as well.  I guess my thinking is, will wins in lower tiered bowls by Purdue, Northwestern, and Illinois be enough to keep the perception of the conference's strength from going even lower?

At the end of the day I doubt it, but at the same time I don't really care.  If Ohio State comes out in 2013 and takes care of business, it really won't matter if Northwestern beat Texas Tech in the toilet bowl lol.

^Because having far and away the best coaching staff in college football has nothing to do with it......

I think people (me included) were expecting too much from scUM.  They are 1 season removed from losing 5 Big Ten games and getting absolutely embarrassed in their last 3 games by the count of 137-49.  Last year was a nice run, but they don't have the depth to compete against the real contenders yet.

If I had to power rank the conference, I'd have Nebraska at 1, OSU 2, then MSU at 3, TSUN at 4, and Wisc at 5. I'd probably put Iowa at 6, NW 7, Purdue 8, Illinois 9, State Penn 10, Minny 11 and Indiana 12.

How we'd fare against Alabama depends on the 1st quarter. With an equivalent effort in each quarter to what we saw Saturday, we're probably down 21-0 after 1, but end up losing by 14-21. A competent first quarter, and I think we lose by < 14.

I agree with Bucksfan ,

Talent wise they shoul dhave contended on offense MUCH better. ON defense, thy wouldn't have faired well either way, but it is clear no one was taught how to tackle. But on offense, that was just TERIBLE us of talent, horrible. You don't sit Denard in the pcket and have him throw knowing you have no ground game. The LBers had no reason to stay forward and not go back in coverage. Only the deep ball was available because they had basically 7 DB's back there and all there was was a hope they can get a grab over the top.

Totally out coached. I didn't expect a win, but I didn't expect the, to role over. Even last year they seemed to get it with Denard. Why all the change? Because someone said they were going to "contain" him? BS, Denard is SEC fast and SEC QB's run wild all the time. Alabama contained Denard simply by annnouncing they were going to. I say OSU announces that they are going to pick Denard off 6 times and maybe they'll do that too... as their gameplan.

I have to agree with btalbert25 on this one

I see they've come out from underneath their rock of shame...oh it was SO nice to be a Buckeye fan on Saturday wasn't it?  Hey look Hail....you've got a new closet Buckeye fan that just joined.  It's SO funny how I've notice most of the joining dates for your friends are around November of last year or slightly before bc OSU was having a suspect season...coincidence do you think? 

As I agree, Bama would beat OSU this year.  But not 41-14...sorry not buying more than 35-24...or may be more scoring from OSU (and possibly more from Bama too;-).  It would all depend on how well OSU adjusted to what Bama was doing (you guys obviously didn't).  And just for the record...Nick took it easy on you guys during the 3rd...they ran the ball (bc your Def. couldn't stop em) from then on. 

One more just for the record...TTUN is not beating OSU this year or for a LONG time.  After this year who's gonna be the QB...Morris???? May be he'll get a win by his SR year...but I'd seriously doubt it against the defense he'll be seeing every year from OSU.  It's time for a return to dominance like 2005-2010.  We're not the overrated one's this year...I'd say that's you guys.  Sorry...should have scheduled a MAC team like OSU did...or may be you can have this again like you possibly will in 2014.  If that repeat loss to an FCS school on your home field happens again...your precious team will never live that down.  Not to mention...why reschedule them...tTTUN stands to gain NOTHING.  Not even redemption because you guys should've beat them in the first go around.  So it's either Bama and get waxed...or App State and get redemption?  Sad...just sad...

@hail2victors9

Better hope those guy fit Hoke's gameplan perfectly then. You now have the pro-style offense version of RR.

The way scUM played and the remaining schedule, it is not out of the question that they finish 7-5.

They should (and will) beat Air Force and UMass before heading to South Bend,...
 

Now I hate both teams, so I don't care what happens but I truly see ND rolling in that game as well. 

2-2 and they still have to play MSU, Nebraska and tOSU.

So far, Dantonio has shown he has scUMs number and I agree until I see something different...loss 3

Nebraska is a wild card and we'll see if Taylor Martinez is a qb or another glorified rb. If he is a QB, they lose, if he is a RB..well scUM has a better RB at QB..potential loss 4

Finally, tOSU...victory...loss 4 or 5

8-4 or 7-5, that is how this team will finish up

I wonder what the line will be for UM-MSU.  If UM is getting points in that one, that would be a very enticing bet.

No excuse to be completely blown off the line on both sides of the ball like that. Saw at minimum of five plays where the alabama offense stuck every single player on Michigan's defense front 7. That's coaching.. No adjustments were made to combat or even slow them down. Michigan made no effort to adjust their gameplan. The coaches gave up after two series. Plain and simple...

Sure it was nice to see UM lose to Bama. Seeing them get completely outplayed was fantastic. But, some wise person one time said something like: "One game does not make a season". 

UM got drilled. But I'm not willing to say they are horrible based on that game. They played the best team in college football coached by the best coach in college football. So what that tells me is that they're not on Alabama's level. Now, if they come out against Air Force and play horribly and win close or lose the game, then we can have the conversation about them being an average team or bad team or whatever.

And the same can be said for OSU. I refuse to go crazy based just on the Miami (OH) game. Sure it was nice to see the Buckeyes put up points and do some good things in the Shoe, but let's not forget the Akron game from last year when Bauserman looked like a much, much slower and much, much less athletic (insert whatever really good quarterback you desire here). We were all feeling good after that game too and we all know where we ended up.