Dave Thurman (1:03 pm)

Mark Schlabach at ESPN recently ranked college football's conferences and the news wasn't good for us Big Ten fans.  In case you haven't seen the piece, Schalbach's top two were predictable (and can't really be debated), as he placed the SEC on top, followed by the Big 12.  But  at number three, he shockingly picked the ACC, followed by the PAC 10, at fourth, with the Big Ten next, just slightly ahead of the Mountain West.

Now my purpose in writing is not to debate the rankings, although there is certainly room for that.  I did notice that the other ESPN bloggers all had the Big 10 ranked fourth, ahead of the ACC.  That seems to make more sense to me.  With the recent demise of Florida State and Miami, there hasn't been an elite team in the ACC in quite some time, although there have been a plethora of good teams who have offered some interesting parity.

Still my aim is not to debate the rankings, but rather, to discuss what the Big Ten needs to do to become an upper echelon conference once again.  Nobody can debate the fact that the SEC and Big 12 are miles ahead right now.  Meanwhile the PAC 10 reminds me of a long distance race, where nine runners are closely bunched, but all a full lap behind the leader.  However, that leader is USC, who annually places more talent on the field than anyone else in the country, and there's always somebody else (California, Oregon, Oregon State) who mounts a pretty good charge.  No doubt about it - the Big 10 is no better than fourth right now - so what needs to happen in order for midwest football to rise again?

1.  Better recruiting - Let's face it, Big 10 teams have not brought in enough big-time talent (read: speed).  I was thrilled a couple of years ago when it looked like Illinois was going to start bringing it Top 20 classes every year.  That hasn't happened, but at least the Zookster is doing a better job than his predecessors.   In a similar vein, I am excited to see Penn State off to a hot start with the 2010 class.  Better talent means more competetive teams.  But, let's face it, it's going to be awfully tough to out recruit the SEC because the south is simply stocked with an incredible amount of talent.  Still, Big 10 teams can and must do better than in recent years.

2.  Longer coaching tenure - The Big 10 has been on a coaching carousel this decade, with few guys having more than three years of experience at their present school.  Guys like Mark Dantonio at Michigan State, Tim Brewster at Minnesota, and Pat Fitzgerald at Nortwestern show promise and the more success they have the better players they'll get.  I think the jury is still out on RichRod and Bret Bielema, and I am very leery of Bill Lynch and Danny Hope, but as some of these guys cut their teeth in the Big 10, hopefully it will bring better results.  If not, maybe their respective schools can make better hires next time around!
 
3.  Michigan to rise again - Hate them as I do, the fact is, the Big 10 needs Michigan to be good.  They have the facilities, the tradition, and the budget to field a top-notch team, and that hasn't been the case in recent years.  Nobody wants to see a return to the "Big 2, Little 8" days of Woody and Bo, but until the Wolverines rise from the ashes, the conference will continue to suffer. 

4.  Ohio State to win the big game - Drum roll please...you knew this was coming!  When is the last big "national" game the Bucks won?  I'd say it would be at Texas, back in early September, '06.  Since then it has been a litany of losses: Florida, LSU, USC and Texas.  Unfortunately the highest moment of the decade, which took place on January 3, 2003, is often discounted nationally due to the controversial call in the end zone.  To many casual pigskin enthusiasts the Buckeyes were simply lucky that night.  That's not fair, but perception is reality, and a skeptical nation is waiting for a Buckeye encore.  Since the Bucks are the poster child of the Big Ten, it is essential that they win a big game soon to restore some luster to a once proud conference.

That's my formula for moving back up the charts.  Let's hope it begins this season!