on 1/6/09 at 3:08pm
I can remember back in the day when there were no sports channels and only 3 networks. There were no Thursday night college football games on prime time TV. Saturday afternoons meant watching Keith Jackson on ABC with what ever game the network chose for us to watch. His voice became synonymous with college football.
Even though my family was originally from Indiana, my dad’s career moved us quite a bit. By the time my sixth birthday came about, we had just moved to the east coast and my fourth state. Previously we had never left the Midwest and it was not too much of a stretch to say following the Big Ten was a religious act. Moving to suburban Connecticut meant watching Saturday football with teams like Rutgers, Syracuse and Colgate. All are good schools with formidable programs, but after previously living in Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin they didn’t exactly wet the family appetite for football. We were close enough to Pennsylvania to get an occasional Big Ten fix when Penn State would receive regional coverage.
After moving so much in my younger years we spent more than ten years in Connecticut and actually grew fond of east coast style football. My older brother went on to play college football and baseball for Bucknell University so I got to actually visit so many of the schools that once seemed so foreign to me. I can also remember my first taste of the open, fast paced style offenses of the South East Conference when watching a game between the University of Florida and Florida State. I was amazed at how “pro-like” these offenses were run. It wasn’t long after that that my dad’s career was once again moving us, this time to Florida. 
It was the summer of 1982, between my freshman and sophomore years in high school. Like so many of the schools where I grew up, my school in Connecticut played power football out of a wishbone formation. I can remember our coach’s philosophy was to keep running the same couple of plays until their defense learned how to stop it. There were not very many pass plays in the play book and even fewer of them called during a game. Very little of the play calling was designed around setting up a play to be used later in the game. Imagine my culture shock when I moved to Florida to find the high schools were as wide open and fast paced as the Florida/Florida State game I had seen on TV.
I share that story to put into perspective the differences in college football over the years as time has passed as well as the differences in the regions and conferences. I grew up thinking Big Ten football was everything and back then the schools from that conference were usually in the hunt for the national title. The Rose Bowl, “The Grand Daddy of them All” always had the Big Ten champion vs. the PAC Ten Champion. Of course every couple of years there would be a big match up of a Big Twelve conference team against a South East Conference school to help keep balance. It is funny now as I live in Missouri and my dad lives in Georgia how we argue about whether the Big Twelve or SEC is the best conference in football. I think most sports fans would agree they are the best two conferences in college football today. The Big Ten barely falls into the top five in my opinion. I recall a friendly bet with a friend over this years Rose Bowl in which my friend expected Penn State to beat what he felt was an over rated USC Trojans team. Even though it went against my upbringing, I didn’t think any team from the Big Ten, would be able to stand up to USC’s balance of an offense with great scoring ability and punishing defense with incredible speed in the secondary.
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This year there were 34 bowl games over a 20 day stretch. Seven of the Big Ten schools made it to post season this year, but with that many bowl games now added for TV and corporate advertising, that doesn’t have the same impact it once did. Of those 7 schools only one, Iowa, was favored to win its game over South Carolina in the Outback Bowl. Which we all now know Iowa did win 31-10. As of the writing of this article, so far the Big Ten schools are 1-6 including Iowa’s win, Penn States loss along with losses from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan State, Ohio State and Northwestern.
My son who was born in Georgia, but has spent 12 of his 13 years in Missouri, is a big Texas University fan and strong supporter of the Big Twelve. It will be interesting 30 years from now, when I am retired and my son is living wherever life takes him to see what changes have happened in the college game. Which conferences will continually play for the championship? Will the NCAA finally decide to go to a playoff system? And where will each of our loyalties be based on what part of the country we live in at the time?
Scott Milhous is a contributor to blitzmagonline.com .
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The Real Randy Moss
I am not much of an American football fan, I probably shouldn't admit that here; although, I have a few favorite teams, that I will cheer on at Superbowl time. With that said, I learned quite a bit from this article. I never really thought about the variances throughout the country and the changes that have taken place over the years. This article put a different perspective on the game for me. Enjoyed it!
I am not much of an American football fan, I probably shouldn't admit that here; although, I have a few favorite teams, that I will cheer on at Superbowl time. With that said, I learned quite a bit from this article. I never really thought about the variances throughout the country and the changes that have taken place over the years. This article put a different perspective on the game for me. Enjoyed it!
Scott great article i will pass this along to my 12 and 13 yo boys both play football since they were 7 and are big college fans keep up the good work
great artical. i like that i am mentioned. keep up the amazing work.
great article. love the perspective as I am solely an East Coast fan....
great article. love the perspective as I am solely an East Coast fan....
I remember the early years but now having 2 teenage boys, I am worried about every conference. I am a mother of two 13 year old boys who love and play football. I don't know what the differences in conference rankings are related to. Is it better recruiting? I would love to think so, but I am not that naive. I want my boys to have the best possible opportunity to "make it". However, when I see the linebackers of old, I worry that without artificial enhancements, my kids may not have a chance. What do I tell my 13 year old, talented, smart, sons? Is it work hard, study films, don't settle for plan B?... Or is it "do what you can to make it"? I love the authors perspective. Times have changed. The college football recruiter's are the same...get the best players. Herein lies the dichotomy...what makes the best high school player, in order to get recruited? Do we as mothers give in and give their kids the best possible opportunity, do we fight to change the system, or do we stay true to our morals (keeping our kids away from performance enhancing substances) and risk our kids being looked over for the Heisman? Please tell me...
SEC RULES!!!!!! FOR NOW-LOL GO GATORS GREAT ARTICLE
SEC RULES!!!!!! FOR NOW-LOL GO GATORS GREAT ARTICLE