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Big Ten Repairing Image With Strong Bowl Performances

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By @MattSamFolk

Urban Meyer

Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

It isn’t new that the Big Ten Conference has fallen on hard times in football. With no national championships since 2002 and yearly disappointments in both non-conference and bowl seasons, the conference is commonly the butt of jokes around the holidays. As underdogs in all 10 games, the Big Ten appeared primed for another embarrassing run of bowl losses. Yet, the early returns for the 2014 bowl slate have been surprisingly encouraging.

The worst Big Ten performance so far was an ugly 35-18 Illinois (6-7) loss to Louisiana Tech in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. The score is somewhat deceiving as the Illini actually controlled the football for most of the game, but critical turnovers, penalties and a couple blown assignments gave the Bulldogs just enough to pull away. The Big Ten’s weakest bowl outfit still put up a solid effort in defeat, as the program made some strides this season with the first bowl appearance since 2011.

Newcomer Rutgers (8-5) put an exclamation point on an up-and-down season by dominating North Carolina 40-21 in the Quick Lane Bowl after building up a 40-7 lead. Little was expected of the Scarlet Knights in 2014, but QB Gary Nova produced enough magic to notch a program-defining win over Michigan, a huge comeback victory over new “rival” Maryland and a postseason defeat of a Power 5 opponent.

In the most compelling Big Ten bowl game so far, Penn State (7-6) outlasted Boston College 31-30 in overtime to win the Pinstripe Bowl. The Nittany Lions rallied despite the lingering effects of sanctions hindering the football program. James Franklin has to be excited for the progress his young team has made in a season while anxiously awaiting an impending talent influx from recruiting.

Even in a loss, Nebraska (9-4) silenced the critics by giving USC all they could handle in a wild 45-42 Holiday Bowl. Trojans QB Cody Kessler consistently burned the Cornhuskers’ secondary, but the players fought hard to come back from an 18-point third quarter deficit to fall one fourth-down conversion away from possibly upsetting USC. After firing Bo Pelini, the Cornhuskers were one of the biggest underdogs of the bowl season but represented the Big Ten valiantly.

Six Big Ten schools are still preparing for bowl games. Maryland will take on Stanford in the Foster Farms Bowl and Iowa has yet to face Tennessee in the TaxSlayer Bowl, but the conference’s perception will be settled once again on New Year’s Day. Four Big Ten programs are set to take on ranked opponents, including three against the SEC.

Considering the difficulty of the Big Ten’s bowl matchups this season, a .500 or better showing on college football’s most hallowed afternoon could signal a conference ready to rise out of the Power 5′s cellar. Most importantly, a win or close loss for Ohio State to Alabama in the College Football Playoff would give the Big Ten some newfound respect across the country. Throw in the news of Michigan hiring star NFL coach Jim Harbaugh and 2015 could be a monster comeback season for the maligned conference.

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