Well, LSU's 38-24 victory over Ohio State capped up yet another sub-standard season for the Big 10 11, or probably more accurately, the Big MAC. They went 3-5 with victories over the MAC's Central Michigan, and a woeful Texas A&M squad who fired their coach. Their one impressive victory was Michigan's defeat of Florida.
Not that you shouldn't have seen this coming. The Big Ten has been wallowing in mediocrity for some time, with the exception of Ohio State's 2002 championship. Is the Big Ten merely a glorified MAC conference now?
It was surprising to hear the entire ESPN GameDay crew select Ohio State. Or maybe it's not; ESPN likes to force feed the Big MAC down our throat throughout the season. Perhaps it's their control of major media markets in Chicago to the East Coast. Perhaps it's their commitment to the Rose Bowel.
I'll forgive the poor performance of Hawai'i in the BCS; it was a nice story. But the next two worst performances in the BCS were Illinois and Ohio State. Illinois had no business playing in a BCS game, and Ohio State had no business playing in the BCS Championship.
But wait, you say. Ohio State only lost by 14. Well, there was a garbage touchdown at the end against the scrubs in a prevent defense. And for the second year in a row, Ohio State started the BCS title game like a high school freshman after the prom. A premature ejaculation got the Buckeyes out to a quick lead, but that was all she wrote for Ohio State until late in the game.
So should the Big MAC be kicked out of the BCS? Hardly. Football is cyclical, and eventually they'll come out of it. The arrival of Rich Rodriquez will probably be the spark that pulls the Big MAC out of their current doldrums. Big MAC teams will need to upgrade their schedules so that when they face real competition (i.e. someone not in the MAC or the Big MAC), they don't get that glazed over look as they get blitzed once again.