It’s been a rather disappointing showing for the Big Ten in the bowl game so far this season. Below are the records for each conference along with the teams in parentheses that have yet to play, and then bowl games they’ll be playing in.

The Big Ten has a shot at getting even but with games that pit Iowa against Florida and Penn State against USC, I wouldn’t hold my breath.

ACC: 8-3 (Clemson)

National Title game - Clemson vs Alabama

SEC: 5-5 (Florida, Auburn, Alabama)

Sugar Bowl - No. 14 Auburn vs. No. 7 Oklahoma (1/2)

Outback Bowl - No. 17 Florida vs. Iowa (1/2)

National Title Game - Clemson vs Alabama

Sun Belt: 4-2

Conference USA: 4-3

Mountain West: 4-3

Big 12: 3-2 (Oklahoma)

Sugar Bowl - No. 7 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Auburn (1/2)

Independents: 2-0

Pac-12: 2-3 (Southern Cal)

Rose Bowl - No. 9 Southern California vs. No. 5 Penn State (1/2)

Big Ten: 2-5 (Iowa, Wisconsin, Penn State)

Rose Bowl - No. 5 Penn State vs. No. 9 Southern California (1/2)

Cotton Bowl - No. 8 Wisconsin vs. No. 15 Western Michigan (1/2)

Outback Bowl - Iowa vs. No. 17 Florida (1/2)

American: 2-5

MAC: 0-5 (Western Michigan)

Cotton Bowl - No. 15 Western Michigan vs. No. 8 Wisconsin (1/2)

The ACC looks like the best conference in the land. If Clemson can pull off an upset of Alabama in the national title game, then the ACC will have pulled off one hell of a coup this bowl season. Let’s face it in the past we’ve enjoyed kicking the SEC whenever they did terrible in bowl season, so for Big Ten fans, if we happen to go 2 –8 than we deserve all the lambasting we get.

I was very disheartened by the outcome of the College Football Playoff games. I hoped, obviously too much, that Washington would pull off the upset so that we would be rid of Alabama instead of having to watch them play for a title another year. Unfortunately, Alabama did what Alabama does, and killed Washington with a death by a thousand cuts. The Huskies defense showed themselves well, but the Crimson Tide defense is just too good.

Ohio State laid a giant rotten egg. I watched Ohio State several times this season. There highly recruited receivers dropped balls all throughout the season with the exception of one game, that one that was played against Nebraska. Against Clemson, they dropped balls all over the place. I was so disgusted by it I didn’t watch a lot of the second half, but instead chose to play cards with family. That’s how bad it was.

One thing I’d like to point out; Ohio State fans are extremely disgusted with their performance against Clemson. If you go around the internets today you can find them calling for coaches to be fired. It’s a common theme – you could say that the Buckeyes over performed this season by a vast amount after losing 18 starters from last year’s team. It doesn’t matter to fans whether you outperformed your expectations or not. It doesn’t matter how well you do. If you embarrass them they’ll want you fired no matter how good you’ve done and no matter how bright the future looks.

If you’re ever wondering why coaches get paid unbelievable amounts of money, you probably shouldn’t wonder much more. No matter how successful you are it’s always a losing proposition.

News

McKewon: Mike Riley faces difficult choices with struggling Husker offense | Football | omaha.com

Big Ten defenses have already begun to go to school on Mike Riley’s offensive scheme. You give these coordinators another offseason — and you take away the quarterback run element

I usually don’t link to the Omaha or Lincoln papers because I always think you’re going to read those sites anyway. I like Sam’s writing, however, but I’m not sure what he’s getting at here. Well, not 100% anyway. Is the implication that Danny Langsdorf needs to go? Or is it Mike Cavanaugh?

If you thought Langsdorf did a bad job this season, I want you to consider that we couldn’t block melted butter, but we still won nine games. Langsdorf did a good job with the tools he had on hand.

Carriker Chronicles - Music City Bowl Breakdown

My full Music City Bowl recap and breakdown, including the play calling, physicality and tackling.

Urban Meyer must resolve for offensive change this New Year - Land-Grant Holy Land

“We will become a good passing team, we will,” he declared, in a New Year’s resolution of sorts. “Next year.”

Why Ohio State lost to Clemson - Land-Grant Holy Land

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.

Nick Saban, Thinking Ahead, Builds a Faster Defense to Get Him There - The New York Times

The most impressive thing about Alabama’s interception for a touchdown on Saturday afternoon — the momentum-swinging score in the Crimson Tide’s 24-7 victory over Washington in a College Football Playoff semifinal at the Peach Bowl — was who made it.

The offense that revolutionized NFL football and NCAA football was invented 25 years ago in a small town in Iowa — Quartz

This weekend, as millions of football fans around the country watch NFL and college games from stadium seats and on television, they will be watching a sport that has undergone a revolution: from the ground-and-pound, run-dominated dark ages of the 1970s, it has become a wide-open, passing-crazy game, particularly at the college level. What many...

A short version of “The Perfect Pass” that I reviewed a couple weeks ago.

Reimagined, remastered, unleashed: Is new Lane Kiffin ready to succeed as head coach?

Kiffin knows what he wants, both in a home and in his new career. Finding them, could be trickier. For a house, he needs something filled with light, glass and located on the water for his boat and JetSki. His range is somewhere between $3 million and $5 million. Oh, and a pool. He needs a pool.

An excellent story on Kiffin. Reading it, you get the sense that really, nothing has changed, and in another year or two he’ll be pulling the stupid, immature stunts that he pulled at USC while blaming everyone else for his problems.

He did well at Alabama, but, really, with the world’s best defense, and all the athletes at your disposal, it’s kind of hard to fail isn’t it?

Then There’s This

Squid may become favourite UK meal as seas become warmer - BBC News

Squid and fish that thrive in warmer waters, such as sardines and anchovies, are flourishing around the North Sea, according to fisheries data. Squid are now being caught at 60% of survey stations in the North Sea, compared with 20% in the 1980s. But the likes of cod are heading north, away from British waters.

Ugh. Not a squid fan.