Big Ten West vs. East, The Great Myth

[Teldar]

The Big Ten East is far superior to the Big Ten West. The media have told us this time and again as Gospel, so it must be true. Nevertheless, I decided to do some research.

I know it was mentioned a couple of days ago that the record of the Big Ten East vs. the West is 43 -39. Hardly a dominant record.

But I can already hear the talking heads counter point. "Oh, the records might be similar, but the top of the Big Ten East is far superior to the Big Ten West." So I decided to do a little research. I looked at the combined crossover records of the top 4 Big Ten East teams(OSU, Penn St., Michigan, & Michigan State) vs. the top 4 Big Ten West teams (Wisconsin, Iowa, Northwestern, and Nebraska). The East's record was 28-12 vs. the West's record of 26-14. If you add in this year, the records are 33-14 vs. 30-16.

Now it's true the East is 4-0 in Big Ten Championship games, but in 3 of the 4 games, the East won by a touchdown or less. Let's face it, the East and West are close to equal. I'll give the East a slight edge, but not by much And don't let anyone else tell you any different.

 

[93hawkeye]

How about Bowl wins, Playoff appearances, OOC win %age? These would contribute also

 

[Gnat91]

You're on crack if you actually believe any of the nonsense you just posted. How is Wisconsin able to slide right into the CCG every year? The answer is because the rest of the division sucks.

 

[MepoDawg#]

What the record between the top 4 teams of each division against each other? Not including the bottom 3 of each.

 

[NorthDSMHawk]

While I think the disparity between the two divisions is a tad overblown, there is no denying the East is a stronger division. It has been, year in and year out to this point. The West is actually going to have to win the CCG if it wants any respect. Winning the favorable matchups and pulling an upset here and there to make the division record look a little closer isn't going to change much.

Just win baby.

 

[Teldar]

You're on crack if you actually believe any of the nonsense you just posted. How is Wisconsin able to slide right into the CCG every year? The answer is because the rest of the division sucks.

Your ignorance shows in this post. Wisconsin is in the CCG every year? Ah, I'm pretty sure Iowa was in the CCG a couple of years ago and lost on the last play of the game. As far as your other comments, the data doesn't lie. The statistics speak for themselves. Do you have any data to support your argument or are we just supposed to trust you?

 

[Teldar]

What the record between the top 4 teams of each division against each other? Not including the bottom 3 of each.

I didn't do that analysis but I don't think it changes the argument much.

 

[Teldar]

How about Bowl wins, Playoff appearances, OOC win %age? These would contribute also

To be candid, I'm not sure this matters. What we're talking about is the West vs. the East. If we didn't have enough games between these two, then you need to look at this other stuff. However, there is plenty of data between the West vs the East.

 

[mrF6n6]

so far this year.... the Big 4 in each conference...

Michigan - Ohio State - Penn State - Michigan State
Northwestern - Wisconsin - Iowa - Purdue

the East big 4 overall in Big Ten play (13-5)
the West big 4 overall in Big Ten play (13-4)

head to head:
the East big 4 vs. the West big 4
all squared at 2-2

Michigan beat Northwestern
Northwestern beat Michigan State
Michigan beat Wisconsin
Purdue beat Ohio State

Remaining big 4 v big 4 Games:
Iowa @ Penn State
Purdue @ Michigan State
Wisconsin @ Penn State

Overall Remaining East vs. West Games:
Indiana @ Minnesota
Iowa @ Penn State
Purdue @ Michigan State
Illinois @ Maryland
Rutgers @ Wisconsin
Nebraska @ Ohio State
Wisconsin @ Penn State
Michigan State @ Nebraska
Purdue @ Indiana

so far East vs. West is tied six to six.

 

[Kinnick.At.Night]

The good news is every season the West champ has the opportunity to win the conference. Perceptions, be damned.

 

[icwesthawk]

It's totally about recruiting and the East recruits, on paper, better than the West.

 

[WhoaNellieCy]

The Big Ten East is far superior to the Big Ten West. The media have told us this time and again as Gospel, so it must be true. Nevertheless, I decided to do some research.

I know it was mentioned a couple of days ago that the record of the Big Ten East vs. the West is 43 -39. Hardly a dominant record.

But I can already hear the talking heads counter point. "Oh, the records might be similar, but the top of the Big Ten East is far superior to the Big Ten West." So I decided to do a little research. I looked at the combined crossover records of the top 4 Big Ten East teams(OSU, Penn St., Michigan, & Michigan State) vs. the top 4 Big Ten West teams (Wisconsin, Iowa, Northwestern, and Nebraska). The East's record was 28-12 vs. the West's record of 26-14. If you add in this year, the records are 33-14 vs. 30-16.

Now it's true the East is 4-0 in Big Ten Championship games, but in 3 of the 4 games, the East won by a touchdown or less. Let's face it, the East and West are close to equal. I'll give the East a slight edge, but not by much And don't let anyone else tell you any different.

Ya, son, Purdue beats tOSU and now you start questioning which division is better. Look at who usually wins da B1G, who is ranked higher in da polls, historical records vs OSU, Mich, PSU, MSU. Rutgers is dragging down da East, and Michigan and Penn State have had some off years due to various issues. But it's no contest, everyone knows it.

Additionally West teams only have to play tOSU, Mich, PSU, MSU, every other year, further muting da disparity.

 

[stanzithemanzi12]

What the record between the top 4 teams of each division against each other? Not including the bottom 3 of each.

He probably did that statistic and conveniently decided to leave it out.

Big time teams show up in big time games, and the B1G East's top 4 dwarfs the B1G West's top 4 in head to head as well as marquee out of conference wins and marquee out of conference bowl wins. If you remove Wisconsin, the B1G East doesn't even have another team with a New Year's 6, marquee bowl win since Iowa's 2009 Orange Bowl victory. Iowa and Wisconsin are the only two B1G West teams who have even made New Year's 6 quality bowl appearances. The B1G East has 4 teams who consistently reach New Year 6 quality bowls and have two teams who have already made the college football playoff.

 

[Hawk68]

Ask the Indiana coaching staff for their opinion.

 

[JoelBittner]

The Big Ten East is far superior to the Big Ten West. The media have told us this time and again as Gospel, so it must be true. Nevertheless, I decided to do some research.

I know it was mentioned a couple of days ago that the record of the Big Ten East vs. the West is 43 -39. Hardly a dominant record.

But I can already hear the talking heads counter point. "Oh, the records might be similar, but the top of the Big Ten East is far superior to the Big Ten West." So I decided to do a little research. I looked at the combined crossover records of the top 4 Big Ten East teams(OSU, Penn St., Michigan, & Michigan State) vs. the top 4 Big Ten West teams (Wisconsin, Iowa, Northwestern, and Nebraska). The East's record was 28-12 vs. the West's record of 26-14. If you add in this year, the records are 33-14 vs. 30-16.

Now it's true the East is 4-0 in Big Ten Championship games, but in 3 of the 4 games, the East won by a touchdown or less. Let's face it, the East and West are close to equal. I'll give the East a slight edge, but not by much And don't let anyone else tell you any different.

I like the categorization much better than legends and leaders. Because of geography and other factors each division has their natural rivals playing each other. Better for the conference, better for the fans.