Politi: Skepticism aside, Rutgers will do just fine in the Big Ten
CHICAGO ? One year from now, Rutgers will have its official introduction here at the annual Big Ten media cattle call, and if the 2013 installment is any indication, the reception will run the gamut.
There will be skepticism.
?I don?t really see Rutgers as a Big Ten football team,? is what Ohio State safety Christian Bryant said Wednesday. ?I don?t think it fits with the traditional Big Ten teams. No offense.?
There will be a learning curve.
?It?s in New York, right? New Jersey?? is how Northwestern defensive end Scott Tyler responded when asked what he knew about this future conference rival. ?I knew it was one of the two.?
There will be plenty of praise, too.
?I thought it was a great addition to the Big Ten because Rutgers plays Big Ten football,? is what Purdue cornerback Ricardo Allen said. ?It?ll help us become a better conference.?
Opinions and perceptions will vary. But after spending a full day here in the heartland, listening to the 12 current coaches trying to build up their expectations for the upcoming season like the salesmen they are, this became clear as the championship trophy: Rutgers will do just fine.
I can?t pinpoint the exact ?aha!? moment for this. Maybe it was when Wisconsin coach Gary Andersen was talking and I had to double check to make sure he wasn?t the former NFL kicker, or the uncomfortable minute and a half when Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz was standing behind the podium waiting for somebody ? Anyone? Bueller? ? to come up with a question.
Mostly, it was a realization that, for all the real concern that Ohio State might grind the Scarlet Knights into a fine red dust next fall, the doomsday projections are ignoring the reality of the Big Ten:
It ain?t all that.
This isn?t an isolated opinion, either. No matter how you measure success ? draft picks, bowl record, media buzz, etc. ? the league is struggling, especially compared to the SEC. ?The league now is as bad as you?ll ever see it,? Ohio State head coach John Cooper said this week at a fan event in Columbus.
Purdue. Minnesota. Illinois. As the mostly unrecognizable head coaches ? wasn?t Indiana coach Kevin Wilson a member of the Beach Boys? ? gave their presentations, it wasn?t hard to think that Rutgers will slide right into the middle of the pack.
No one should book flights to Pasadena yet, and the schedule makers have not been kind on the new guy in those first couple seasons. But you needn?t look much further than the NFL Draft ? where the Scarlet Knights, with 7, had twice as many players drafted as any Big Ten school but Illinois (4) ? to know that the program will enter on solid footing.
Until then, Rutgers only came up a few times during the proceedings here, and even then, mostly in its value as a TV market. Commissioner Jim Delany bragged that its addition, along with Maryland, will lead to a ?30 percent increase in the conference?s population footprint,? while Big Ten Network president Mark Silverman talked about the challenges to get onto all those cable boxes.
But mostly, the focus here was squarely on Ohio State and head coach Urban Meyer. The Buckeyes, off probation after a 12-0 season last fall, are the only true national title contenders, but Meyer spent most of his media session fending off criticism about how he disciplined his players, current and former.
Meyer is one of those coaches who thinks he?s a molder of men, not just a guy in a headset, but the Buckeyes had to suspend two players for separate incidents. Meanwhile, his former Florida tight end Aaron Hernandez is facing murder charges, and while no one faults Meyer for that, his track record for discipline is lacking.
Still, the Big Ten needs Meyer and his Buckeyes. It really is jarring how 12 teams could generate so little buzz. The SEC had the Johnny Manziel saga dominating the airwaves last week during its media circus, along with the usual bluster from its celebrity head coaches. The Big Ten can?t match that, in quality of player or in national interest.
Instead, in the Chicago Hilton ballroom where they filmed the final scene in The Fugitive, this event was barely six minutes old when Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald was asked about his offensive line. I wanted to make like Richard Kimble and try to escape.
?There?s not a great difference between team one and the last team in the conference,? Purdue coach Darrel Hazell said, but the opposite is true. Ohio State is on one level, and Michigan, Nebraska and Penn State are on a rung just below Urban and Co.
But after that? The Big Ten is a big hodgepodge. Rutgers is not at the top, when it is introduced here a year from now, it certainly won?t be at the bottom, either. It?ll fit in just fine.
. But as we can all clearly see, what passes for 'normal' behavior in the SEC is totally unacceptable now that Rutgers has joined the B10 :tongue2:
:).
Welcome to the Big Leagues, Rutgers. Get used to the microscope!
