So here’s a secondary college football headline you might have glossed over last Saturday: In the hours before an Australian punter executed a flawless inadvertent lateral to an onrushing defender in Ann Arbor, Rutgers came back from a 25-point deficit to defeat Indiana, 55-52. That’s the same Rutgers team whose head coach was returning from a three-game suspension for violating university policy by contacting a faculty member regarding a player’s grades; that’s the same Rutgers team whose best player got suspended early in the season after a postgame altercation that involved, according to NJ.com, “his girlfriend, his mother, a woman he had a romantic relationship with and others.” You want to know the best part of this other absurd Big Ten finish, the one nobody noticed while they were busy gawking at Michigan’s historic collapse? Like Michigan State, Rutgers did it the impossibly hard way, too. After tying the game at 52 on a touchdown, the Scarlet Knights had their extra point blocked, thereby forcing themselves to convert a game-winning field goal in the final seconds to pull off what I guess would be considered an upset. But given the sheer oddity of the Big Ten this season, I’m not sure if the term “upset” even applies anymore. For years, this was a plodding conference largely devoid of compelling offense (outside of Columbus) and first-rate defense (outside of East Lansing). And now? Now I have no idea what the hell the Big Ten is, except a mélange of inscrutable narratives and improbable results, full of programs both resurgent and regressive, along with others that fit into no real category at this point. It is a fascinating and messy scrum, and it is undeniably glorious. Is the Big Ten the most exciting conference in the country? Hell no. By any measure — except in the category of defending national champions — it is not. …
Continue Reading: Let’s Get Messy: In Praise of Big Ten Football
