Two Undefeated Big Ten Teams?

by The Mess on Sep 30, 2008 7:03 PM EDT Comment 18 comments

What happens if both Penn State and Northwestern manage to get through the Big Ten schedule undefeated? If I remember correctly, Northwestern would get the Rose Bowl berth since PSU had been there more recently after the 2005 season.

Where does that put us? If we're kept out of the National Title game because of two other undefeated teams like the SEC or Big XII champs (maybe Oklahoma/Missouri/Texas and Alabama/LSU?), do we get relegated to a random BCS bowl like the Orange Bowl?

Even worse, could we go undefeated and still end up in the Capital One Bowl?

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Northwestern...

will end the season with 3 to 4 loses.

by WETSU on Sep 30, 2008 7:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm pretty sure he's talking hypotheticals :-p

even so, do you mean that Penn State has been Big 10 champ more recent than Northwestern (2005) or that we’ve been to the Rose Bowl more recently, because we haven’t been there since the 1994-5 season, while Northwester was there in the 1995-6 season.

Despite all that, if we were also undefeated, we would likely get one of the at large bids (there are 4 at large bids now, so chances are greater than they were when the National Championship game just rotated between the 4 BCS bowls, and wasn’t it’s own separate game)

by The JuggerNitt on Sep 30, 2008 8:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Big Ten Champs

Yeah, I meant Big Ten champions, not Rose Bowl participants. My bad. But a split Big Ten title would put Northwestern in the Rose Bowl since we’re the more recent title holders, no?

Personally, I don’t see us getting locked out of anything especially where we’re ranked now. There’s a better chance we get Auburned than anything.

by The Mess on Sep 30, 2008 8:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Remember

Don’t forget, although Penn State and NWestern are overall undefeated, tOSU, scUM, MSU, and Purdue are all still undefeated in the Big10

by dawsonPSU10 on Sep 30, 2008 9:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

one game at a time, lets beat purdue. I doubt NW or us make it through undefeated.

I don't know, Mello Yello is pretty awful. What's the worst that could happen?

by psu on Sep 30, 2008 9:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Northwestern could go 12-0

And it has nothing to do with Penn State except we’ll always annoyingly be labeled as “2008 co-Big 10 Champions”.

Regardless, the dream will be over within a few weeks at most for the Wildcats.

Northwestern has traveled to Pasadena more recently than we have.
Penn State played Oregon in the Rose Bowl January 1, 1995
Northwestern played USC in the Rose Bowl January 1, 1996 (you already forgot about Northwestern 1995?!)
Tag, we’re it.
But it wouldn’t matter anyways.

I could be wrong and anyone feel free to correct me if I am but I’m pretty sure this is accurate – since the inception of the BCS, the “raise your hand if you were there last” thing is out the window, the Rose Bowl is no longer “bound” to anything nor are any other BCS bowls for that matter. Northwestern could go 12-0 and Penn State could go 11-1 but as long as we’re BCS bowl eligible the Rose Bowl committee could pick us over them.

by blogue20 on Sep 30, 2008 9:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

2008 co-Big 10 Champions w/Northwestern

That would piss me off more than getting snubbed out of the BCS title game.

"I honestly think the "Spread HD" is going to work pretty well, and we’ll be just fine this year". - 8-27-2008

by jesse. on Oct 1, 2008 9:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If we both go undefeated

I have to imagine we could meet in the BCS championship game, no?

Now if we both end up with one loss, that would be a mess.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

by BSD on Sep 30, 2008 10:15 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

If Northwestern and PSU played in the National Title Game.

I think the South would secede.

by Cairo on Sep 30, 2008 11:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nah

They would claim the SEC Championship game as the true national championship game

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

by BSD on Sep 30, 2008 11:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

so in other words

nothing new

by The JuggerNitt on Oct 1, 2008 6:13 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oooh

what can we do to help this along? I suppose I would miss Disney World, though. I guess I’ll just have to keep my passport handy. Also, would this automatically bump Bowden from the all time career wins race? Really, I don’t see much of a problem with this.

by The JuggerNitt on Oct 1, 2008 6:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

Courtesy of Bigten.org.

Method to Determine Big Ten Conference Automatic Representative to Bowl Championship Series

Effective for bowl games following the 2006-09 regular football seasons, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) will consist of five (5) bowl games: BCS National Championship Game, Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Sugar Bowl. Participation by a Big Ten Conference member institution will be determined as follows:

BCS National Championship Game. In the event the conference has one or two football teams ranked No. 1 and/or No. 2 in the final BCS poll, these conference team(s) shall participate in the BCS National Championship Game.

Rose Bowl. Unless ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the final BCS poll, the conference champion shall participate in the Rose Bowl. The championship shall be determined on the percentage basis of conference games (tie games counts ½ win and ½ loss). If there is a tie for the championship, the Rose Bowl representative will be determined as follows:
An ineligible team shall not be considered in the standings for determination of the conference representative.
If there is a tie for the championship, the winner of the game between these two teams shall represent the conference.
If there is still a tie for the championship, or if the tied teams did not play each other, the team that played more games against Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) teams shall be eliminated.
If there is still a tie, or if the tied teams did not play each other, or if both teams played the same number of games against an FCS team(s), the representative shall be determined on the percentage basis of all games played.
If there is still a tie, the most recent team earning BCS automatic selection shall be eliminated.
If more than two teams tie for the championship, the same selection procedures shall be followed with the following exceptions:
If three teams are tied, and if one team defeated both of the other teams, then that team shall be the representative.
If three teams are still tied, and if two of the three teams defeated the third team, the third team is eliminated, and the remaining two teams shall revert to the two-team tie procedure.
If three teams are still tied, and there is a tie game between two of the three teams, or if two or all three of the teams did not play each other, the representative shall be determined on a percentage basis of all games played except, if one or two of the tied teams played more games against an FCS opponent than the other tied teams, then said team or teams shall be eliminated, and the remaining two teams, if applicable, shall revert to the two-team tie procedure.
If three teams are still tied, and one of the three teams is eliminated through the percentage basis of all games played, the remaining two teams shall revert to the two-team tie procedure.
If three teams are still tied, and all three teams have the same winning percentage of all games played, the most recent team representing the conference shall be eliminated, and the two remaining teams shall revert to the two-team tie procedure.
If four or more teams tie for the championship, the following selection procedure shall be followed:
If one team defeated each of the other three teams, then that team shall be the representative.
If two of the four teams defeated each of the other two teams, the latter two teams shall be eliminated, and the two remaining teams shall revert to the two-team tie procedure.
If three of the four teams defeated the fourth team, the fourth team is eliminated, and the remaining three teams shall revert to the three-team tie procedure.
If there is a tie game between two of the four teams, or if two of the four teams did not play each other, the representative shall be determined on a percentage of all games played, except, if one or more of the tied teams played more games against an FCS opponent than the other tied teams, then said teams shall be eliminated, and the remaining teams, if applicable, shall revert to the two- or three-team tie procedure.
If one of the four teams is eliminated through the percentage of all games played, the remaining three teams shall revert to the three-team tie procedure.
If all four teams are still tied and have the same winning percentage of all games played, the most recent team representing the conference shall be eliminated and the three remaining teams shall revert to the three-team tie procedure.

http://bigten.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/102204aad.html

Now, per the rules. If both Northwester and Penn State go undefeated, Northwestern would get the automatic bid because Penn State had it in 2005.

by DrDetroit on Oct 1, 2008 8:58 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Go Wildcats?

Does that mean I should cheer for an undefeated Northwestern team since I’ve got tickets to the Orange Bowl and National Championship game? Those would be the probable trips for an undefeated PSU squad, maybe?

by The Mess on Oct 1, 2008 9:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

talk about a slow news day

snap out of it people. . .

by The IC Lion on Oct 1, 2008 9:33 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

What if there was an 11-way tie for the Big Ten champion?

Everyone goes 4-4. Would Indiana go to the Rose Bowl?

by Cairo on Oct 1, 2008 9:54 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dumbest....post....ever...

What if every team in the Big Ten goes 4-4 in conference play?

People…we’re one game into conference play and 5 games into the season. Neither Northwestern nor Penn State have a quality win, lets just ease up a bit…hypothetical or not.

That said…if both go undefeated…Soldier Field, Saturday, November 29th, The Big Ten Conference Championship…be there…Northwestern fans—bring your girl color purple sweaters.

by NittanyBadger on Oct 1, 2008 2:22 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thank you, thank you.

Please excuse my poor attempt at humorous sarcasm in my 4-4 post. It’s in the same light as, “if the NFC East splits every conference game and wins every out of conference game, which 13-3 team would miss the playoffs?”

I think the closest the conference came to this was the year (1990) where the Big Ten had to split the title between four 6-2 teams. It was an Ohio State win over Indiana (instead of a tie) from a five-way co-champion.

by Cairo on Oct 1, 2008 3:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs