Welcome to the B1G

[cicero grimes]

Rutgers fan checking in here and want to welcome you to the B1G.  Glad you guys and the Huskies found a landing spot although I will miss the PAC.  Enjoyed playing both Washington schools in the past and look forward to you guys coming to NY/NJ and tailgating with some of you folks.  Looking forward to getting out west for some road trips.  We have a great tailgate scene here and despite our reputation we are a pretty friendly bunch to out of towners.

 

Just come into this conference with your eyes wide open.  Everything in this conference is done with the best interests of Ohio St. and UM first and foremost.  Nebraska and Penn State found that out. USC will find that out.  They are probably already learning that  if the rumors were true that the B1G promised them they would not take you guys in future expansion. The people in Chicago at the league offices are pretty ruthless.  They don't take prisoners.  The ACC will find that out next.

 

If you and the Huskies are coming in at half shares as the media is reporting, it will set you back in terms of resources and competitiveness during the life of this contract.  It hurt Nebraska, it hurt Maryland and it hurt us.  Maybe the impact wont be as severe for you guys with Phil Knight in your corner but the Huskies are probably going to feel the pain.  The math is pretty daunting.  If you come in at 40 million per and OSU and UM are at 80 million, you are starting well behind the 8 ball over the life of the ramp up to a full share. 

 

The B1G got you cheap because they knew you had to say yes or get left behind.  They got us the same way as we had nowhere to go after the BE broke up and even though the carriage fees from adding us and Maryland made the B1G and its network enormous amounts of money, we were getting far less than what we brought in.  They got Maryland the same way because they were in dire straights financially and had to agree to an advance against future payments from the league to get out of the red.  Nebraska did not get a full share to start either because they were desperate to get away from Texas and the B12 conference and accepted less.

 

On paper USC and UCLA got a better deal financially but they were more useful to the conference because they brought the LA market in prior to the next round of TV negotiations and started the destabilization of the PAC.   In my opinion, once those dominoes fell, the TV execs knew it was a matter of time and did not have to deal fairly with the remainder of the PAC because the only two schools they wanted were poached. 

 

They also knew the only desirable left over properties were you and the Huskies and eventually they would be able to land you guys down the road.  I think it just happened sooner than expected due to the aggressive actions of the the B12.   The B1G probably would have preferred to add you and the Huskies in 5 years when they re-opened the next round of TV negotiations.  One benefit of doing this now was that USC did not get a vote since the are not officially members until next year.

 

Lastly the key to success in this league is line play and depth.  The sheer physicality of the league wears you down on a weekly basis.  You have great skill position players but to succeed you are going to need to get bigger on both sides of the line.  Teams in this league will play you like Stanford used to play you when they were good, a fist fight in a phone booth, and this will be week in and week out.  You need really talented lines and deep ones.  You guys will be fine but there will be an adjustment period, just be prepared for that.

 

So again, happy you guys are in and look forward to competing with you and sharing some adult beverages at a tailgate.  Welcome to the machine.

 

[Log Haulin]

Ducks have won in the Big House and the Shoe. Beat Whisky a couple time. Rosebowl victories and have played for 2 NCs.

 

You will have fun learning about Orygun. Ducks had one of the best , if not the best O line in the country last year.

 

Ducks will win the B1G before the current tv deal expires. Blue bloods ain't  going to like it. Rutger fan might applaude though.

[OregonDucks]

Thanks for the welcome. 
 

Hopefully, Oregon does not adjust its style to fit the B1G. Our goal is to win a national championship so that means building a program capable of beating the top SEC teams.
 

We tried the “3 yards and a cloud of dust” with the prior coach and it did not work out well (other than the victory over tOSU in the shoe). Hopefully Dan Lanning and company can get the defense on the same level as the offense. 

[Pennsylvania Duck]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[David Marsh]

On 8/4/2023 at 3:41 PM, cicero grimes said:

If you and the Huskies are coming in at half shares as the media is reporting, it will set you back in terms of resources and competitiveness during the life of this contract.  It hurt Nebraska, it hurt Maryland and it hurt us.  Maybe the impact wont be as severe for you guys with Phil Knight in your corner but the Huskies are probably going to feel the pain.  The math is pretty daunting.  If you come in at 40 million per and OSU and UM are at 80 million, you are starting well behind the 8 ball over the life of the ramp up to a full share. 

I think Uncle Phil is the reason why taking this jump was even considered worth it. Oregon has some great donors, not just Phil Knight, and in sure they played a role. 

 

I think Washington may have a tougher go of it... But we used them to get in the door so they are right back on hate list. 

 

By the way... Washington is just the worst and I think their fans are only a step above USC fans at this point. 

[Haywarduck]

Thanks, I just hope we negotiated to get the BIG refs. If there was a more impactful weakness in the Pac I don't know what it was, well ok our commissioner and his shadow.

 

The players will do just fine against the BIG opponents.

[Log Haulin]

On 8/4/2023 at 5:04 PM, Haywarduck said:

I just hope we negotiated to get the BIG refs.

Didn't even think about that. Good riddance. 

[Charles Fischer]

 

[Charles Fischer]

On 8/4/2023 at 3:41 PM, cicero grimes said:

Rutgers fan checking in here and want to welcome you to the B1G. 

You are quite welcome to come here and discuss football with us anytime.  In fact it would be nice to have some perspective from a fan who has been in the B1G for a while.

[Charles Fischer]

 

[NJDuck]

On 8/4/2023 at 6:41 PM, cicero grimes said:

Rutgers fan checking in here and want to welcome you to the B1G.  Glad you guys and the Huskies found a landing spot although I will miss the PAC.  Enjoyed playing both Washington schools in the past and look forward to you guys coming to NY/NJ and tailgating with some of you folks.  Looking forward to getting out west for some road trips.  We have a great tailgate scene here and despite our reputation we are a pretty friendly bunch to out of towners.

Hi Cicero.  NJDuck here.  Welcome to the OBD!  When Oregon does come and play at Rutgers, will be attending the game.  Will look forward to being part of the tailgate scene!

[Jon Joseph]

On 8/4/2023 at 8:04 PM, Haywarduck said:

Thanks, I just hope we negotiated to get the BIG refs. If there was a more impactful weakness in the Pac I don't know what it was, well ok our commissioner and his shadow.

 

The players will do just fine against the BIG opponents.

But not the group that refereed the Auburn BCS champ game, please! 

[Dr Hilarius]

On 8/4/2023 at 3:41 PM, cicero grimes said:

You have great skill position players but to succeed you are going to need to get bigger on both sides of the line.

Welcome to the OBD forum @cicero grimes!

 

I think you might be thinking of the Ducks 10 yrs ago. We have been getting bigger in the trenches and had arguably the best OL in the country last year. And we beat tOSU in the shoe a couple years ago. 

 

However, I really look forward to the ex-Pac teams proving themselves on the field.

 

The way I look at it, it’s as if we distilled the Pac to its most exciting teams then added a bunch of home-and-homes against the B1G. 

 

And we can schedule our in-state rivals as a true preeminent OOC game. 

 

I would love it if the B1G dropped to 8 conference games and we added a 2nd ex-Pac team. 

 

In an ideal world…

 

- 3 B1G games against the Pacific division 

 

- 3 B1G games against the West division (calling that division the “west” is going to drive me crazy forever)

 

- 2 BIG games against the East division 

 

- 1 game against the in-state rival 

 

- 1 game against a former Pac member

 

- 1 game against the Mountain West

 

- 1 game against the FCS

 

A girl can dream…

[spartan2785]

On 8/4/2023 at 7:06 PM, Dr Hilarius said:

 

 

- 1 game against the FCS

 

One thing that won't happen is games against FCS opponents since I believe the B1G has a no FCS games policy, I don't know how that affects the current games on the schedule against those teams.

[Dr Hilarius]

On 8/4/2023 at 7:12 PM, spartan2785 said:

I believe the B1G has a no FCS games policy,

Interesting—I didn’t lnow that. It makes me respect the B1G more. 

 

BUT, in addition to dropping to 8 conf games, this is another rule I’d like to change.

 

The SEC practically mandates multiple FCS opponents. 

 

And our games against the likes of PSU, EWU, etc are always a fun regional matchup. 

[duckcz]

On 8/5/2023 at 12:41 AM, cicero grimes said:

Lastly the key to success in this league is line play and depth.  The sheer physicality of the league wears you down on a weekly basis.  You have great skill position players but to succeed you are going to need to get bigger on both sides of the line.  Teams in this league will play you like Stanford used to play you when they were good, a fist fight in a phone booth, and this will be week in and week out.  You need really talented lines and deep ones.  You guys will be fine but there will be an adjustment period, just be prepared for that.

The Ducks are one of only FOUR TEAMS to beat Ohio State at The Shoe in the past TEN YEARS. In the past 20 years, Oregon and Michigan have played twice, the Ducks winning both, the last in Ann Arbor a total blowout 39-7. In the past 22 years, Oregon and Wisconsin have played three times. Wanna guess who won all three games? Yep, the Ducks. Oregon and Michigan State? In the past ten years Ducks are up 2-1. We haven't played Penn State since we lost the Rose Bowl to them in 1995. That's the top of the Big 10 and the Ducks have proven again and again that they are more than worthy opponents against them. And I didn't even mention our records against the new additions USC, UCLA and Washington. 

 

What do people on the east coast think we'e been playing in the PAC 12, flag football? No disrespect to Iowa, Purdue, Minnesota or Rutger's "sheer physicality," but they are certainly no tougher than Utah, Oregon State, ASU or Colorado. 

 

I don't think we're going to win the conference our first year or anything, but we are certainly going to be competitive with every single team we face in the Big Ten in 2024. Oregon is more than prepared for the Big Ten and there isn't going to be any "adjustment period" needed.

[spartan2785]

Yeah, the gap between the B1G and the P12 was never really that big, the only difference really was a strong tOSU that was better than most of our best teams, when you begin to look at Wiscy, Iowa, Penn St., Michigan (most of the past 15 years), it was never really that far off the Utah, Oregon, Stanford, or UW teams of the past 15 years.  

 

The bigger difference was more perception from attendance numbers / TV numbers, that inflate the look of those teams, it's hard to feel like a big boy program when half the stadium is empty like in the case of the California teams or the Arizona teams. 

 

Line play is not going to be a problem for Oregon, we've had consistently some of the best lines in college football, and we will most likely continue to have good line play. 

[Jon Joseph]

On 8/4/2023 at 8:04 PM, Haywarduck said:

Thanks, I just hope we negotiated to get the BIG refs. If there was a more impactful weakness in the Pac I don't know what it was, well ok our commissioner and his shadow.

 

The players will do just fine against the BIG opponents.

But not the group that refereed the Auburn BCS champ game, please! 

[Jon Joseph]

I have not been to the Rutgers Stadium.

 

I watched Ohio State play Oregon in Columbus in the 1980s when the Horseshoe was still a Shoe.

 

1 game at Sparty Stadium to see MSU play Purdue.

 

1 game in Lincoln, Nebraska to watch the Huskers play Colorado.

 

6 games in Michigan Stadium where I watched FSU and Deion Sanders go against Elvis Grbac. 3 games vs Notre Dame. 1 game vs UCLA. 1 game when my daughter was a Junior at CU that CU won on the Kordell Stewart Hail Mary pass. 

 

I'd love to watch the fans jump around in Madison, Wisconsin. To see Iowa fans salute the kids in the Children's Hospital. And to see a White Out in Happy Valley. 

 

I'm hoping in 2024 that Oregon plays 1 of Michigan, Ohio State or Penn State in Autzen. 

 

Funny that this is the final season for the Pac-12 and the conference is as deep and good as it has ever been. But 2023 almost seems like circling the airport before landing in the B1G.

 

I do get a kick out of the fact that Oregon is likely to play UCLA and USC more often in the B1G than it did in the Pac-12. Come 2024, I think we can count on games with UCLA, USC, and UW every season.

 

All the best to the Scarlet Knights in 2023. One of the two teams that kicked the whole thing off well before there were any conferences. And the forward pass was missing-in-inaction.