Old School Football

So has anyone else noticed that the oft-criticized Big Ten has a winning record in this year's bowl games? If one were to listen to the claims of ESPN, or the incessant baying of SEC fans (and devotees of the Southern variant of football generally), this would seem impossible.

What's most interesting is the teams that won their games, along with the pattern involved. Let's look back:

Wisconsin beats Miami

Penn State beats LSU

Ohio State beats Oregon

Iowa beats Georgia Tech

Other than being the four best teams in the Big Ten this year (sorry, Northwestern), what else do we know about the winning schools?

• All four schools are known for being power teams with strong running attacks


• All four schools have stout defenses


• All four schools can play ball control and keep the other team's high-powered offense off the field; indeed, that is how all four schools won their bowl games


• All four schools figure to be among the teams to beat in the conference for 2010

It's telling that those schools that stay with the basic game plan are the ones that had the greatest success this year. Especially in the case of the Badgers, Buckeyes and the Hawkeyes, all the pre-game prognostication said the same thing: the opponent was too fast, too talented and had a huge advantage in the offensive skill positions. There was no way that the bulky Badgers could stop the talented Jacory Harris and his arsenal of top-shelf Miami Hurricane receivers. Those Oregon Ducks had way too many weapons for the boring old Buckeyes and Jeremiah Masoli was going to run rings around them. There was no way that the plodding Hawkeyes could contain the vaunted triple option of Georgia Tech. Turns out there was a way. It's the old way, tried and true.

There's another message here, especially to the Michigan Wolverines, who were home for the holidays this year. The Wolverines have been perennial contenders for the conference championship for as long as there has been a Big Ten conference. Under both Bo Schembechler and Lloyd Carr, they were largely a vanilla team but were always fundamentally sound on offense and stout on defense. Yes, the Wolverines have had some tremendously talented skill players come through their program -- Tom Brady, we're looking at you -- but since Rich Rodriguez has come to Ann Arbor things have fallen away. I don't see the Wolverines returning to glory any time soon if they persist in playing a style of football that goes against what works in their conference. But fans of the other schools would be delighted if they persist in their current course.

Congratulations to the Badgers, Nittany Lions, Buckeyes and Hawkeyes. And to the fans of Southern football: at least for this year, y'all can be quiet now.