Big Ten Network Bowl Special Re-Airs Twice Saturday – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Watch the Big Ten Network Bowl Preview show at midnight and 11 a.m. Saturday
Big Ten Bowl Bits …
BOWLING FOR SEVEN: The Big Ten will send seven schools to take part in bowl games in December and January. The 2009-10 bowl season will mark the fifth straight year that seven or more Big Ten programs have earned postseason berths, the longest streak in conference history. Big Ten Champion Ohio State and Iowa both earned trips to Bowl Championship Series (BCS) contests, with the Buckeyes returning to the Rose Bowl Game for the first time since 1997 and the Hawkeyes earning their second trip to the FedEx Orange Bowl. In addition, Penn State was selected for the Capital One Bowl, Northwestern was chosen for the Outback Bowl, Wisconsin will take part in the Champs Sports Bowl, Michigan State will travel to the Valero Alamo Bowl and Minnesota will return to the Insight Bowl.
THE LUCKY SEVEN: The Big Ten’s seven bowl berths in 2009 rank as the second-highest single-season total in conference annals, behind only the eight bowl bids earned following the 2003 and 2007 campaigns. The conference also qualified seven schools for postseason play after the 1993, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2008 seasons. The Big Ten is sending six or more teams to bowl games for the 11th straight year and 18th time overall. Including the upcoming bowl season, conference programs will have made 69 bowl appearances over the last decade (2000-09) and 248 appearances all-time
BIG TEN BCS DUOS: Two Big Ten schools were selected for BCS games for the ninth time in the 12-year history of the system and the seventh time in the last eight seasons. Since the inception of the BCS in 1998, the Big Ten has qualified 21 teams for BCS bowls, more than any other conference. The SEC ranks second with 19 BCS bids followed by the Big 12 (17), Pac-10 (14), ACC (12) and Big East (12). The Big Ten also sent a pair of squads to BCS games in 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Overall, seven conference programs have taken part in a BCS contest, including Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin.
MAKE IT FIVE STRAIGHT: The Big Ten will send a pair of teams to BCS games for the fifth straight season, the longest streak since the system’s creati on. Ohio State has earned BCS berths in each of the last five years and has been joined by Penn State 2005 and 2008), Michigan (2006), Illinois (2007) and Iowa (2009). The SEC ranks second to the Big Ten aft er earning two BCS spots for the fourth straight year this season.
BCS REGULARS: Ohio State collected the Big Ten’s automatic BCS berth for the fourth time and will take part in a BCS game for the fifth straight season and the eighth time since the system’s creation in 1998. Ohio State is the nation’s only program to qualify for eight BCS games in the 12-year history of the system, as Oklahoma and Southern California rank second with seven BCS trips each. In additi on, only one other team has appeared in five or more consecutive BCS games, as the Trojans appeared in a BCS contest seven straight seasons from 2002 to 2008. OSU previously earned the Big Ten’s BCS automatic bid in 2002, 2006 and 2007. The Buckeyes are one of six Big Ten schools in the 12 years of the BCS to gain automatic qualification, joining Illinois (2001), Michigan (2003, 2004), Penn State (2005, 2008), Purdue (2000) and Wisconsin (1998, 1999). Overall, the Big Ten has earned a conference-best 21 BCS berths, sending a second team to the BCS in 1998 (Ohio State), 1999 (Michigan), 2002 (Iowa), 2003 (Ohio State), 2005 (Ohio State), 2006 (Michigan), 2007 (Illinois), 2008 (Ohio State) and 2009 (Iowa).
BCS DEPTH: Seven different Big Ten schools have qualified to play in a BCS game, including both Ohio State and Iowa this season. The conference’s previous BCS bowl participants include Illinois, Michigan, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin. The Big Ten’s seven-team BCS conti ngent is tied for the lead among all conferences along with the Big 12, Big East and Pac-10, followed by the SEC (six different teams) and ACC (five teams).
BCS SUCCESS: Only 11 schools have produced multiple BCS wins and the Big Ten boasts two of those programs in Ohio State and Wisconsin. The Buckeyes have won four BCS games, including three triumphs in the Fiesta Bowl (2002, 2003, 2005) and a Sugar Bowl win (1998). Florida and Louisiana State have also won four BCS contests while Southern California tops all schools with six triumphs. The Badgers are 2-0 in BCS matchups with back-to-back Rose Bowl victories following the 1998 and 1999 seasons. The other teams to win at least two BCS games include Georgia, Miami (Fla.), Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
TOUGH COMPETITION: The Big Ten’s seven-team bowl contingent has built a record of 59-25 (.702) but will once again face stiff competition in bowl games. Big Ten bowl foes have a combined record of 60-25 (.706) and four of the squads already boast nine or more wins — Georgia Tech (11-2), Oregon (10-2), Miami (Fla.) (9-3) and Louisiana State (9-3). Among conferences with three or more bowl teams, the Big Ten is one of four to face bowl opponents that have combined to win at least 70.6 percent of their games along with the Mountain West (47-15, .758), SEC (91-32, .740) and Pac-10 (62-23, .729). The Big Ten and Pac-10 are tied for second with two bowl opponents featuring double-digits in victories, behind only the SEC (three opponents with 10 or more wins).
PLAYING THE BEST: For the fifth time in the last six years, the Big Ten is one of the few conferences in which every bowl matchup features opponents from the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Big East, Pac-10 or SEC. Among those conferences, only the ACC features a similar lineup during the upcoming bowl season, while the Big 12 was the only other conference to face that kind of test during the 2008-09 bowl campaign. Including the upcoming bowl season, the Big Ten will have faced only three bowl opponents from outside the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Big East, Pac-10 or SEC beginning with the 2000-01 bowl slate. Over that same 10-year span, every other conference among that group will have faced at least seven teams outside of those six conferences.
MORE SEC MATCHUPS: Over the last five and 10 years, the Big Ten has played more bowl games against the SEC than any other conference. The two conferences have met in the postseason on 13 occasions over the last five years, with the Big Ten holding a 7-6 advantage in those matchups. Over the last decade, the Big Ten and SEC have met in 27 bowl contests, with the SEC holding a 14-13 edge.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: For the fifth straight season, at least two of the Big Ten bowl matchups are virtual road games, with conference teams facing schools from the state in which the bowl is played. The Big Ten’s “road” bowl contests include Wisconsin against Miami (Fla.) in the Champs Sports Bowl (Orlando, Fla.) and Michigan State versus Texas Tech in the Valero Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, Texas). Including the upcoming bowl matchups, the Big Ten leads all conferences with 13 “road” bowl games over the last five seasons.
BOWL REMATCHES: Ohio State and Penn State will face opponents they previously challenged in postseason action. The Buckeyes will battle Oregon for the second time in the postseason but the first time since the two programs met in the 1958 Rose Bowl, a 10-7 victory for OSU. The Nittany Lions and Louisiana State have met in one postseason game, with PSU defeating the Tigers, 16-9, in the 1974 Orange Bowl.
FRESH FACES: Big Ten programs will face unfamiliar foes during the bowl season, with six of the seven conference teams battling an opponent for the first time in at least a decade. Three conference schools will square off against an opponent for the first time in school history when Iowa takes on Georgia Tech, Michigan State challenges Texas Tech and Northwestern battles Auburn. Penn State will face Louisiana State for just the second time in school history and the first time since the 1974 Orange Bowl. Ohio State and Oregon will take the field for the eighth time overall, but the Rose Bowl will mark their first meeting since 1987. Wisconsin and Miami (Fla.) will meet for the first ti me since 1989 and the third time overall. The lone familiar matchup is Minnesota-Iowa State, as the two programs squared off in 1997.
BOWL VETERANS: Including the upcoming bowl season, the Big Ten boasts three of the 11 programs with 39 or more bowl appearances in Penn State (8th – 42), Ohio State (T9th – 41) and Michigan (11th – 39). The Nittany Lions rank third all-ti me with 26 bowl triumphs followed by the Wolverines (T13th – 19) and Buckeyes (T15th – 18).
