More 2016 Poll Watching in Big Ten Country

Polls…polls..polls….It seems all we hear about in 2016 are polls. Just a few weeks after Labor Day weekend kicked off the 2016 college football campaign the early results for the Big Ten look good.

Four Big Ten teams are in the latest Top 10, a statement of the Big Ten’s early strength. In the latest round of presidential political polling Big Ten states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Iowa are also garnering national attention.

But like the Rust Belt states, the relevance of the Big Ten was in doubt just two short years ago. On Sept. 6, 2014 the Big Ten had been left for dead. A Rust Belt conference stuck in the old ways could never survive the brave new world of college football.

That day, two Big Ten teams lost by double digits — to MAC teams.  

That night a triple-header of national showdown games on three national networks became a nightmare. Michigan State lost 46-27 at Oregon on Fox, Ohio State lost to unranked Virginia Tech 35-21 at home on ESPN and on NBC Michigan was embarrassed 31-0 at Notre Dame.

Three primetime losses by the count of 112-48.

What happened over the next four months can best be described as the Buckeye Bailout — a swing state miracle. Ohio State just kept winning. After a Big Ten Championship Game blowout of Wisconsin the Buckeyes grabbed the final College Football Playoff spot.

Despite criticism that a Big Ten team was unworthy of a playoff spot, Ohio State hung 42 points on both Alabama and Oregon to win the National Title. More good postseason returns came from Wisconsin’s win over Auburn and Michigan State’s Cotton Bowl win over Big 12 Champion Baylor.

The Big Ten’s coaches like Ohio State’s Urban Meyer and Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio were credited with the upward trend. Their schools’ successes reclaimed some national respect for the Big Ten, but Michigan still lagged.

Then Harbaugh happened.

Jim Harbaugh gave the Big Ten an immediate jolt. It gave the Big Ten its very own must-see TV, starring a coach returning to his alma mater after he’d won the Pac-12 at Stanford and led the 49ers to the Super Bowl.  

Harbaugh is entertaining, make no mistake, but above all, he is an elite coach with an organized, detailed staff. For the fans, Michigan once again looked like Michigan. They had a big physical offense with speedy playmakers and played great defense.

It also helped that the team’s record jumped from 5-7  in 2014 to 10-3 in 2015 with a 41-7 win over Florida in their bowl game.

The national media celebrated Michigan’s upward polling trends and the unpredictable Jim Harbaugh. He took the NCAA’s satellite camp rule and flew with it, running camps from New Jersey to Hawaii and even Australia.

When other coaches criticized him, Harbaugh fired back with Trump-like speed on Twitter. “Outspoken” is an understatement when describing Harbaugh talking about things he is passionate about. That generates a lot of buzz for Michigan and the Big Ten.

Michigan’s swagger, and some would say arrogance, sells.

At the outset of the 2016 campaign Ohio State and Michigan were considered the favorites, but three weeks into the campaign there is much more to this conference.

Just over two years after that disastrous September night, this past weekend the Big Ten had a triumphant night. Michigan hosted Colorado, Nebraska hosted Oregon, Ohio State traveled to Oklahoma and Michigan State was at Notre Dame.

The returns came in early for the last contest of the night as it was clear we could make the early call on the Ohio State-Oklahoma game. The Big Ten had swept those contests in impressive fashion. Adding in Wisconsin’s season opening win over No. 5 LSU makes the Big Ten look even better.

The success of the East’s Big Three was expected, but the early success of Nebraska and Wisconsin in the West shows the strong depth of the conference.

The numbers back it up.

Thirty-eight of 42 non-conference games are in the books and the Big Ten boasts a gaudy 30-8 record. What is more impressive has been the performance against the other Power-5 conference teams from the ACC, SEC, Big 12 and Pac-12. With 11 of 12 non-conference Power 5 games in the books The Big Ten is an impressive 8-3 including a 4-1 record against ranked foes — the lone defeat being a Rutgers loss at Washington.

By comparison the SEC has gone 21-7 in non-conference games and is only halfway through its 56  non-conference game slate. They have posted a 5-4 mark in Power 5 games and a 4-3 record in games against ranked non-conference foes. There is more to be done on the campaign trail but we shall see the results.

The early returns for the Big Ten are strong. But the question remains: “Where will this conference be in the polling when the campaign is over?”

Ultimately the 2016 Big Ten campaign may be rated a success only if one of its candidates can make the trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.