Football trash talk from the top..

[A Fleshner Fantasy]

Even as a Big 10 fan, I think it's uncalled for. Still, I am glad that he is standing up for the conference...it will be interesting to see what the SEC comes out with.

[deerayfan072]

Even as a Big 10 fan, I think it's uncalled for. Still, I am glad that he is standing up for the conference...it will be interesting to see what the SEC comes out with.

Like Joe said, i doubt they address it

[A Fleshner Fantasy]

Even as a Big 10 fan, I think it's uncalled for. Still, I am glad that he is standing up for the conference...it will be interesting to see what the SEC comes out with.

Like Joe said, i doubt they address it

I suppose...too bad though, I think it could sort of help popularity of the NCAA if more of a rivalry was formed between the Big10 and SEC, who are IMO, the 2 best conferences in college football.

[levittator31]

Posted by BIG TEN COMMISSIONER Jim Delaney on the Big 10 website:

Greetings from the Big Ten Conference,

With the conclusion of another tremendous college football season and the recent national signing day, there has been a lot written and said about the Big Ten's recruiting efforts across the country, including a recent article in the Chicago Sun-Times entitled "Big Ten needs to find new talent pool - fast" (see full article here). In response to these commentaries, it seems premature for us to lower our admission standards or give up on the tremendous talent pool in the Midwest. No doubt national programs must recruit nationally wherever the talented students and athletes live. Hats off to Florida and the SEC -- they had a great year. We believe that both the Big Ten and the SEC have been and remain two of the greatest college football conferences in the country. But you may want to keep in mind the following as you review the various recruiting services, listen to talking heads and reflect the blogosphere out there as they compare these two fine conferences. I think most people would agree that head-to-head competition is an effective method to compare relative strengths between competitive entities:

* The Big Ten was 2-1 vs. the SEC in this past season's bowl games.
* The Big Ten is 8-6 vs. the SEC in bowl games over the last five years
* The Big Ten is 13-13 vs. the SEC in bowl games over the last decade.
* Over the last nine years of Bowl Championship Series games, the Big Ten leads all conferences with 15 berths while ranking second with eight victories. The SEC tops all leagues with nine wins and ranks second to the Big Ten with 13 appearances.
* In the last 10 years the Big Ten has produced two national champions compared to three for the SEC.
* In the last 15 years the Big Ten has produced five Heisman Trophy winners, more than any other conference. Over that same time span, the SEC has claimed one Heisman.
* While the SEC ranked first among various recruiting rankings, the Big Ten ranked second or third nationally with four to five programs rated among the top 25 recruiting classes.
* The Big Ten has a history of developing players - the most recent Heisman Trophy winner, Troy Smith, was one of the last players to receive a scholarship from Ohio State.
* The Big Ten has slightly less than 300 players in the NFL while the SEC has slightly more than 300; Sixteen former Big Ten players earned Super Bowl rings with the Indianapolis Colts earlier this month.

I love speed and the SEC has great speed, especially on the defensive line, but there are appropriate balances when mixing academics and athletics. Each school, as well as each conference, simply must do what fits their mission regardless of what a recruiting service recommends. I wish we had six teams among the top 10 recruiting classes every year, but winning our way requires some discipline and restraint with the recruitment process. Not every athlete fits athletically, academically or socially at every university. Fortunately, we have been able to balance our athletic and academic mission so that we can compete successfully and keep faith with our academic standards.

Let's see if the five- and 10-year trend lines hold or whether the recruiting services and talking heads are seeing a new day. We are quite proud of our history and tradition and remain optimistic about the future of Big Ten football.

Thanks.

Jim Delany

Given the amount of criticism Urban Meyer took for saying things as deeply hurtful as "I think we deserve a chance" and "they already had their shot", when directly asked by the media, I'm interested to see what kind of backlash a conference commissioner will get for basically saying "they're only better because they'll let anyone in" when totally unprovoked.

What does that mean? Does Ohio State not give scholarships any more?

[CC]

It means that Troy Smith was offered a scholarship late in the season, and basically only as a favor to Ted Ginn Sr. in an effort to maintain the pipeline OSU has with Glenville (no comment on this one).

[Kilroy]

It means that Troy Smith was offered a scholarship late in the season, and basically only as a favor to Ted Ginn Sr. in an effort to maintain the pipeline OSU has with Glenville (no comment on this one).

I'm sure that Michigan (paragon of athletic virtue that they are) would never stoop so low as to have a "sweetheart" deal with a High School Powerhouse. Not that I'd have any comment on it if they did.

[CC]

It means that Troy Smith was offered a scholarship late in the season, and basically only as a favor to Ted Ginn Sr. in an effort to maintain the pipeline OSU has with Glenville (no comment on this one).

I'm sure that Michigan (paragon of athletic virtue that they are) would never stoop so low as to have a "sweetheart" deal with a High School Powerhouse. Not that I'd have any comment on it if they did.

Not faulting OSU here, it's Ted Ginn Sr. that I think is shady.

[Kilroy]

It means that Troy Smith was offered a scholarship late in the season, and basically only as a favor to Ted Ginn Sr. in an effort to maintain the pipeline OSU has with Glenville (no comment on this one).

I'm sure that Michigan (paragon of athletic virtue that they are) would never stoop so low as to have a "sweetheart" deal with a High School Powerhouse. Not that I'd have any comment on it if they did.

Not faulting OSU here, it's Ted Ginn Sr. that I think is shady.

I'd be hard pressed to defend the other end of that argument. More often than not it's not the Programs/Universities themselves that are at fault so much as it's the yahoos that surround that Program/University. Happens everywhere unfortunately.

[A Fleshner Fantasy]

It means that Troy Smith was offered a scholarship late in the season, and basically only as a favor to Ted Ginn Sr. in an effort to maintain the pipeline OSU has with Glenville (no comment on this one).

I'm sure that Michigan (paragon of athletic virtue that they are) would never stoop so low as to have a "sweetheart" deal with a High School Powerhouse. Not that I'd have any comment on it if they did.

Obviously Michigan isn't perfect, no school is, but Ohio St. has way more thugs going on than Michigan.

A kid from my high school was charged with armed robbery, yet OSU still offered him a scholarship. It wasn't until he was rude to the judge, and had a bunch of really bonehead comments that they became the last school of about 20 to revoke the offer (WVU still has an outstanding offer).

[CC]

It means that Troy Smith was offered a scholarship late in the season, and basically only as a favor to Ted Ginn Sr. in an effort to maintain the pipeline OSU has with Glenville (no comment on this one).

I'm sure that Michigan (paragon of athletic virtue that they are) would never stoop so low as to have a "sweetheart" deal with a High School Powerhouse. Not that I'd have any comment on it if they did.

Obviously Michigan isn't perfect, no school is, but Ohio St. has way more thugs going on than Michigan.

A kid from my high school was charged with armed robbery, yet OSU still offered him a scholarship. It wasn't until he was rude to the judge, and had a bunch of really bonehead comments that they became the last school of about 20 to revoke the offer (WVU still has an outstanding offer).

Would that be Lazear?