BTB Roundtable Recap

A big thanks to all who participated in this week's Big Ten Blogger's Roundtable discussion. Here's a list of the blogs which answered our questions:
Men of Scarlet and Gray
Off the Tracks
Hoosier Report
Michigan Sports Center
Maize n Brew
Lake the Posts

1. Every year we hear that the quality of play in the Big Ten is "down" and that the conference as a whole is "weak". This season most pundits would consider the Pac 10 or SEC as superior conferences. Give your best argument for the over strength of the Big Ten and evaluated how your team would be doing if they were placed in either the Pac 10 or the SEC.
Lake the Posts did a nice job recapping the Big Ten's recent bowl records.

Take a look at the recent bowl records of the Big Ten biggies during the past 10 years:

Ohio State 0-3 vs SEC, Haven't played Pac-10, 3-0 vs Big 12 and 2 national championship appearances

Michigan 4-1 vs SEC, 1-2 vs Pac 10 (1 win was national title in '97 over WSU)

Penn State 2-2 vs SEC, No bowls vs Pac 10

Wisconsin 2-3 vs SEC (won in 05, 06), 3-0 vs Pac 10

Now some other players:
Iowa 2-1 vs SEC (wins over Florida & LSU), 0-1 vs Pac 10

Purdue 0-2 vs SEC (Georgia both times, OT both times), 1-3 vs Pac 10

Minnesota 2-0 vs SEC, 1-1 vs Pac 10

Michigan State 1-0 vs SEC, 0-1 vs Pac 10

Northwestern and Illini are a combined 0-1 vs SEC and 0-1 vs Pac 10 and Indiana has not been to a bowl game during that span. What does this mean? A combined 13-13 vs the SEC and 5-9 vs the Pac 10. That is my argument for the Pac 10 being the victim of east coast media bias and being better than we are during that span, while the Big Ten suffers from "the south is faster" bias. However, top to bottom, the SEC is more balanced this year and the Cats would be better off trying to get their wins at the bottom half of the Pac 10 than the SEC.

2. Pick your team's Most Valuable Player to date and tell us why he should be in consideration for Big Ten Player of the Year.
We had votes for Mike Hart, Todd Boeckman, Dorien Bryant, and James Hardy.
I'd have to agree most with Michigan Sports Center's argument for Mike Hart.

3. Sure it's the time of year that has most fans looking ahead to Bowl games, but we covered that last week. Plus, basketball season has officially begun! If you plan on covering basketball, give a brief analysis on your team and how far they will go in this year's postseason (Final 4, Sweet 16, NIT, friend's couch, etc.).
The Hoosier Report is covering the round ball and obviously has more reasons then most to be excited for the upcoming season:

I am covering basketball. IU currently is ranked in the low end of the top ten (9th in both major polls) and prognosticators are uniformly picking IU and MSU to finish 1-2 in the conference. Some have IU on top, others MSU, but the consensus says that those are the top two. While enthusiasm has been dampened a bit by the new telephone call allegations, I think that IU fans will really like this team. IU returns some key players from last season, most notably DJ White, and adds a bunch of newcomers, including top recruit Eric Gordon and juco transfer Jamarcus Ellis, both of whom will likely start. This is the deepest and most talented IU team in years, and I think IU fans will be somewhat disappointed in anything but a trip to the Final Four.

Bonus Question:
It's time again for annual "rip on the BCS" party! In your opinion, what is the best way for college football to determine its National Championship?
Current BCS system, current system plus one, 16-team playoff, 4-team playoff, something totally cool I've never even thought of before?
Personally I'm with Maize n Brew, and think the current system is just fine. Every single game means something in college football. If you want to be the Champion, you can't afford a day off. College football is the only sport left where the regular season actually matters! However, I do like the idea of going back to the old bowl tie-ins and adding one game. Pac 10 champ and Big Ten champ meet up in the Rose Bowl, Big 12 champ goes to the Orange Bowl, etc. Then after the Bowls we re-rank, calculate the BCS and put #1 vs. #2 two weeks later in the National Title game.

And as Off the Tracks put it:

Oh, and if you’re independent and want to play for the title, then too bad. Join a conference and earn it.