The B1G's focus on elevating the conference is paying off

[chicolby]

It all starts with coaching and the conference placed big bets on the coaches it brought in recently from Urban at Ohio State, Harbaugh at Michigan, Chryst at Wisconsin and even Franklin at Penn State. Maybe even include Riley at Nebraska. Coupled with big-time investments in facilities, the B1G can proudly say they hold 4 of the top 7 spots in the CFP as of today. They hold 5 spots in the Top 25. Iowa, of course was a bit of a disappointment as they were projected to be a top 25 unit as well.

If they can maintain this type of performance the next few years, the B1G may supplant the SEC as the top conference in college football. Frankly, Alabama is holding up the SEC right now.

 

[Truehuskerfan]

It all starts with coaching and the conference placed big bets on the coaches it brought in recently from Urban at Ohio State, Harbaugh at Michigan, Chryst at Wisconsin and even Franklin at Penn State. Maybe even include Riley at Nebraska. Coupled with big-time investments in facilities, the B1G can proudly say they hold 4 of the top 7 spots in the CFP as of today. They hold 5 spots in the Top 25. Iowa, of course was a bit of a disappointment as they were projected to be a top 25 unit as well.

If they can maintain this type of performance the next few years, the B1G may supplant the SEC as the top conference in college football. Frankly, Alabama is holding up the SEC right now.

I agree with the overall point of your post, but I find it strange how you group the coaches here. You throw in Chryst with Meyer and Harbaugh, and suggest that maybe you could throw in Riley too. Let's remember that Paul Chryst was hardly a big-name hire for Wisconsin, certainly nowhere near the level of Meyer or Harbaugh, or even Franklin either. When Meyer and Harbaugh were hired, everybody knew they were big-time hires. Chryst was a .500 coach at Pittsburgh. The general reaction from the college football world to his hire at Wisconsin was very hohum-nobody expected much. In fact, his name came up for our job, and there wasn't much excitement because he only had a .500 record at Pittsburgh. Without Chryst's background at Wisconsin, he probably doesn't get that job. There wasn't quite the surprise from the college football world to Chryst's hire as there was to Riley's hire, but that was because nobody thought Riley would leave Oregon State. But really, nobody expected much out of either. So to call Wisconsin hiring Chryst a "big bet" on the level of Meyer or Harbaugh just doesn't seem to fit. Wisconsin hiring Chryst was as much of a "big bet" as Nebraska hiring Riley. Right now, the two coaches are about even. Yes Chryst did much better his first year and has got the better of Riley(but only narrowly) both meetings, but Chryst also didn't inherit a roster with the holes that Riley did.

 

[chicolby]

I think people were surprised with the Chryst hire because he had just recently left to be the head man at Pittsburgh. Sure - I don't think he was some ballyhooed hire, but he was a previous head guy at a P5 school at least. Similar with Franklin - not a power school in the SEC, but he was on the radar of many as a guy who with the right resources could be effective.

Regardless, my post may have had some generalizations, but clearly the conference is stronger now than in the past 30 some years. No small feat.