1-Man’s Opinion on Sports-Wednesday “BIG 10-BIG FUTURE”
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“BIG 10-MEDIA DAY”
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It was really a strange feel in Indianapolis on Tuesday as the Big 10-began a 3-day session-it’s 2024-Football Media Day.
If Big 10-purists were off center when Penn State became the 11th member years ago, then think aboutwhat it was like to walk thru the hotel hallways with the jerseys of all the new teams on the wall?
Think about how weird it was to have a conversation and realize the Big 10-will have 18-teams in the Fall?
Is itmstrange to mention USC-UCLA-Oregon-Washington in the same sentence with Michigan-Ohio State and others?
There are some really anxious feelings too, swirling around the mid-pack teams of the Big 10, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, now being pushed further down the ladder because of the arrival of the Pac 12-refugees, the Trojans-Bruins-Ducks-Huskies, who all carry a pretty good brand.
Think too how tough it must be if you are the lower ranked Northwestern, or Rutgers or Maryland, and how you are expected to develop a rivalry with the newcomers?
Ohio State has Ryan Day and a banner recruiting class.
Michigan no longer has Jim Harbaugh and a host of stars gone to the NFL
it will be a different breed of teams coming in as newcomers too.
USC has Lincoln Riley, but it does not have QB-Caleb Williams, his top receivers and key running backs, all who left for the NFL.
UCLA no longer has Chip Kelly, has lost a ton of veteran players and hopes the transition to new coach DeShaun Foster surrounded by veteran assistant coaches.
Washington not only said goodbye to its great QB-Michael Penix, but watched coach Kalen DeBoer head to the SEC as soon as the Huskies season ended.
Oregon’s Bo Nix ended a great career, and will be replaced by veteran transfer QB-Dillon Gabriel, but the Ducks don’t have their top RBs, WRs and key defensive players back.
Outside of the Buckeyes, who also had player changes, this sure looks like an upside down year in the Big 10. So many players and people have left rosters, everywhere.
Media day, very different, maybe because of who is no longer on these teams, those who vacated this conference, and even stranger with 4-new teams coming in on the flight from the West Coast, definitely not whom they used to be either.
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