Big Ten: East vs West

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DarrenTheGreek

DarrenTheGreek

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We have now had 6 seasons of the current divisional alignment with an even amount of home games for both sides. Here is how the inter-division standings shape up.

Yearly series (note: Starting in 2016, East has more home games in even years, West has more home games in odd years)
2014: Series tied 7-7
2015: Series tied 7-7
2016: West wins 11-10
2017: East wins 13-8
2018: East wins 11-10
2019: East wins 11-10
Overall: East leads 59-53

INTRA-DIVISION STANDINGS
Ohio State
14​
2​
0.875​
Penn State
12​
4​
0.750​
Michigan
12​
4​
0.750​
Wisconsin
11​
5​
0.688​
Iowa
9​
7​
0.563​
Northwestern
8​
8​
0.500​
Nebraska
8​
8​
0.500​
Minnesota
7​
9​
0.438​
Michigan State
7​
9​
0.438​
Indiana
7​
9​
0.438​
Illinois
6​
10​
0.375​
Maryland
5​
11​
0.313​
Purdue
4​
12​
0.250​
Rutgers
2​
14​
0.125​


TEAMSIllinoisIowaMinnesotaNebraskaNorthwesternPurdueWisconsin
Indiana1-00-30-11-11-14-20-1
Maryland1-01-22-20-20-11-10-3
Michigan2-01-12-11-03-01-02-2
Michigan State0-21-01-01-21-33-00-2
Ohio State3-00-13-04-02-00-12-0
Penn State2-14-01-11-01-22-01-0
Rutgers1-30-20-20-30-11-00-3
 
Last edited:


Wow. Quite an eye-opener.

The conventional wisdom says the East is the 'dominant' division.

The numbers say the two divisions are pretty equal, head-to-head.

Thanks for posting. I was wondering about this; now we have some hard data.
 

RememberMurray said:
Wow. Quite an eye-opener.

The conventional wisdom says the East is the 'dominant' division.

The numbers say the two divisions are pretty equal, head-to-head.

Thanks for posting. I was wondering about this; now we have some hard data.
Click to expand...
It's definitely a case of the West being the more balanced division and the East being extremely top heavy. The top 3 teams are all in the East, but they also have 4 of the bottom 5.
 




The East is very top heavy, which of course makes sense, as the three main historically elite programs are in the East.
 





Trade Nebraska for Ohio State and West would be dominant.
 






BeerFueledFF said:
It's definitely a case of the West being the more balanced division and the East being extremely top heavy. The top 3 teams are all in the East, but they also have 4 of the bottom 5.
Click to expand...

Yep

The top of the East is better then the top of the West most years. But the West is the much more interesting division. You can go into pretty much every year in the East knowing it is going to come down to Ohio State, Penn State or Michigan. In the West, Wisconsin has been the dominant team but not in the same manner as Ohio State. The other teams in the West all have at least a fighting chance to win the division most years if things break right for them.

For Indiana, Maryland, or Rutgers to win the East things would have to go really haywire. Michigan State is the one from that other group of teams that maybe sneaks into the conversation at times but even they face an extremely uphill battle each year in their division.
 


DarrenTheGreek said:
We have now had 6 seasons of the current divisional alignment with an even amount of home games for both sides. Here is how the inter-division standings shape up.

Yearly series (note: Starting in 2016, East has more home games in even years, West has more home games in odd years)
2014: Series tied 7-7
2015: Series tied 7-7
2016: West wins 11-10
2017: East wins 13-8
2018: East wins 11-10
2019: East wins 11-10
Overall: East leads 59-53

INTRA-DIVISION STANDINGS
Ohio State
14​
2​
0.875​
Penn State
12​
4​
0.750​
Michigan
12​
4​
0.750​
Wisconsin
11​
5​
0.688​
Iowa
9​
7​
0.563​
Northwestern
8​
8​
0.500​
Nebraska
8​
8​
0.500​
Minnesota
7​
9​
0.438​
Michigan State
7​
9​
0.438​
Indiana
7​
9​
0.438​
Illinois
6​
10​
0.375​
Maryland
5​
11​
0.313​
Purdue
4​
12​
0.250​
Rutgers
2​
14​
0.125​



TEAMSIllinoisIowaMinnesotaNebraskaNorthwesternPurdueWisconsin
Indiana1-00-30-11-11-14-20-1
Maryland1-01-22-20-20-11-10-3
Michigan2-01-12-11-03-01-02-2
Michigan State0-21-01-01-21-33-00-2
Ohio State3-00-13-04-02-00-12-0
Penn State2-14-01-11-01-22-01-0
Rutgers1-30-20-20-30-11-00-3
Click to expand...

Does this eventually balance out? Right now the WBest teams have played some LEast teams only once, and others four times.
 

Thank you for putting this together, Darren Swearengen. It will be interesting if Lovie can build upon this year. I think Purdue, Nebraska and NW will all be better two years from now and the West could be a really solid top to bottom conference.
 

WorkingMyTailOff said:
Thank you for putting this together, Darren Swearengen. It will be interesting if Lovie can build upon this year. I think Purdue, Nebraska and NW will all be better two years from now and the West could be a really solid top to bottom conference.
Click to expand...

Conference play is a zero-sum game. All teams can’t be good, or at least all have good records. Most years there are 3 slots for teams with 6+ win conference records in each division.

Ohio State is so far above the rest of the conference the past few years that it biases the whole balance evaluation. Take them down from 12+ win seasons to 10 win seasons and things are even Steven
 

fmlizard said:
Conference play is a zero-sum game. All teams can’t be good, or at least all have good records. Most years there are 3 slots for teams with 6+ win conference records in each division.

Ohio State is so far above the rest of the conference the past few years that it biases the whole balance evaluation. Take them down from 12+ win seasons to 10 win seasons and things are even Steven
Click to expand...
Yep good point. I meant Nebraska, NW, Illinois, and Purdue being more competitive (in and out of conference). Purdue losing to Nevada, and whomever NW and Illinois lost to in the non conf.
 

DarrenTheGreek said:
We have now had 6 seasons of the current divisional alignment with an even amount of home games for both sides. Here is how the inter-division standings shape up.

Yearly series (note: Starting in 2016, East has more home games in even years, West has more home games in odd years)
2014: Series tied 7-7
2015: Series tied 7-7
2016: West wins 11-10
2017: East wins 13-8
2018: East wins 11-10
2019: East wins 11-10
Overall: East leads 59-53

INTRA-DIVISION STANDINGS
Ohio State
14​
2​
0.875​
Penn State
12​
4​
0.750​
Michigan
12​
4​
0.750​
Wisconsin
11​
5​
0.688​
Iowa
9​
7​
0.563​
Northwestern
8​
8​
0.500​
Nebraska
8​
8​
0.500​
Minnesota
7​
9​
0.438​
Michigan State
7​
9​
0.438​
Indiana
7​
9​
0.438​
Illinois
6​
10​
0.375​
Maryland
5​
11​
0.313​
Purdue
4​
12​
0.250​
Rutgers
2​
14​
0.125​



TEAMSIllinoisIowaMinnesotaNebraskaNorthwesternPurdueWisconsin
Indiana1-00-30-11-11-14-20-1
Maryland1-01-22-20-20-11-10-3
Michigan2-01-12-11-03-01-02-2
Michigan State0-21-01-01-21-33-00-2
Ohio State3-00-13-04-02-00-12-0
Penn State2-14-01-11-01-22-01-0
Rutgers1-30-20-20-30-11-00-3
Click to expand...

It's the second chart that tells the big story to me. The East helmet schools absolutely ate the West alive.
 

Veritas said:
It's the second chart that tells the big story to me. The East helmet schools absolutely ate the West alive.
Click to expand...

I think we could say they devoured them with a demonic appetite that could only be quenched by cheapest bathtub gin. :)
 

Livingat45north said:
Does this eventually balance out? Right now the WBest teams have played some LEast teams only once, and others four times.
Click to expand...

Yes.

The Big Ten Football schedule has a cross-over opponent that changes every cycle. First cycle, crossovers were chosen based on perceived strength and we drew Maryland.

For the second cycle, it was drawn randomly and I believe we have Mich St.
The non-crossover teams from the other division you will play every three years. (one time at home, and one away).

Each cycle runs 6 years.
1. Maryland cycle was 2016-2021
2. Michigan State 2022-2027
3. TBD (Not MD or MSU) 2028-2033
4. TBD - 2034-2039
5. TBD - 2040-2045
6. TBD - 2046-2051
7. TBD - 2052-2057

By the end of 2057, we will have played all Big Ten East teams the same number of times as Maryland. Perfectly balanced.

In 2058, the overall rotation will begin again I believe when MD will be our crossover again.
 

bonin21 said:
Only close cuz MD and Rutgers suck so badly
Click to expand...
Conversely: only close cuz OSU is 14-2. West is relatively balanced, East is completely imbalanced. Net result is pretty even, overall.
 

RememberMurray said:
Wow. Quite an eye-opener.

The conventional wisdom says the East is the 'dominant' division.

The numbers say the two divisions are pretty equal, head-to-head.

Thanks for posting. I was wondering about this; now we have some hard data.
Click to expand...
Could care less about the bad teams are in either division. I care about the teams that are at the top and how they have done against the others at the top.
 

Face The Facts said:
Yes.

The Big Ten Football schedule has a cross-over opponent that changes every cycle. First cycle, crossovers were chosen based on perceived strength and we drew Maryland.

For the second cycle, it was drawn randomly and I believe we have Mich St.
The non-crossover teams from the other division you will play every three years. (one time at home, and one away).

Each cycle runs 6 years.
1. Maryland cycle was 2016-2021
2. Michigan State 2022-2027
3. TBD (Not MD or MSU) 2028-2033
4. TBD - 2034-2039
5. TBD - 2040-2045
6. TBD - 2046-2051
7. TBD - 2052-2057

By the end of 2057, we will have played all Big Ten East teams the same number of times as Maryland. Perfectly balanced.

In 2058, the overall rotation will begin again I believe when MD will be our crossover again.
Click to expand...
Indiana plays Purdue every year. This imbalance must create imbalances with other, if not all, other teams. Additionally, I hate this cycle system. What's the point unless you eliminate 42 year balance and choose the match-ups for TV ratings or competitive balance? Starting next cycle, Minnesota will come to DC every 6 years for 36 years (I live in DC). I'd prefer just rotating through all seven cross division teams while alternating home and away. This would mean visiting each B1G city every 4 years (the Indiana-Purdue yearly games would affect this slightly).
 

I would guess a re-drawing of divisions or an expansion will take place in the 2020-2030 period.
 


Face The Facts said:
Yes.

The Big Ten Football schedule has a cross-over opponent that changes every cycle. First cycle, crossovers were chosen based on perceived strength and we drew Maryland.

For the second cycle, it was drawn randomly and I believe we have Mich St.
The non-crossover teams from the other division you will play every three years. (one time at home, and one away).

Each cycle runs 6 years.
1. Maryland cycle was 2016-2021
2. Michigan State 2022-2027
3. TBD (Not MD or MSU) 2028-2033
4. TBD - 2034-2039
5. TBD - 2040-2045
6. TBD - 2046-2051
7. TBD - 2052-2057

By the end of 2057, we will have played all Big Ten East teams the same number of times as Maryland. Perfectly balanced.

In 2058, the overall rotation will begin again I believe when MD will be our crossover again.
Click to expand...

Other notable rotations in 2022:

Wisconsin: Michigan > Ohio St
Iowa: Penn St > Rutgers (lucky bastards)
Nebraska: Ohio St > Michigan
Illinois: Rutgers > Penn St (sorry Lovie!)
Northwestern: MSU > Maryland
Purdue: Still Indiana
 

I thought there was a rumor out saying the East division teams want to go back to Leaders and Legends division format.
 

So it's pretty even overall. The argument for realignment is the conference championship. But if Ohio St wins again today, they will have won 4 of 6 conference championship games since they went to East-West. So it's not really the East that dominating, it's Ohio St that is.
 

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