i used to feel the same way about the big ten teams back in the day when they had an "exclusivity" agreement with the rose bowl. this was well into the 70s. based on what they had done back in the 20s and 30s, they fabricated the myth of big ten superiority, something the eastern press swallowed hook, line, and sinker. since they had a tacit rule that no way in hell would they play a s.e.c., s.w.c. or big 8 team unless it was vanderbilt, rice, baylor, or some such, there was no way to refute it. then t.v. and bowl money smoked them out. and guess what, the mighty, the fearsome, the omnipotent big ten turned out to be the wizard of oz, the little man hiding behind the curtain. now, i don't hate big ten teams anymore--i feel sorry for them as they are handed their a$$es whenever they meet real football teams. the big ten should seriously consider the ivy league as their model for the future.