Nobody will stop Illinois from raising a banner and nobody outside Illinois will care. If Michigan were in that situation, I’d want them to claim a share. But what is funny is how much Illinois fans want others to care.
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What we did not anticipate, and what we now realize, is that this same metric would actually penalize a team – in this case, Illinois – that was fortunate enough to play its entire schedule of 20 games.
I think this is faulty logic and kind of the crux of this whole situation. Michigan was not inherently benefited by having 3 games canceled and Illinois was not penalized for playing a full 20 games.
Michigan could’ve lost another game at some point throughout the season and would’ve lost the conference with 3 canceled games that would’ve otherwise provided the opportunity for a split title.
In a similar way, Illinois’ winning percentage was not penalized by playing more games. The only way you could possibly assert this is by assuming that one or more of Illinois’ losses would have been canceled while the wins remained intact.
At no point in the regular season did Illinois ever have a better winning percentage than Michigan. This was not a situation where Illinois had the better winning percentage with 3 games to play, then were forced to play those 3 games, and as a result their winning percentage dropped and was surpassed by Michigan at the buzzer. Illinois NEEDED to play 20 games to pump up their winning percentage after their poor start, unless, like I said above, we’re just going to assume that Illinois would’ve had their losses canceled rather than their wins.
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Great point. UI was never in first place all season.
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It’s amazing how quickly I’ve changed from “Meh, they deserve it” to “Meh, I hope they lose their next 2 games”.
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I wonder if there was any consideration to adding a Win% margin clause, something like: 1st place goes to highest winning %. However, If the second place team won more games and is within 5% of winning %, then the title is shared (M = 82%, ill = 80%). It’s obviously arbitrary, but it would be (imo) a fair way for the conference to have protected itself against the controversy.
Michigan did the right thing, within the parameters it was given, with its schedule for itself. Illinois has every reason to feel cheated, in the sense that the conference made up a new, arbitrary (even if fair and sensical) way of determining the champ and it happened to screw them.
I much prefer having the outright ship, as a M fan. I just think that a margin clause is probably a bit more fair. Also wish M would’ve just lit Breslin on fire and put the whole thing to bed.
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How does Illinois have reason to feel cheated if the conference established criteria before the season started, and then held to it? I’d understand the case if the rule wasn’t set in place until it was officially announced. Now that we know it’s not true, I have no sympathy for the argument.
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Sure, I guess “cheated” isnt the right word. Maybe “hard-done?” Im not saying that the conference should retroactively change the rules and award Illinois a co-ship. Im just saying the win% margin may have been a more fair method from the start.
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They lost by the criterion that they helped establish. This is little more than sore loserdom. Go ahead and say almost ANYTHING–“We’re the better team at this point of the season, and I think Michigan knows it!” I would have to bow to the possibility that is the case. We won? No, child. You didn’t.
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That is a rational, logical, and scientific idea. Hence why there was a 0% chance that the B10 would have thought of it.
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Illinois got a free tiebreak and couldn’t use it. Michigan’s cancelled games wound up being against bottom-feeders, and if the title was on the line against MSU, plays with a different level of intensity.
What whiners.
They’re working hard to make me want to see them lose.
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But Dylan where’s Eli and is he wearing regular shoes
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Zoomed up close and see a boot with no foot in it. What’s up with that. Just behind the two players closest to the hardware.
If they do raise a banner that says that, it will quickly become an object of scorn across the league. Sometime in 2023, a new AD will skulk in during the middle of the night and quietly take it down.
They are intentionally screwing with everyone by positioning Eli where he is in that photo. I love it.
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I think Brooks’ feet are just crossed. You can see through the trophy and see Brooks’ left knee bent at an angle where his injured left ankle + boot would be behind his right foot.
If you want to go full doomer, that means he’s not even putting any weight on that foot while wearing the boot!
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In 30 years, there’ll be some weird controversy and Michigan fans will be like, “Wait, Illinois thinks we’re their rival? Why do they hate us so much?” “It all started when Illinois fired Gary Moeller…”
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More likely, nobody will care. Which will drive everyone there even more crazy.
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