From Ryan in Lincoln, Neb.: Just thought you should know your conference rankings are pitiful. Not for the actual rankings, but the fact that you count huge conference wins for teams (the basis of conference rankings I would imagine) as "+1", and one team losing a star player as "-3" for the conference as a whole.
Bruce Feldman: I try to do the conference rankings on an aura level, which of course gives me the option to hedge since this is all subjective to begin with. Anyhow. I'm trying to gauge perception. That's why the same game between two conference teams isn't always simply a +1/-1 deal. For example, Ohio State has a lot more to lose for the Big Ten if they fall to Indiana than the Hoosiers would gain for the league's status. Yes, on one level you'd be able to say Indiana is far from a doormat, but I think being top-heavy carries a lot more weight perception-wise than having a bunch of good mid-level teams. As for the Peterson injury dropping OU and the Big 12, I think he means that much to that program and the league that you need to factor in what that will mean. OU can't be as dangerous without him, especially since that offense wasn't that dynamic before he got injured.
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Bruce Feldman
