Can we put the Big 10 - ACC "Challenge" out to pasture?

When the Big 10-ACC Challenge rolls around every fall, the following film comes to mind.



In case you need a frame of reference...

Godzilla = ACC
Bambi = Big 10

I'm as big of a Big 10 apologist as anyone, you all know I'm an unabashed Big 10 fan. But even I can see that the ACC outclasses, out plays, out talents, out coaches, and is just outright better than the Big 10 during the "Challenge." That's going to be true 9 years out of 10, probably 10 out of 10. The Big 10 will always have a few teams that would compete, and win, in the ACC, but the Big 10 bottom feeders are guaranteed to get their asses kicked during what has turned into an annual nationally televised ass kicking fest.

Wikipedia has the ugly overall breakdown of the Big10-ACC Challenge, season by season, team by team, and it isn't pretty. The ACC is 8-0, and is well on it's way to making it 9-0, after going 5-1 so far in 2007. With 5 games left tonight, the Big 10 will be lucky to win 2 of the games.

Some seasons the Big 10 has done better than others, but the closest they've come to an overall victory is losing 5-4 in 3 of the first 4 challenges, and losing 6-5 in 2005. Actually, the Big 10 has gotten progressively worse over the years, getting blown out in 3 of the last 4 challenges, with '07 looking to be just as non-competitive.

In fact, the only Big 10 team with a winning record in the "Challenge," Michigan State, could fall to .500 in the made for the 4 letter tourney with a loss. The fact that Tom Izzo is the only Big 10 coach that has more than competed on even footing with the ACC is just pitiful. (Credit goes to the Indiana Hoosiers for raising their overall challenge record to .500 with their win last night)

Sure, you'll get a couple of marquee matchups out of this challenge every season. But we don't need to see conference dregs like Penn St. and Northwestern embarrass themselves and the Big 10, to allow for the occasional prime time game.

The only reason the so-called challenge exists in the first place is to give the worldwide leader in sports another platform to pimp whatever corporate overlord Disney sees fit. That is reason enough to get rid of the God awful "Challenge"

There's already too much Dick Vitale in the lives of sports fans, we don't need another made for TV, pre-conference regular season, college hoop non-event shoehorning Dickie V even further into our already bent over asses.

I'll be rooting for Sparty and the Wolverines tonight. As for the rest of the games, I couldn't care less. Which, to be honest, is how I feel about the Big 10-ACC Challenge as well.