Are we in the Era of the Big One?

In the 1970s the Big Ten was known as the Big Two and the Little 8 due to the dominance of Michigan and Ohio State and actually this was true for much of the 80s and well even the 90s. However the addition of Penn State, Barry Alvarez coming to Wisconsin and Illinois, Purdue, Michigan State and even Northwestern caused the expression to be minimized.

However we may be entering or may have already entered a new era..the Big One and the Little Ten. Consider what Ohio State has accomplished in the past few years:

2005: Tied with Penn State for Big Ten Championship
2006: All alone, undefeated in Big Ten play
2007: All alone, undefeated in Big Ten play
2008: Ranked #2 in the Nation in pre-season and heavy favorites in the Big Ten

Winning a 3rd sole Big Ten title isn't quite enough to state the case for the Big One, although it comes close given the co-championship in 2005. But looking forward, on paper Ohio State might be able to extend its dominance to 5 or more Big Ten titles in a row.

Rival.com rankings of recruiting classes

2008: Ohio State ranks #4, next Big Ten team is Michigan at #10
2007: Ohio State ranks #15, only Michigan at #12 ranks ahead of them
2006: Ohio State is #12 with only Penn State ahead of them at #6
2005: Ohio State is #12 with Iowa #11 and Michigan number 6

Class of 2009 early ranking..Ohio State #1, Michigan #4 and Michigan State #10

On paper Michigan is the only team that is even close to the year in year out recruiting of the Buckeyes and it will take at least 2 years for Rich Rodriguez to stock his team with offensive players who can handle the completely new offense. Some of Michigan's classes of 2007 and 2006 have already left (Boren and Mallett among others).

But championships aren't won on paper that's why they play the games but when you combine talent with good coaching and stay healthy, Ohio State has a bright future moving into the '10s!