The third in a multi-part series by MSUSpartan76
detailing a variety facts about the illusion of Glenn Schembechler
A few weeks ago on the UM page of MLive.com, a Skunkbear went on a diatribe about how great Bo Schembechler was and how Mark Dantonio could never be his equal. This poser asserted that Schemp was far superior because of 13 BT Championships in 21 years and Coach Dantonio was genuinely inferior because of only 2 titles in 8 seasons. He managed the simple arithmetic of 13-2 is 11 and 21-8 is 13 and used that to "prove" Coach Dantonio was vastly inferior to Schemp since Coach D. can't win 11 BT title in 13 seasons.
While some facts were made, this is just another example of chUMp cherry picking and twisting reality to give utter disrespect.
Looking at the total record puts things in a different light.
In Part I the evolution of college football rules was presented, setting the context and relevant factors needed for a fair comparison. We saw the season is longer, there are more bowls and championship games, and teams play more games than they did nearly 50 years ago.
In Part II the overall records were examined. We noted that Shemp got over half his wins over teams with losing season records.
In this part, the bowl record is examined. First, the facts:
| Statistic | Bo Schembechler | Mark Dantonio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| NC Titles | 0 | 0 | [1] |
| versus NC opponents | 0-5 | 0-1 | [2] |
| Bowl Appearances | 17 of 21 (80.9%) | 8 of 8 (100%) | [3] |
| Bowl Record | 5-12-0 0.2941 | 4-4-0 0.5000 | |
| Rose Bowl | 2-8-0 | 1-0-0 | |
| "BCS" Bowls | 3-10-0 | 2-0-0 | [4] |
| Bowl Game Streak | 15 | 8 | |
| Bowl Win Streak | 2 | 4 | |
| Bowl Loss Streak | 5 | 4 |
[1] Starting in 1998, the National Championship was awarded based on a designated game that also eliminated co-championships. In 2014, the NC title was won by winning 2 games in a 4 team playoff.
[2] The Spartans led by Coach Dantonio not only faced the National Championship Playoff winner but also the NCG runner-up both in the same season.
[3] Prior to 1975, the B1G Ten restricted post-season bowl appearances. Schemp's bowl streak started with the 1975 season. UM was bowl eligible in all 21 seasons Schemp was coach.
[4] The term "BCS" is used for comparative purposes and includes appearances in the Rose, Fiesta, Orange, or Sugar Bowls. The BCS was in existence from 1998 through 2013.
Why is this relevant?
Post season bowls give national exposure to football programs. Post season bowls extend the season for teams selected both by providing one more game but also for the extra practices the team is allocated. These factors give teams competitive advantages in recruiting, alumni donations, and development over teams that stay home.
The most significant factor is the number of teams playing in bowl games. In modern times, more teams benefit from the extra practice, the game itself, and the shorter time between the end of one season and the next, and this results in a higher overall level of competition in college football.
In context, prior to the division split in 1976, 250 or so teams vied for the 11/12 bowls or about 10% of all teams played in the post season. In present time, 128 teams vie for the 38 bowls; nearly 6 in 10.
| Bo Schembechler | Mark Dantonio | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Bowl Eligible (%) | Bowls Played (%) | Bowl Record | Bowl Eligible (%) | Bowls Played (%) | Bowl Record (WL%) | Notes |
| Team | 21 (100%) | 17 (81.0%) | 5-12-0 0.2941 | 8 (100%) | 8 (100%) | 4-4-0 0.5000 | [1] |
| B1G Opponents | 78 (43.3%) | 49 (25.9%) | 21-28-0 0.4286 | 74 (71.2%) | 69 (66.3%) | 29-41-0 0.4143 | [1] |
| OOC Opponents | 429 (60.1%) | 264 (37.0%) | 138-118-8 0.5379 | 129 (67.2%) | 101 (52.6%) | 55-46-0 0.5446 | [2] |
| All Opponents | 507 (56.1%) | 313 (34.7%) | 159-146-8 0.5208 | 203 (68.8%) | 170 (57.4%) | 84-87-0 0.4912 | [2] |
[1] Prior to 1975, the B1G Ten restricted post-season bowl appearances.
[2] Includes bowl games played versus UM/MSU.
From 1969 through 1989 there were 303 post season bowl games or an average of 14.4 bowls per year.
- 1969 thru 1977: 11, 12 or 13 bowls
- 1978 thru 1983: 15 or 16 bowls
- 1984 thru 1989: 18 bowls
From 2007 to present there were 279 post season bowl games or an average of 34.9 bowls per year.
- 2007: 32 bowls
- 2008 thru 2009: 34 bowls
- 2010 thru 2013: 35 bowls
- 2014: 38 bowls plus the NC game
- Schemp played 8 of the 13 teams that won NC or co-NC titles during his 21 years (19 of 26 titles). Schemp went 0-5 versus the seasons' NC teams.
- Coach Dantonio played 2 of the 6 teams that won NC titles in the past 8 seasons (4 of 8 titles). Coach Dantonio went 0-1 versus the seasons' NC teams.
Now, for the rest of the story. The Schemp era bowl record was 5-12-0, 2-8-0 in the Rose Bowl, 3-10-0 in "BCS" bowls.
- 6 bowls versus teams with a better regular season record, 1-5 (0.1667)
- 2 bowls versus teams with an equal regular season record, 2-0 (1.0000)
- 9 bowls versus teams with a worse regular season record, 2-7 (0.2222)
Dantonio is currently 4-4-0 in bowl games, 1-0-0 in the Rose Bowl, 2-0-0 in BCS bowls.
- 4 bowls versus teams with a better regular season record, 2-2 (0.5000)
- 1 bowls versus teams with an equal regular season record, 1-0 (1.0000)
- 3 bowls versus teams with a worse regular season record, 1-2 (0.3333)
The take-aways?
- The percentage of B1G Ten teams that were bowl eligible during the past 8 seasons was much greater than during the Schemp era.
- A much greater percentage of Coach Dantonio's opponents benefitted from post-season bowl games than Schemp's opponents.
- Coach Dantonio is much more successful in post-season bowls, than Schemp ever was.
- Coach Dantonio faced superior opponents in half of his bowls and posted a 0.5000 record.
- Schemp faced superior opponents in only 1/3 of his bowls and posted a 0.1667 record.
Schemp was adept at trouncing weak opponents, but when it came right down to it, Schemp just could not win the big games, at least not on a regular basis, even though...
Schemp had the easier road.
We are heading towards the finish line - 13 versus 2 Big Ten Championships...
Part 3, The Bowl Records.
Part 4, The In-conference Records. (coming soon)
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