The Big Ten is off to a hot start to Bowl Season, though some continue to say it was a down year for the conference

With the Ohio State Buckeyes, Wisconsin Badgers and Northwestern Wildcats all winners in their bowl games, the Big Ten sits at 3-0 thus far

After the Ohio State Buckeyes avenged last season’s CFP Semifinal loss last night by beating Clemson 49-28, the Big Ten moved to 3-0 during Bowl Season.

Badger fans know about Wisconsin’s 42-28 victory over Wake Forest to start off the conference’s Bowl run, but the Northwestern Wildcats followed them up yesterday afternoon by handily defeating Auburn 35-19.

Related: Final game grades, report card for Wisconsin vs. Wake Forest

All year analysts have been calling 2020 a down year for the Big Ten because Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Michigan struggled. But as managing editor at Saturday Tradition Dustin Schutte rightly noted: Watch the teams, not the names.”

It wasn’t a down year for the Big Ten—with Indiana breaking out to a 6-1 record and losing to Ohio State by only seven points, Northwestern shocking the world week after week and giving the Buckeyes a run for their money in the conference championship game and Iowa rounding into form as the season progressed—finishing at 6-2.

Related: Studs and duds from the Wisconsin Badgers’ 2020 football season

People will look at the conference’s bowl record and say most of the teams aren’t playing the nation’s best. That’s true, but the only measuring stick people should need is Ohio State’s blowout win over Clemson last night.

Indiana fell by only 7 to that Buckeye team thanks to an unbelievable day from QB Michael Penix Jr. and the Northwestern defense held Fields to 114 yards and 2 interceptions.

But this is what College Football is year after year, the SEC (and ACC) somehow gets a pass no matter what happens during the postseason because Alabama (or Clemson) is always the nation’s best team. Then, when the Big Ten comes into Bowl Season and succeeds, it’s because the other Power Five conferences don’t care as much about the postseason or already played their best hand weeks before.

I’m not here to say the Big Ten is the best conference in College Football, but the narrative that it was a “down year” is a lazy one that clearly didn’t include watching the conference’s best teams (Ohio State, Indiana, Iowa and Northwestern) play football.

I’m purposely avoiding the topic of 6-1 Indiana playing a 4-5 Ole Miss team on January 2, but for those out there that see broadcasters and analysts call 2020 a bad year for the Big Ten: call them on it, and pray the evaluation of the conference’s success in future years goes beyond just that of the brand-name schools.