Rutgers & Big Ten Attendance: Am I really that predictable?

So, this shows up on Twitter on Saturday.

And that was before the game!

Then there was this.

At least @Mdimts didn’t predict a rant.

And, at least we’re on the road this week so we have some time to get rid of the stench of....the lowest attendance of the season. 37,345

Angry post? Nah, not any more. Just disgusted, sad, disappointed, uhhh..... Wondering what is needed to get people to games. Yes, I know, win. And then there’s winning. And then you could also add in.....winning some more.

People, people, people. It was a gorgeous day for football. Sunny, 57 degrees. Blue skies, the leaves turning. I’m just shakin’ my head. I really am.

Around the Big Ten

Despite a loss to Wisconsin - along with RU, the only home team to lose - Northwestern hit a season high in attendance. As did Ohio State. I guess the Buckeyes don’t get angry and stay home; they get angry, go to the game, and watch their team beat the snot out of the other guy. The Illini are getting cocky, with their second conference win, and their second highest attendance figure of the season. Three schools hosting over 100K put the weekly B1G total at 494,907 and a weekly average of 70,701. On the year, the conference has drawn 5.1 million fans.

And you still gotta love those wonderful Minnesotans. “Unseasonably perfect”.

Worth noting

For all of my gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands, RU still isn’t at the bottom of the heap in terms of attendance. Taking Northwestern out of the conversation, as the smallest and only private school in the conference, Rutgers still draws better than three other schools, including two “established” Big Ten programs.

I will still yell and scream. That you can bank on. But we all can still look behind us and see schools that also carry the Big Ten banner.

This week in the Big Ten

The World Wide Leader took the heavyweights to put on its family of networks with Penn State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Michigan getting the non-BTN treatment. Three noon games, including two regional BTN presentations, highlight (?) the start of this football Saturday. It all wraps up with Harbaugh and Co. traveling to Iowa City to thump Kirk Ferentz.

Best game of the week? Minnesota-Nebraska. The most intriguing for us? Penn State-Indiana. Whatcha watching?

How the other fifth lives

Just for the sake of argument, what is it like in the ACC for attendance? In-stadium attendance has been dropping across the country for several years. What’s going on up and down the east coast in 2016?

These were the matchups in the ACC last week along with attendance:

The fact of the matter is, the ACC does okay for itself. It doesn’t have any 100,000 plus stadiums, but it has an historically supportive fan base on Tobacco Road. Which now extends into the snow belt of Boston and Syracuse. And which has not translated into support for football in those areas.