James Franklin is on a mission to dominate the state of Pennsylvania (and surrounding regions) in recruiting, and it seems as though he has more than a Big Ten problem. Apparently there is a rooting interest in the Oregon Ducks within the Keystone State.
Darren Rovell, ESPN’s sports business reporter, shared this map of the United States with a breakdown of which College Football Playoff national championship game participant sells more merchandise through Fanatics, broken down by state. I must admit I was a bit surprised when I saw this at first…
Outstanding breakdown from @fanatics on what states buy more gear of title teams pic.twitter.com/DQjV5gL2PW
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) January 12, 2015
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As you can see, Ohio State is the more popular of the two national championship teams within most of the footprint of the Big Ten, except in Pennsylvania and New Jersey (and Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska). In these two states it is Oregon that sells more swag to consumers than the Buckeyes. In a way this makes sense, as you would expect a state like Pennsylvania with Penn State, Pittsburgh and a good handful of Philadelphia schools to take up a large share of the marketplace, leaving little room for Ohio State gear. But Oregon? That seems rather strange, doesn’t it, considering Pennsylvania is a neighboring state of Ohio. Perhaps there is a Chip Kelly influence in Southeast Pennsylvania or something. I don’t know.
You can say the same about New Jersey, where it would be expected Rutgers would be among the leaders in merchandise sales, along with Penn State and perhaps Notre Dame and some Philadelphia city schools. I am not entirely sure where the Oregon fix comes in the Garden State, but it’s there.
Ohio State and Oregon play for the College Football Playoff National Championship tonight. I’m picking the Buckeyes. What about you?
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