Big Ten to a Nine game schedule

[Jimbo]

Big Ten divisions debate ...

Looks like the Big Ten will be changing to a 9 game conference schedule when Nebraska starts.

Also, many rivals may be in opposite divisions and still be able to have thier rivalry game .... Not sure if they are going with the one game guarantee or a Two game.

Still to early to determine divisions, but it looks like they have them decided, but will wait till later to announce them.

It was stated that Wisconsin and Iowa will be in opposite divisions, but be allowed to play each year.

From the way it looks, you'll only miss two teams a year. (9 game schedule and 12 teams). As long as you have the guarantee game, you should be good.

Not sure how they are dividing them, if the Wisconsin and Iowa thing is true.
If you went east / west, they would both be in the west, if you went North and South, they would still be in the North, you would think.

This looks like it will be intresting ...


Report: Wisconsin Badgers, Iowa Hawkeyes in opposing divisions - ESPN

 

[SandraC]

I do not like the idea of Ohio State and Michigan being in opposite divisions and potentially playing twice a year.


Sandra

 

[Jimbo]

I do not like the idea of Ohio State and Michigan being in opposite divisions and potentially playing twice a year.


Sandra

I do .... this way if OSU stays strong and Michigan gets thier act together, they would be ABLE to play for the conference championship, if they were in the same division, it would be One of the other every year.

That said, more than 1 team will get in the BCS anyways, so it might be a moot point.

Also there is a lot of talk about them NOT playing on the last weekend of the year anymore .

Let it be known that I am AGAINST the Conference championship entirely.... But they are not asking me.

 

[SandraC]

I do .... this way if OSU stays strong and Michigan gets thier act together, they would be ABLE to play for the conference championship, if they were in the same division, it would be One of the other every year.

That said, more than 1 team will get in the BCS anyways, so it might be a mute point.

Also there is a lot of talk about them NOT playing on the last weekend of the year anymore .

Let it be known that I am AGAINST the Conference championship entirely.... But they are not asking me.

Well if they're in different divisions they can't play the last weekend of the year. The only thing worse than playing twice a year is playing twice in a row. Let them fight it out for the East or South division every year.


Sandra

 

[HD MM]

Ohio State and Michigan are two of the most prominent teams in the Big 10. I don't see either team "sharing" a division with the other.

I can see both positives and negatives for each side of the argument. Most notably, the last game of the regular season between the two. I suppose the hight of the excitement will just be delayed until the Conference Championship (if both teams make it).

 

[HD MM]

Well if they're in different divisions they can't play the last weekend of the year. The only thing worse than playing twice a year is playing twice in a row. Let them fight it out for the East or South division every year.


Sandra

Why not?

Plus, the Big 10 playoff would be more than 1 week, so it wouldn't be back-to-back. I don't think...

 

[HD MM]

I do .... this way if OSU stays strong and Michigan gets thier act together, they would be ABLE to play for the conference championship, if they were in the same division, it would be One of the other every year.

That said, more than 1 team will get in the BCS anyways, so it might be a mute point.

Also there is a lot of talk about them NOT playing on the last weekend of the year anymore .

Let it be known that I am AGAINST the Conference championship entirely.... But they are not asking me.

WHAT?!!!

Oh hell no! Over my dead scarlett and gray body!

 

[SandraC]

Why not?

Plus, the Big 10 playoff would be more than 1 week, so it wouldn't be back-to-back. I don't think...

Even if there is an off weekend in between, two games in a row between Ohio State and Michigan would lose something for me.

And if Oklahoma and Texas can share a division, Ohio State and Michigan can share a division.


Sandra

 

[Jimbo]

Well if they're in different divisions they can't play the last weekend of the year. The only thing worse than playing twice a year is playing twice in a row. Let them fight it out for the East or South division every year.


Sandra

Why can't they play the last weekend of the year ?

You have one guaranteed game a year and that would be thiers.

 

[Jimbo]

Why not?

Plus, the Big 10 playoff would be more than 1 week, so it wouldn't be back-to-back. I don't think...

Why would it be more than 1 weekend.
It would be the two top teams , just like the SEC does.

It would be even BETTER if they decided to have the last game of the season the weekend after Thanksgiving (which they are) and have a week off and the Championship game the next week.

I like that idea even better.
That would make the CG the second weekend of Dec., much better spacing for the bowl games.

 

[SandraC]

Why can't they play the last weekend of the year ?

You have one guaranteed game a year and that would be thiers.

Because of my second sentence in that post.


Sandra

 

[Jimbo]

Because of my second sentence in that post.


Sandra

I would rather they be in different divisions.

 

[Derwin0]

9 games can work out well.

What I would do, is have 2 perm. games from the opposite divisions. Then the breakdown of games would be:
5 - games against division opponents.
2 - games against perm non-division opponents.
2 - games rotating between 2 of the other 4 non-division opponents.

That way they play 7 teams every year, and the other 4 teams would be every other year.

As for a North-South or East-West split, they might not be doing either and going with a non-geographic split like the ACC.

 

[Jimbo]

As for a North-South or East-West split, they might not be doing either and going with a non-geographic split like the ACC.

How would that break down ?

 

[SandraC]

How would that break down ?

The Woody division and the Bo division!!!


Sandra

 

[Jimbo]

The Woody division and the Bo division!!!


Sandra

Somehow, I doubt other teams would care much for that.

 

[Paul Wozniak]

I would rather they be in different divisions.

:up:up:up

 

[Paul Wozniak]

The Woody division and the Bo division!!!


Sandra

I like that too!

 

[Jimbo]

I like that too!

Paul,
Did you see that in todays paper (AA) they asked the players questions about the Big Ten, one question was "Who is the most Over Rated"

6 said Pryor
3 said No Comment
3 said Don't know

The Pryor comment was a No Brainer, what did you expect them to say ?

Then again, they haven't BEAT a Pryor led team either .....

 

[Jimbo]

One persons Idea

Given Alvarez's revelation and the recent buzz about Michigan and Ohio State, it seems pretty obvious which direction the Big Ten is headed with division alignment. The protected crossovers will allow the league to put some rivals (not all) in different divisions, maintain their annual games and also create the possibility for rematches in the Big Ten championship game, which needs attractive matchups for TV to compete with other contests on the same day (SEC, Big 12, ACC, Pac-10).

You can make a strong case that the Big Ten is prioritizing the championship game, a likely cash cow, ahead of tradition.

Wisconsin and Iowa currently play every season as protected rivals. The teams have met 85 times since 1894. It's a good bet that their matchup will be protected through a crossover. But as I brought up a while back, it's hard to preserve the Wisconsin-Iowa-Minnesota rivalry bloc and grow the league.

Given this new information and what we know about the selection criteria, here's my best guess at the divisions:

Division 1
Michigan
Michigan State
Iowa
Nebraska
Illinois
Northwestern

Division 2
Ohio State
Penn State
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Purdue
Indiana

I'm not sure of the crossovers, aside from Michigan-Ohio State and most likely Penn State-Nebraska.

Your final regular-season Saturday, which almost certainly would feature intra-division games, could look like this: Michigan-Michigan State, Iowa-Nebraska, Illinois-Northwestern, Ohio State-Penn State, Wisconsin-Minnesota and Purdue-Indiana.