Around the Big Ten

[entropy]

UNL has a nice schedule in 2014.... Probably will get hosed again.

[entropy]

Posted on another board...

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My prediction:

Nebraska
Iowa
Minnesota
WIsconsin
Northwestern
Illinois
Michigan State

Michigan (Michigan State)
Ohio State (Wisconsin)
Penn State (Nebraska)
Indiana (Iowa)
Purdue (Minnesota)
Rutgers (illinois)
Maryland (Northwestern)

The last 4 don't much matter on permanent cross over and could be any combination. The top 3 I think is almost a given.


Then, the other 2 conference games (yes, will be 9) will be against the other 6 teams, with a 2 years on, 4 years off format.

So, instead of playing at the Big House every other year, NU will play there every 6 years under this format. Same for Ohio State.

Finally, I could see them switching Michigan and Michigan St but I think that would really imbalance the divisions with ohio state's division almost an annual walkover for them.




Post Extras:

[Pasadena Blue]

it's hard to imaging B1G deciding to put Ohio, PSU, and M all in the same division.... would be very favorable for Neb's chances to get to the title game

[entropy]

PSU is going to disappear... Wisky has won the big 3 yrs in a row.. MSU is the better #3 team and Iowa is the better #4

[entropy]

Ivan Maisel 3 point stance on the Big 10's bowls

1. While it may sound familiar that the Big Ten went 1-4 on New Year’s Day, the fact that Northwestern got the victory made it feel a lot better. The Wildcats found a lot of painful ways to lose bowl games -- by a lot, by a little, in overtime -- before beating Mississippi State, 34-20, in the Gator Bowl. Northwestern gets Pat Fitzgerald's first 10-win season. Fitzgerald has 50 wins and two seasons to go before he turns 40. That could be the foundation of a long, legendary career.

2. Big Ten champion Wisconsin played the best of the four losing Big Ten teams, fighting Stanford to the final 2:30 even as the Badgers failed to penetrate beyond the Cardinal 46-yard-line in the second half. The ticking clock and a 20-14 deficit forced fifth-year quarterback Curt Phillips to emerge from his comfort zone and start passing. Phillips threw a sloppy pass over the middle, and defensive back Usua Amanam picked it off. In the second half, Phillips completed 3 of 8 passes for 15 yards and that pick.

3. It is inconceivable that Nebraska went 10-4 and scored a minimum of 30 points in each of those four losses. It is unfathomable that the school that made black shirts famous gave up five touchdown passes to Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray. It is mind-boggling that the Huskers gave up 70 points to Wisconsin and 63 to Ohio State. It’s also pretty easy to figure out Job No. 1 for head coach Bo Pelini over the next eight months. If he can fix his defense, Nebraska -- and maybe the Big Ten -- will return to power.

[Pasadena Blue]

PSU is going to disappear... Wisky has won the big 3 yrs in a row.. MSU is the better #3 team and Iowa is the better #4

PSU is not going to disappear ala an SMU ... and with the pending legal action, their sanctions may be curtailed.
Wisky has been successful, but they are not a traditional power, and their chance of hitting it big three consecutive times in their coaching hires (Alvarez and Bielema) are not high.
Sparty --- well they are going to erode given M recapturing recruiting dominance in Michigan and Meyer continuing to clean up in Ohio. Notre Dame's rise doesn't help either.
Iowa--- well they are trapped in Ferentz-fatigue land.

... so I guess we'll agree to disagree. Curious to see what others on the forum think.

[Wild Hoss]

Meh. Both UCLA and Georgia losses saw 30 points scored, but also large portions of the second half where the offense completely broke down. tOSU and Wisco losses saw several garbagetime scores.

The offense is the strength of the team, but even if the defense was as good as that unit we wouldn't be any kind fearsome powerhouse.

[Wild Hoss]

Penn State is going to dsappear long enough to make that second temporary alignment meaningless. By the time they are a factor again we'll have 28 teams in this league, spanning three continents.

[Pasadena Blue]

touche

[iam416]

Just don't fuck up Ohio State's butter path to glory in 2013. Goddamn asshats.

[entropy]

Delany: B1G bowl lineup likely to diversify

By Adam Rittenberg | ESPN.com

The Big Ten plays unquestionably the nation's toughest bowl lineup. The league also plays quite possibly the nation's least diverse bowl lineup.

One of those things should change when a new lineup is unveiled for the 2014 season and beyond.

The Big Ten's current rundown includes three matchups against SEC foes in Florida (Capital One, Outback, TaxSlayer.com Gator). It also includes at least two matchups against the Big 12 (Buffalo Wild Wings, Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas) and often a third (Heart of Dallas, which sometimes features Conference USA teams). Although the Big Ten faces the Pac-12 most years in the Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio, the two leagues that have the most in common aren't tied into any other bowl matchups.

The lineup is very SEC- and Big 12-heavy. It's also very New Year's Day-heavy, with five of the eight tie-ins on Jan. 1.



"We're going to try and be national and try to have relationships on both coasts and maybe in areas we haven't been before," commissioner Jim Delany said.
"We want to play the best," Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany told ESPN.com on Wednesday. "I don't think you'll see any radical changes in those areas, but you'll probably see us having more interactions with more conferences. I'm not exactly sure how that'll play out, but the sites will be national and the quality of opponents will be national."

Delany said the Big Ten met with officials from 10-12 bowl games in November at league headquarters in Park Ridge, Ill. Although Delany's top priorities are figuring out the new division alignment -- with Maryland and Rutgers set to join the league -- and revising the 2014 football schedule, but he hopes to have the bowl lineup, which likely will span the 2014-17 seasons, finalized before the summer.

The Big Ten won't compromise degree of difficulty in the lineup, but Delany understands that a lack of variety can turn off fans interested in traveling to different areas. He attributes part of the bowls' recent attendance/interest problems to a lack of diversity in participating teams.

"We're going to try and be national and try to have relationships on both coasts and maybe in areas we haven't been before," Delany said. "There will be more diversity in teams that get to go, so no one goes to Florida five times in six years or even three years in a row. I hope we would put together a slate of games where our alums live, where we recruit and against opponents that will test us every year. Those are the elements.

"It's a puzzle. Some of the outlines are falling into place, but it's a long way from the particulars of it being filled out."

Delany said at the Big Ten's spring meetings in May that the league has interest in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at New York's Yankee Stadium. That was before the league added Rutgers and Maryland as new members and spoke extensively about its new East Coast presence. Nothing is official yet, but I would be stunned if the Big Ten's new lineup doesn't include the Pinstripe Bowl.

We know the Big Ten will have a more frequent presence in the Discover Orange Bowl against an ACC opponent.

Another California bowl also is possible (Bridgeport Education Holiday, Kraft Fight Hunger). It would be surprising if the Big Ten's next bowl lineup doesn't include another Pac-12 matchup besides the Rose, and maybe an ACC matchup on the East Coast.

"We'll still have significant competition with the SEC in Florida," Delany said.

Whether that includes keeping all three matchups or maybe just two remains to be seen.

But variety will be a bigger element of the Big Ten's next bowl lineup, which will be welcomed by most fans.

[Mike]

Great news. The current bowl lineup is very stale. I'd love to see the Holiday Bowl get into the mix. Please, please, please.

[entropy]

Rose Bowl or 'failure' for Michigan State in 2013? The schedule's manageable, despite roster questions

EAST LANSING — Bennie Fowler's setting the bar high again for Michigan State in 2013.

The Spartans had Rose Bowl expectations this season, but fell considerably short, needing a win at Minnesota in their regular-season finale just to become bowl eligible.

In a text message exchange with coach Mark Dantonio, Fowler said "in 2013 rose bowl or the season is a failure."

Dantonio's reply: "I am on THAT!"

Even though Michigan State may need to replace Le'Veon Bell in the backfield and could possibly be making a change at quarterback, there's a lot to like about their schedule:

• No Ohio State, Penn State or Wisconsin;

• A bye week before Big Ten play begins at Iowa, with five of eight conference games against teams that finished with a losing record in 2012;

• Tough road game at Notre Dame, but the Irish are the only FBS school with a winning record on the schedule before November;

• And another bye week following a home game against Michigan, and right before a road test at Nebraska.

A quick, and early, look at 2013:

Aug. 31: Western Michigan (4-8, 2-6 in MAC in 2012)
Comment: The Broncos will be under first-year coach P.J. Fleck after not being among the seven Mid-American Conference schools to make a bowl game.

Sept. 7: South Florida (3-9, 1-6 in Big East)
Comment: The Bulls' lone conference win came against Connecticut, but they did put up a fight against champion Louisville (27-25).

Sept. 14: Youngstown State (7-4, 4-4 in Missouri Valley)
Comment: The Penguins opened last season with a win at Pittsburgh, but also had a four-game losing streak. Always a solid FCS program.

Sept. 21: at Notre Dame (12-0, pending BCS title game)
Comment: Manti Te'o won't be around for the Irish, but Everett Golson will. Should be huge expectations for Brian Kelly's team.

Oct. 5: at Iowa (4-8, 2-6 Big Ten)
Comment: Remains the worst loss on Michigan State's schedule in 2012.

Oct. 12: Indiana (4-8, 2-6)
Comment: The Hoosiers showed spark at times in 2012 and gave the Spartans a little scare down in Bloomington.

Oct. 19: Purdue (6-7, 3-5)
Comment: Oklahoma State 58, Purdue 14. The Boilermakers were bowl eligible only because of the bottom of the Big Ten.

Oct. 26: at Illinois (2-10, 0-8)
Comment: The last cupcake on the schedule. The Illini had one of the few offenses in the nation to score fewer points than Michigan State.

Nov. 2: Michigan (8-5, 6-2)
Comment: No Denard Robinson, but Devin Gardner will have a full season at QB. It's the beginning of a three-game stretch that could define the Spartans' season.

Nov. 16: at Nebraska (10-4, 7-1)
Comment: Taylor Martinez will be back, and Michigan State laid an egg in Lincoln in 2011. Toughest road game other than Notre Dame.

Nov. 23: at Northwestern (10-3, 5-3)
Comment: The Wildcats finally won a bowl game and could be a popular preseason pick to win the Legends division.

Nov. 30: Minnesota (6-7, 2-6)
Comment: Jerry Kill has the Gophers going in the right direction, but can they make the next step? Michigan State shouldn't need this win to become bowl eligible next season.

— Email Josh Slagter at jslagter@mlive.com and follow him on twitter at twitter.com/JoshSlagter. Download the "Michigan State" football (iPhone & Android) and basketball (iPhone & Android) MLive apps

[entropy]

Great news. The current bowl lineup is very stale. I'd love to see the Holiday Bowl get into the mix. Please, please, please.

I'd love the Alamo bowl. Riverwalk is the ideal place to party before and after a bowl game

Get rid of the bowl game in dallas..

[WM Wolverine]

I think you'll see the B10 drop one of the SEC games in Florida (Gator or Outback) for a game vs the Pac 12 in California (Holiday)... After that they'll add a 9th bowl, Yankee/Pinstripe is looking likely; probably vs ACC...

What should be interesting is if a major conference can steal the Citrus/Russell Athletic from the Big East.