It's that time of year where conferences are wheeling and dealing about their futures. And it's fun to imagine where these backroom deals could lead. The B1G is still trying to get Notre Dame and three more schools to join to get to 20. The Big 12 would like to get to between fourteen and sixteen. The PAC-12 will expand to survive. It's a mad world we live in, this college football landscape.
The B1G at twenty could be interesting if they split to four divisions. Otherwise a nine-game schedule just within a single division would be pretty boring. Nebraska geographically in the WEST would align with Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. If they could get Kansas or Oklahoma into the mix that would be a very strong division. I believe Kansas would be the most natural addition, with Oklahoma tied down to where their legislature would require Oklahoma State to go to the same conference. Kansas fits the B1G academically very well. Not so sure either Oklahoma team would. Or maybe the B1G expands to the east and south, then Illinois would fit in to this mix and none of the aforementioned school get looks.
In a four division B1G we'd see a few natural grouping perhaps:
WEST) Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin (plus Kansas? Oklahoma?)
NORTH) Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern (plus Notre Dame?)
EAST) Penn State, Rutgers, Maryland (plus Syracuse? Virginia?)
CENTRAL) Ohio State, Purdue, Indiana, Illinois (plus Louisville?)
Or maybe Notre Dame won't join so they shift a little more like.
WEST) Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois (plus Kansas? Oklahoma?)
NORTH) Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Minnesota
EAST) Penn State, Rutgers, Maryland (plus Virginia? North Carolina? Boston College? UConn?)
CENTRAL) Ohio State, Purdue, Indiana (plus Louisville? Pittsburgh?)
How would the schedule look like with 20 teams? I would think the four inter-division rivals would leave you playing one from each opposing division, giving you eight teams. You might need to set aside one date at the end of the season where the conference creates match-ups to set automatic bowl qualifiers AND of course the champions. The top four division teams would play for the conference title. The winner of the final would set their respective semi-final opponents as the 3rd and 4th places for automatic bowl tie-ins. In 2019 we have the following bowl tie ins:
1) College Football Playoff National Championship (dependent on national ranks)
2) The Rose Bowl will be the B1G vs. Pac-12
3) Outback Bowl B1G vs. SEC
4) San Diego Country Credit Union Holiday Bowl B1G vs. Pac-12 (Agreement is for five different teams in six years, so no Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern or Wisconsin, if possible.)
5) TaxSlayer Bowl B1G vs. SEC -OR- Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl B1G vs. SEC (ACC and Big Ten combine in the Music City and TaxSlayer, with each getting three appearances in six years. The Big Ten played in TaxSlayer in 2015 and the Music City in 2016, 2017 & 2018. It’s almost certainly going to be in the TaxSlayer, but no Iowa or Penn State, if possible.)
6) Capital One Orange Bowl ACC against the highest-ranked B1G or SEC team, or Notre Dame.
7) New Era Pinstripe Bowl B1G vs. ACC (unofficial tie-in)
8) Redbox Bowl B1G vs. Pac-12
9) Quick Lane Bowl B1G vs. ACC
10) Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl B1G vs. Mountain West
11) Agreement for three SERVPRO First Responders and three Armed Forces bowls in six years. The Big Ten hasn’t been in the Armed Force Bowl since 2014.
The general consensus through the last several years is that the writing is on the wall for the Big 12 or the ACC. One of these conferences is going to get absorbed and the remaining members turned into the next Sun Belt. The B1G is poised to win big in any expansion plans. I invite other HuskerMax members to come up with their own B1G expansion plans and how it would work. Especially what needs to be answered is how the division would work if they get to between 16 and twenty teams.
The B1G at twenty could be interesting if they split to four divisions. Otherwise a nine-game schedule just within a single division would be pretty boring. Nebraska geographically in the WEST would align with Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. If they could get Kansas or Oklahoma into the mix that would be a very strong division. I believe Kansas would be the most natural addition, with Oklahoma tied down to where their legislature would require Oklahoma State to go to the same conference. Kansas fits the B1G academically very well. Not so sure either Oklahoma team would. Or maybe the B1G expands to the east and south, then Illinois would fit in to this mix and none of the aforementioned school get looks.
In a four division B1G we'd see a few natural grouping perhaps:
WEST) Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin (plus Kansas? Oklahoma?)
NORTH) Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern (plus Notre Dame?)
EAST) Penn State, Rutgers, Maryland (plus Syracuse? Virginia?)
CENTRAL) Ohio State, Purdue, Indiana, Illinois (plus Louisville?)
Or maybe Notre Dame won't join so they shift a little more like.
WEST) Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois (plus Kansas? Oklahoma?)
NORTH) Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Minnesota
EAST) Penn State, Rutgers, Maryland (plus Virginia? North Carolina? Boston College? UConn?)
CENTRAL) Ohio State, Purdue, Indiana (plus Louisville? Pittsburgh?)
How would the schedule look like with 20 teams? I would think the four inter-division rivals would leave you playing one from each opposing division, giving you eight teams. You might need to set aside one date at the end of the season where the conference creates match-ups to set automatic bowl qualifiers AND of course the champions. The top four division teams would play for the conference title. The winner of the final would set their respective semi-final opponents as the 3rd and 4th places for automatic bowl tie-ins. In 2019 we have the following bowl tie ins:
1) College Football Playoff National Championship (dependent on national ranks)
2) The Rose Bowl will be the B1G vs. Pac-12
3) Outback Bowl B1G vs. SEC
4) San Diego Country Credit Union Holiday Bowl B1G vs. Pac-12 (Agreement is for five different teams in six years, so no Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern or Wisconsin, if possible.)
5) TaxSlayer Bowl B1G vs. SEC -OR- Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl B1G vs. SEC (ACC and Big Ten combine in the Music City and TaxSlayer, with each getting three appearances in six years. The Big Ten played in TaxSlayer in 2015 and the Music City in 2016, 2017 & 2018. It’s almost certainly going to be in the TaxSlayer, but no Iowa or Penn State, if possible.)
6) Capital One Orange Bowl ACC against the highest-ranked B1G or SEC team, or Notre Dame.
7) New Era Pinstripe Bowl B1G vs. ACC (unofficial tie-in)
8) Redbox Bowl B1G vs. Pac-12
9) Quick Lane Bowl B1G vs. ACC
10) Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl B1G vs. Mountain West
11) Agreement for three SERVPRO First Responders and three Armed Forces bowls in six years. The Big Ten hasn’t been in the Armed Force Bowl since 2014.
The general consensus through the last several years is that the writing is on the wall for the Big 12 or the ACC. One of these conferences is going to get absorbed and the remaining members turned into the next Sun Belt. The B1G is poised to win big in any expansion plans. I invite other HuskerMax members to come up with their own B1G expansion plans and how it would work. Especially what needs to be answered is how the division would work if they get to between 16 and twenty teams.