For a 10th and final football season, the Big Ten will be split into East and West divisions. Seven teams in one, seven in the other. If we didn’t know better, we’d call it a 50-50 split.
But the geographical alignment of the conference has, unintendedly, led to about as much balance as a seesaw with a right tackle on one end and a placekicker on the other. Michigan’s 21-point victory last season against Purdue in Indianapolis gave the East a 9-0 record in the league title game, an event that has become little more than a formality. Had there been a 12-team playoff in 2022 under the expanded format that takes hold in 2024, three East beasts — Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State — would have been in the field, with the West far outside the picture. Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State all are likely to be in the preseason top 10 this year, with no team from the West even close to that range.
It’s no wonder Illinois coach Bret Bielema is thrilled to have one more crack at winning the West in 2023. As ever, first place in that division — however big a deal it is — will be up for grabs.
But huge change is around the next corner, with the Big Ten set on doing away with divisions — and adding USC and UCLA, its 15th and 16th schools — in 2024. With all teams in the same pool and the league prioritizing competitive balance in future scheduling, we’ll find out just how far former West schools have to swim to catch up to the most powerful programs. And the title game instantly and dramatically will be improved, with the top two teams squaring off in Indy — a strategy meant to bolster playoff résumés.
In the meantime, the Big Ten’s overall scheduling strategy for 2024 and beyond, which was illuminated this week, has the college football world buzzing. The ‘‘Flex Protect Plus’’ model — it sounds like a product in an infomercial, doesn’t it? — will protect rivalry games while ensuring each team sees all 15 league opponents at least twice, home and away, every four years.
Eleven rivalry games, including Illinois-Northwestern, will move forward annually. Illinois and Purdue will keep playing yearly for the Purdue Cannon. The others: Indiana-Purdue, Iowa-Minnesota, Iowa-Nebraska, Iowa-Wisconsin, Minnesota-Wisconsin, Michigan-Michigan State, Michigan-Ohio State, Maryland-Rutgers and USC-UCLA.
Not protected, which saddens the heart of a crusty old college football guy: the Little Brown Jug (Michigan-Minnesota), the Old Brass Spittoon (Indiana-Michigan State) and the Illinbuck (Illinois-Ohio State) games, among others. Then again, maybe it’s merely the delightfully colorful trophy names that are so appealing.
The Big Ten can take a bow for resisting a much easier, broader-brush approach of protecting a fixed number of ‘‘rivalry’’ games for each school and rotating in other opponents to fill the nine-game league schedule. The approach it took was smarter. Iowa’s border rivalries with Wisconsin, Minnesota and Nebraska didn’t need to be messed with, so the Hawkeyes will keep all three. At the other end of the spectrum is Penn State, which has been in the league for three decades without forming a natural rivalry that had to be protected.
And USC and UCLA have each other — and that’s it — as it should be.
Is anyone complaining? Not really.
‘‘I’m excited! This is great for our teams AND it’s great for our fans,’’ Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald wrote in a text message. ‘‘The opportunity to see everyone in the Big Ten visit your stadium on a more regular basis is a huge win. I know how much consideration and deliberation went into this from the conference because they kept us updated throughout the process of evaluating options. Keeping our trophy game with Illinois was important, and we look forward to seeing both the Trojans and Bruins in their debut season.’’
It’s true: The Wildcats will host USC and visit UCLA in 2024, then see neither in 2025. Illinois will visit USC in 2024 and host UCLA in 2025. This Trojans-and-Bruins business will take some getting used to.
2024 Big Ten opponents
Illinois
Home: Purdue, Michigan, Maryland, Iowa.
Road: Northwestern, Michigan State, Ohio State, Rutgers, USC.
Northwestern
Home: Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, USC.
Road: Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, UCLA.
2025 Big Ten pponents
Illinois
Home: Northwestern, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio State, UCLA.
Road: Purdue, Nebraska, Penn State, Wisconsin.
Northwestern
Home: Maryland, Ohio State, Purdue, Rutgers, Wisconsin.
Road: Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State.
