Post by Old Badger on Jun 9, 2023 0:10:50 GMT -5
Wow! The Big Ten really changed the football schedule format starting next year, when USC and UCLA join the league. Key features:
*No divisions--goodbye B1G East and B1G West
*Retain 9-game conference rotation, with 3 non-conference games per team
*Each team to play each other team at least twice (home-and-home) over a four-year cycle
*Each team to play three opponents home-and-home in successive years, including protected games
*Only 11 protected games: Michigan-Ohio State, UCLA-USC, Minnesota-Wisconsin, Indiana-Purdue, Michigan State-Michigan, Iowa-Minnesota, Illinois-Northwestern, Iowa-Nebraska, Maryland-Rutgers, Iowa-Wisconsin and Illinois-Purdue.
The protected games were selected based on teams indicating games that each team identified as non-negotiable. The key missing match-up is Ohio State-Penn State, which I would have expected to see. Not all teams have the same number of protected games, or even any:
Iowa - 3 (Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin)
Illinois - 2 (Northwestern, Purdue)
Michigan - 2 (Michigan State, Ohio State)
Minnesota - 2 (Iowa, Wisconsin)
Purdue - 2 (Indiana, Illinois)
Wisconsin - 2 (Iowa, Minnesota)
Indiana - 1 (Purdue)
Maryland - 1 (Rutgers)
Michigan State - 1 (Michigan)
Nebraska - 1 (Iowa)
Northwestern - 1 (illinois)
Ohio State - 1 (Michigan)
Rutgers - 1 (Maryland)
UCLA - 1 (USC)
USE - 1 (UCLA)
Penn State - 0
So much for the 30-year effort to make PSU-MSU a rivalry game, lol! Not to worry, though; they're still scheduled for 2024 and 2025. And so's PSU-OSU for 2024. Dates have not been set for any of these games. The system is designed to be flexible, presumably meaning they want to be sure to have enough TV-attractive games each week as possible. For Wisconsin:
2024: Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, USC, @indiana, @minnesota, @penn State, @purdue
2025: Minnesota, Northwestern, Rutgers, UCLA, @illinois, @iowa, @michigan State, @ Ohio State, @usc
So, for 2024 and 2025, the Badgers have home-and-home series with Iowa, Minnesota, and USC. Getting USC for both years is a bit of a coup. The 2025 road schedule looks daunting.
bigten.org/news/2023/6/8/big-ten-conference-announces-exciting-future-football-schedule-formats-for-2024-and-2025.aspx
*No divisions--goodbye B1G East and B1G West
*Retain 9-game conference rotation, with 3 non-conference games per team
*Each team to play each other team at least twice (home-and-home) over a four-year cycle
*Each team to play three opponents home-and-home in successive years, including protected games
*Only 11 protected games: Michigan-Ohio State, UCLA-USC, Minnesota-Wisconsin, Indiana-Purdue, Michigan State-Michigan, Iowa-Minnesota, Illinois-Northwestern, Iowa-Nebraska, Maryland-Rutgers, Iowa-Wisconsin and Illinois-Purdue.
The protected games were selected based on teams indicating games that each team identified as non-negotiable. The key missing match-up is Ohio State-Penn State, which I would have expected to see. Not all teams have the same number of protected games, or even any:
Iowa - 3 (Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin)
Illinois - 2 (Northwestern, Purdue)
Michigan - 2 (Michigan State, Ohio State)
Minnesota - 2 (Iowa, Wisconsin)
Purdue - 2 (Indiana, Illinois)
Wisconsin - 2 (Iowa, Minnesota)
Indiana - 1 (Purdue)
Maryland - 1 (Rutgers)
Michigan State - 1 (Michigan)
Nebraska - 1 (Iowa)
Northwestern - 1 (illinois)
Ohio State - 1 (Michigan)
Rutgers - 1 (Maryland)
UCLA - 1 (USC)
USE - 1 (UCLA)
Penn State - 0
So much for the 30-year effort to make PSU-MSU a rivalry game, lol! Not to worry, though; they're still scheduled for 2024 and 2025. And so's PSU-OSU for 2024. Dates have not been set for any of these games. The system is designed to be flexible, presumably meaning they want to be sure to have enough TV-attractive games each week as possible. For Wisconsin:
2024: Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, USC, @indiana, @minnesota, @penn State, @purdue
2025: Minnesota, Northwestern, Rutgers, UCLA, @illinois, @iowa, @michigan State, @ Ohio State, @usc
So, for 2024 and 2025, the Badgers have home-and-home series with Iowa, Minnesota, and USC. Getting USC for both years is a bit of a coup. The 2025 road schedule looks daunting.
bigten.org/news/2023/6/8/big-ten-conference-announces-exciting-future-football-schedule-formats-for-2024-and-2025.aspx