Extra time to prepare for Miami + money is my guess.

Thoughts on Barry Alvarez saying Wiscy and Iowa will be put in different divisions? Is that a prelude to saying OSU and UM will be split?

I don't necessarily think so but a lot of people over on Hineygate are already upset. I really think it is a prelude to saying NEB and PSU will be split. I honestly can't see how OSU vs UM in the championship game makes the Big10 more money than OSU vs Neb or UM vs PSU. It has to be essentially the same.

I think it would be in the best interest of the Big10 if the final games of the regular season included OSU vs UM and PSU vs NEB. Gotta be like a 75% chance these two games will determine who goes to the championship game. That would mean more eyes on the Big10 late in the year.

My guess on conference alignment:

Jim - OSU, UM, Iowa, MSU, Illinois, NW,
Delaney - PSU, NEB, Wiscy, Purdue, Indiana, Minny

This way PSU gets 2 teams from Indy for travel purposes. Also many of the bigger rivalries are kept in tact.

My thoughts exactly. And the real kicker is that the Big Ten network picked it up and blocked ESPN from carrying the game. I know a game against Marshall would not have been carried even if it was on a Saturday - but if you make the move for TV...make the move to a national network for craps sake.

Thank god BW's down here has the BIGTEN Network

This is why it is on a Thursday. If they air this on Saturday on the Big10 network against much better games, the ratings would almost certainly go down.

First game of the year, OSU, Thursday night means lots of TV sets tuned into the Big10 network. This makes Delaney happy because it makes more money.

I am perfectly fine with these division splits. Too bad it will never happen. It's amazing that the rivalry died after its greatest game (2006). RIP The Game.

So if we add Syracuse and/or Rutgers (Delaney) and Mizzu (Jim) how would you breaK it down?

please don't add these teams.

as much as i hate ND, i still want them part of the B10. eff their "holier than thou" attitude towards joining a conf;

If Delaney and the Big Ten can destroy the greatest part of Ohio State football, ND might have it right being independent. I'd be really tempted to join them if this fiasco does down. We need a "alliance of independent teams" at that point. Get Texas, Michigan, Notre Dame and a few other teams that can pull their own weight and let the Big 10 go.

I'd be extremely surprised if somehow we ended up in a situation where Michigan and Ohio State didn't have a regularly scheduled game every year. If they wind up in different divisons my guess is they'll still play every year and play two of the other five inter-divisional schools on a rotating basis.

Michigan and OSU playing every year or not isn't debatable. There's no way.

This (playing every year regardless) is obviously going to happen, TomCollins is just being his usual dramatic self.

No, and I think he's right. It isn't just that Michigan and tOSU play each other every year. That will continue as a "protected rivalry". It's the fact that for a zillion years* it's been the last game of the year. Much of the time with a B10 championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl on the line. That's why it's the game, not just b/c it's M-tOSU.

The hate will not be the same if it's on a random Saturday in October. It just won't.

In my opinion I would rather have Kent State than ND...anyone actually. Their agorance is horrific. When I traveled for a living I spent a great deal of time in Niles Mi - right across from South Bend. They were somewhat good at that time - and boy did they let everyone know it. I guess I was a bit of an antagonist back then - I used to stay at a H.I. (?) hotel in South Bend that had a lounge called Gippers. I am sure it is still there. They had a jukebox with all the teams fight songs on it. $10 worth of "Buckeye Battle Cry" usually got the patrons foaming at the mouth.

Only 7 More Days Until the Championship Run Begins!!!!

how is it that everyone but me seems to know that osu/mich will no longer play the final game of their seasons anymore? when did this become fact/common knowledge?

The rivalry will definitely mean less if it is in the middle of October. The Neb/OU rivalry died when they split divisions.

I think the only way to keep it intense and beneficial to both teams if it is the first game of the year. That way the loser still has an outside shot at a MNC if they meet again in the Big10 Championship game.

This allows an entire off season to build up to "The Game"

Tressel said change is coming and said something along the lines of how it will still be a great game no matter when it is played. That was the biggest sign IMO. He is definitely touting the company line.

I think this is a disgrace because he is so important and influential and basically untouchable that he should be able to say what he feels.

Delaney has said expect big change. Alvarez has said expect big change. No on knows for sure but if you read between the lines it seems inevitable.

I don't think we add anymore teams unless ND joins.

I think there will be a lot more talk about it but it will just be threats to try to get ND to join. If we wanted Mizzu, they would be a member. If we wanted Syracuse or Rutgers, they would already be members.

I only see the Big10 adding members on rumors that the SEC is poaching a team from the ACC or if the collapse out west affects the Big East.

Well, let's see. The conference commissioner, your school president, and our AD have all indicated that a) this is going to happen and b) they are in favor of it happening.

thx. i'm reading that now. it was just weird i was away from the forums and sports radio/news for a few weeks and i come back and this seems to be common knowledge.

wiper and heater (and other UM guys): what is your feeling about the osu/um game being moved to a random date throughout the season?

Worst news ever.

This is what I have to put up with down here.

The fans of the "u" still think they got jobbed in 2002. Even when I send them all the links to the plays in question they still say "well we still should have won". Now they are pissed that tOSU only gave them 4k tickets to the game. One post said they will go up to the old stadium with thousands of fans and represent "like we always do". I reminded him of the scene in Tempe in 2002. One guy I see often at Hard Rock said he was going up anyway and he and his buddies will show the OSU fans how "the U rolls". I told him I would give him some contacts there locally that will bail him out of jail or visit him at the hospital. I even posted it on their site in case others needed it. They can't even sell out there stadium here for big games. It will be a sea of scarlet next year in Miami I am sure.

+1

They won the national championship until an erroneous flag was thrown. JOBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

I hate everything about splitting michigan and osu. chance for a rematch? don't care, why would I want to see it(except once every 50 or so years in possibly the national championship). playing the game at a neutral site? makes me sick just thinking about it. talking about moving the game from late november.