I predict Mich/MSU/Purdue in Same Division...

M

MisterWinky

Well-Known Member
...to set it up for the still strong possibility Notre Dame will accept BigTen invitation next go-round on expansion. These are Notre Dame's usual BigTen opponents, so it would make it perhaps more inviting for them.

I expect Iowa/Neb to be the other two teams in this division as well...
 
MisterWinky said:
...to set it up for the still strong possibility Notre Dame will accept BigTen invitation next go-round on expansion. These are Notre Dame's usual BigTen opponents, so it would make it perhaps more inviting for them.

I expect Iowa/Neb to be the other two teams in this division as well...
Click to expand...

That's 5. Who will be the last team in?
 
Indiana makes sense to preserve the Old Oaken Bucket game with Purdue and another short travel game for Notre Dame.

Good thinking MisterWinky!
 
Why not split Indiana and Purdue up so that rivalry can be the protected OOC rivalry? There are four teams left - two from Illinois and two from Indiana. You break the teams from the same state up. You put Purdue and NU in opposite divisions and put Indiana in the conference that does not have Minny.
 
The reason I would keep them together is that you would also get Michigan State/Indiana for the Old Brass Spittoon and by having Illinois in the Purdue division you'd need to protect Illinois/NW for the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk and would then lose the Illinois/Ohio State Illibuck trophy.

Yes, I know these are minors, but so is the competitive alignment of moving Purdue and Indiana apart.

If competitiveness and geography aren't that much impacted, why not keep as many trophy games as possible?
 
simohawk said:
The reason I would keep them together is that you would also get Michigan State/Indiana for the Old Brass Spittoon and by having Illinois in the Purdue division you'd need to protect Illinois/NW for the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk and would then lose the Illinois/Ohio State Illibuck trophy.

Yes, I know these are minors, but so is the competitive alignment of moving Purdue and Indiana apart.

If competitiveness and geography aren't that much impacted, why not keep as many trophy games as possible?
Click to expand...

Didn't the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk get retired last year or the year before as part of the NCAA "no Indian things" crusade?
 
IllBuck = CyHawk and both need to be Tomahawk'd. But, who is to say you couldn't put Illinois and Purdue in OSU's division? As a fan that is what I would want so as to have Chicago and Evanston and Bloomington in the travel plans over W. Lafayette and Urbana.
 
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purdue, michigan and msu are the regular big ten opponents of notre dame. I fully expect them to be in one division to make accepting the inevitable last chance invitation as palatable as possible for ND. The only true "national" teams they will want to keep on their schedule are navy and USC.

so i'm sayin' there's a chance! ;-)
 
First, I gotta say that I think the OP's thinking is spot-on ... if/when ND joins the league one of the conditions will be playing those three every year.

I'd say the Purdue Cannon (Illinois & Purdue) outranks the Spittoon, but only by a little

Besides demanding to be with Purdue, Michigan, and MSU, who else would ND like to be with? Northwestern comes to mind, with ND's fan base in Chicago. Illinois? eh. Indiana? eh. Ohio State? too though.
 
Actually, the more I think about it, the less I like it. Do we really want to be making decisions based on placating a team that has repeatedly spurned us? I say make decisions from strength. If you want ND, put them in a position where they decide it is in their interest to join.

Otherwise, we seem kind of like the geek who is constantly letting the cute girl walk all over him because of the impossibly slim chance she could one day see how special he is.

Now, should the Big Ten expressly decide to put Purdue in a conference opposite ND? No. But don't stick them there because of ND.
 
Not saying I like or dislike it...it's just my reading of the tea leaves. I hate Notre Dame - and my bro was a GA there!

Most of us have predicted one division to be Mich-MSU-Iowa-Neb anyway, the question seems to be whether its Ill-Nwstrn or Purdue-Ind as the other pair in. With further expansion in mind, the Notre Dame angle is what sways me to believe they will place Purdue-Ind in (or Purdue-Ill if they split the Illinois-Indiana teams and make them a crossover).
 
if/when ND gets, Purdue could be their protected inter-divisional rival. However, if you have 16 teams divided into two 8-team divisions, you are only going to get two (9 minus 7) against the other division each year, your protected rival and one more. So, I still think four 4-team divisions is the way to go with 16:

2x8
North: Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Wisconsin
South: Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, team-16

4x4
East: Maryland, Penn State, Rutgers, team-16
North: Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Northwestern
South: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Purdue
West: Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin

Every year you play your own division (3 games) and one of the other divisions on a rotating basis like the NFL (4 games). That leaves a couple games (one each) against the other two divisions, including one against a protected rival, if you have one: (Illinois-NW, Indy-MSU, Mich-OSU, ND-Purdue)
 
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