MY FINAL (yes, FINAL) Big Ten Division Prediction

Serious question here. Maybe I am just ignorant, (which is probably the case) but is there any reason why Iowa and Nebraska can't play each other every year while being in separate divisions? I mean, after all, this is what all the fuss is about. If were going to establish ourselves as a BigTen power, we should be playing tOSU and PSU. I guess I'm just thinking recruiting-wise. Most of our recruits are from the east, wouldn't it make sense if we were in the east division? All this division talk has my mind in a mess. Someone clear this up for me please.
 
imported_roetbomb said:
Serious question here. Maybe I am just ignorant, (which is probably the case) but is there any reason why Iowa and Nebraska can't play each other every year while being in separate divisions? I mean, after all, this is what all the fuss is about. If were going to establish ourselves as a BigTen power, we should be playing tOSU and PSU. I guess I'm just thinking recruiting-wise. Most of our recruits are from the east, wouldn't it make sense if we were in the east division? All this division talk has my mind in a mess. Someone clear this up for me please.
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Supposedly Nebraska and PSU will be "rivals" and play every year.
 
I am on record as saying the most logical and best split would be straight geographical as it keeps all traditional rivalries intact. Clearly, Delaney and co,do not give a crap about tradition so, this is probably about as good as we could do,cept for Minny being in the West with NW in the east.
Under this scenario clearly PSU and OSU get a break in scheduling,with only themselves,Wisky and MSU/Mich as tough games every year.
Iowa would get Neb,Mich,MSU every year..not bad.
Mich gets Iowa,MSU,OSU and Neb every year...screwed.
Neb gets Iowa,Mich,MSU and Wisky every year...tough.
Wisky gets PSU,OSU,Neb every year...not too bad,but not great.

I guess when I look at it...it might be acceptable,if the logical geographical split is truly not acceptable to the money-grubbers in Schaumburg.
 
If Jon's predicted alignment turns out to be correct, I could live with it.

But I STILL am opposed to putting Michigan and Ohio State in separate divisions. To quote Kevin Meaney...."That's not right!"
 
H8IAST8 said:
I thought Illinois and IU had a mini rivalry? Could be wrong.
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Kelvin Sampson helped fuel that one a bit (Eric Gordon)!

What's wrong with this (w/ limited need for protected cross-division rivalries in parenthesis):

DIVISION A:
Michigan (Ohio St)
Michigan State (Penn St, if necessary)
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Iowa (Illinois, if necessary)
Nebraska

DIVISION B:
Penn State (Michigan State, if necessary)
Ohio State (Michigan)
Indiana
Purdue
Illinois (Iowa, if necessary)
Northwestern

Thoughts?
 
VenturaAce said:
Kelvin Sampson helped fuel that one a bit (Eric Gordon)!

What's wrong with this (w/ limited need for protected cross-division rivalries in parenthesis):

DIVISION A:
Michigan (Ohio St)
Michigan State (Penn St, if necessary)
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Iowa (Illinois, if necessary)
Nebraska

DIVISION B:
Penn State (Michigan State, if necessary)
Ohio State (Michigan)
Indiana
Purdue
Illinois (Iowa, if necessary)
Northwestern

Thoughts?
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This doesn't mean a thing. It's already been stated that Iowa and Wisky WILL be in separate divisions. Your argument is invalid.
 
hwkwyld said:
This doesn't mean a thing. It's already been stated that Iowa and Wisky WILL be in separate divisions. Your argument is invalid.
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Whoa bud, it was not an argument, it was simple proposal for discussion. I'm not married to it, I just didn't understand why the need to separate Iowa and Wisky as quoted. Is there something I am missing?
 
[FONT=&quot]If Kramer was here he’d likely say…[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
All these different commentaries and hypotheses are making me thirsty.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I agree with Kramer.[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]Pour me a cold one. Pass me a pork chop and put the pig in play.[/FONT]
 [FONT=&quot]Less than 216 hours until the Hawks take the field on opening day.

**********************************


[/FONT]
 
VenturaAce said:
Whoa bud, it was not an argument, it was simple proposal for discussion. I'm not married to it, I just didn't understand why the need to separate Iowa and Wisky as quoted. Is there something I am missing?
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Didn't mean it as a personal attack, sometimes my sarcasm doesn't translate well online, my apologies if that's the case.

Basically it boils down to evenly distributing the top 6 teams in the B10 over the last 17 years (since PSU joined). OSU, UM, Neb, IA, PSU, WIS. In your scenario you have 4 of those 6 in one division. Delany has publicly stated that competitive balance is one of the major factors in determining divisions. Thus the need to break up IA and Wis (seen as 5&6). You also gave OSU a clear shot to the B10 title game with only PSU in the way.
 
This is not the way I would personally like to see things unfold (I'd rather see Jon's prediction with us being with Illinois and NW), but based on the evidence we have been given... so far...

Alvarez has said they have determined 4 tiers. It doesn't matter what the guy who wrote the article says, I contend that the 4 tiers REALLY look like this:

1) OSU, Michigan, PSU, Nebraska

2) Wisconsin, Iowa

3) Northwestern, Purdue, MSU, Illinois

4) Indiana, Minnesota


We've heard the strong possibility that OSU & Michigan will be split, and rumors that the following teams have been "married":

Michigan/MSU
OSU/PSU
Iowa/Nebraska
Wisconsin/Minnesota
Illinois/Northwestern
Purdue/Indiana

I contend that they will not put Indiana and Minnesota in the same division for competitive balance reasons.

Therefore we could very easily see (protected rival in parenthesis):

Black Division

OSU (Michigan)
PSU (Nebraska)
Wisconsin (Iowa)
Northwestern (Purdue)
Illinois (Indiana)
Minnesota (MSU)

Blue Division

Michigan (OSU)
Nebraska (PSU)
Iowa (Wisconsin)
MSU (Minnesota)
Purdue (Northwestern)
Indiana (Illinois)

I think they'll want the married couples to face off in the season finale, with the protected rivalry game to be played early in the season.

I know Wisconsin wants a protected game with Nebraska, but Delaney will match PSU with Nebraska for obviou$ rea$on$.

This would be pretty evenly "balanced". This would also certainly back up what Delaney has said - that geography will not matter at all. The only reason I could see Delaney not proposing this alignment might be that it puts the 3 largest media markets (IL, PA, OH) in the same division.
 
iHawk said:
Therefore we could very easily see (protected rival in parenthesis):

Black Division

OSU (Michigan)
PSU (Nebraska)
Wisconsin (Iowa)
Northwestern (Purdue)
Illinois (Indiana)
Minnesota (MSU)

Blue Division

Michigan (OSU)
Nebraska (PSU)
Iowa (Wisconsin)
MSU (Minnesota)
Purdue (Northwestern)
Indiana (Illinois)

I think they'll want the married couples to face off in the season finale, with the protected rivalry game to be played early in the season.

I know Wisconsin wants a protected game with Nebraska, but Delaney will match PSU with Nebraska for obviou$ rea$on$.

This would be pretty evenly "balanced". This would also certainly back up what Delaney has said - that geography will not matter at all. The only reason I could see Delaney not proposing this alignment might be that it puts the 3 largest media markets (IL, PA, OH) in the same division.
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I could live with this, although I'd prefer to keep the Iowa/Illinois rivarly intact by placing Illinois/NW in our division and placing Indiana/Purdue in the other. That swap places the IL TV market the other division and keeps things a bit more geographically balanced (Black more East and Blue more West), which ironically enough is what JM has predicted.

I just don't like how Wisconsin is attempting to build this artificial rivalry with Nebraska. Yes, you both like to wear red and yes, your AD played ball there, but what else is there?
 
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VenturaAce said:
I could live with this, although I'd prefer to keep the Iowa/Illinois rivarly intact by placing Illinois/NW in our division and placing Indiana/Purdue in the other. That swap places the IL TV market the other division and keeps things a bit more geographically balanced (Black more East and Blue more West), which ironically enough is what JM has predicted.

I just don't like how Wisconsin is attempting to build this artificial rivalry with Nebraska. Yes, you both like to wear red and yes, your AD played ball there, but what else is there?
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I agree on all counts.

Northwestern has become a nice rivalry with Iowa lately that I'd like to see continued, and being that I'm from Clinton - Northwestern is only a 2.5 hour drive from my house. There is also a VERY STRONG rivalry with Illinois around here (even if the league doesn't currently "protect" it) that could be boosted by being in the same division.

Playing Indiana & Purdue every year doesn't excite me AT ALL.

It would also balance the media markets a lot better to have Illinois and Northwestern with Iowa and Nebraska.
 
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VenturaAce said:
I just don't like how Wisconsin is attempting to build this artificial rivalry with Nebraska. Yes, you both like to wear red and yes, your AD played ball there, but what else is there?
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In the history of these programs WI and NE have played each other 5 times. IA and NE have played each other over 40 times. IA is a border state with NE and last I looked WI soil is not touching NE.

Mr. Alvarez has been eating too many Krispy Kreme Chesseburgers.
 
For my guess at divisions, I thought it would be helpful to think visually. Think of the two divisions as two intersecting circles, with the point of intersection roughly in Chicago. One circle is anchored by Nebraska on the west and extends to Michigan at the East, while the other circle is anchored by Penn State on the Eastern edge and then extends to Wisconsin on the West. Since the two divisions intersect in Chicago, or thereabouts, I thought it would make the most logistical sense to split the two Illinois schools up, since they have an equal distance to travel to play the members of their respective divisions.

Breaking it down geographically with rival pairs and competitive balance considered, here's what I think it looks like.

Western circle division

1. Michigan
2. Michigan St.
3. Illinois
4. Minnesota
5. Iowa
6. Nebraska

Eastern Circle Division

1. Ohio State
2. Northwestern
3. Indiana
4. Purdue
5. Wisconsin
6. Penn State

I think Jon, Rittenberg, and Dochtermann all have essentially the same prediction as this, except they flip Northwestern and Minnesota, and they undoubtedly have more inside info than me. But this is what personally makes the most sense to me.
 
I know i'm going behind enemy lines but i thought i would share my take on this topic as a Husker fan living on the IA/NE boarder. Husker fans don't want PSU as a rival, we don't want Wisconsin as a rival, WE WANT IOWA. Plain and simple it makes sense people in Iowa don't like people in Nebraska and people in Nebraska don't like people in Iowa. I know a lot of people think Iowa doesn't have the tradition but from what i know, you guys have good tradition. You may not be considered one of the top all time programs but you are slouches and honestly if we played this year even being bias as a Husker fan i'm not sure if we would win. This game would be an instant classic for anyone who is a fan of either program. I really hope the Big10 doesn't set us up with PSU, Happy Valley is a crap hole....
 
You talk about Wisconsin's tough schedule. But Purdue, Indiana, and Minnesota? Three tough teams, but three creampuffs as well. And, if it is really their desire to play Nebby as a protected rivalry, they are making their own bed.

I still would like to see the teams with in-state rivals broken up. No reason Purdue and Indiana, Northwestern and Illinois, and Michigan and M-State need to be in the same conference. Of the three, Michigan v. M-State is the biggest. The others are pretty negligible with respect to interest. I mean Indiana fans don't even go see their team play in their home stadium. Why would they travel over 60 miles away?
 
Saw this on another mesage board:

"Joe Rexrode said Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, and Michigan State are in one division.

All thats left is deciding where Ind/Pur and Ill/NU end up.

D1: UM, Neb, Iowa, MSU
D2: OSU, PSU, Wis, Min



*Rexrode is an MSU reporter/blogger, and apparently he has solid intel most of the time"
 
Kinnick81 said:
Saw this on another mesage board:

"Joe Rexrode said Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, and Michigan State are in one division.

All thats left is deciding where Ind/Pur and Ill/NU end up.

D1: UM, Neb, Iowa, MSU
D2: OSU, PSU, Wis, Min


BREAK THEM UP! SEND INDIANA WITH NU AND PURDUE WITH ILLINOIS!

SEND IU AND NU WITH US IN THE WEST. NO REASON I EVER WANT TO GO TO THAT CRAP-HOLE URBANA. PLUS, WE GET HOME GAMES IN BLOOMINGTON AND EVANSTON!

GET IT DONE BARTA!
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Kinnick81 said:
Saw this on another mesage board:

"Joe Rexrode said Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, and Michigan State are in one division.

All thats left is deciding where Ind/Pur and Ill/NU end up.

D1: UM, Neb, Iowa, MSU
D2: OSU, PSU, Wis, Min



*Rexrode is an MSU reporter/blogger, and apparently he has solid intel most of the time"
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Thank you Baby Jesus!
 
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