The way things are going in the rumor mill of Big 10 and Pac-10 expansion, apparently the Big 12 is going to be a carcass. If things happen as rumored (Missouri and Nebraska to the Big 10, the entire Big 12 South (perhaps switch Colorado for Baylor) to the Pac-10), the matchup in the headline is a possibility.
As is widely known, the Big 10 started this latest round of expansion rumors, ostensibly to try to get Notre Dame to join so they could have a championship game. But, Commissioner Jim Delany dropped hints throughout this whole process that the Big Ten was thinking, well, bigger. Mr. D had a good post about this awhile back. Part of me still thinks that this is about getting Notre Dame to join. However, I think the Big Ten ought to tell Notre Dame to take a hike. The Big Ten does not need three schools in Indiana, and as Notre Dame clings to their cherished independence in football, they can keep having days like this one, then lose their precious NBC TV deal and sink into the morass. Although, the one thing that would be interesting about Notre Dame joining by themselves would be that I think they would become a rival game for....Wisconsin. UW doesn't really have anyone to play on rivalry week (Minnesota and Iowa play each other usually), so that would be an interesting development. On the other hand, Nebraska would be a better one for Wisconsin. Call it the Foamation Cup (Foamation makes these (2nd one down) and these for Nebraskans and Wisconsinites, respectively).
I am much more intrigued by some of the other state schools being linked, with Texas being the most interesting (and best, geography notwithstanding) school. Ultimately, I doubt they are coming. However, I think their Big 12 brethern Nebraska and Missouri would love to move to the Big Ten, for more TV money and better academics. For the Big Ten, it gives them a program that is back on the rise in Nebraska, and Missouri solidifies the St. Louis market and gets a chunk of the Kansas City market, although the Kansas City market in my experience is a Big 12 melting pot (many Kansas, Kansas St, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, and even a few Iowa State fans) congregate there.
The Rutgers-to-Big Ten rumors are interesting in that it is obviously an attempt to get the Big Ten Network on basic cable in the New York market. Rutgers is a good school academically, and they have had a pretty decent recent football history, but it seems like the Big Ten wants New Jersey eyeballs (some NY eyeballs by proxy, but not that many in my opinion), and that is the sole reason for Rutgers. The New York market is the jewel obviously...my guess is Syracuse goes some way in doing that as well.
My best guesses are a lot of other people's best guesses. For now, I am going with Missouri, Nebraska, and Rutgers....or Notre Dame....or (my pipe dream), Texas. Frankly, I can't wait until this is done. Then again, I can't stop reading all the speculation, it's kinda fun.
But, if things go as they are, Nebraska v. Oklahoma in Pasadena is a possibility.
UPDATE: Because academics is considered to be paramount in the Big Ten's expansion mission, here is a list of members of the Association of American Universities (all Big Ten schools are in this group). FYI, Notre Dame is not in this group, but is a very good school academically. Presumably, the chances of new conference schools being in this group is very good.
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2 comments:
I can't get enough of this either. Thank You for entering a post on the subject. I think that the only thing that will be more exciting than discussing this topic will be watching it as it all takes shape. The Mountain West may even become a large, and interesting league if this all goes down as it is starting to look like it might end up going. I heard one rumor that the Pac10 could hand out invites to some of those Big12 teams by the end of the week.
Yeah, the Mountain West would seem to be the league to pick up the pieces of the Big 12 (Kansas, K-State, Iowa State, and either Baylor or Colorado). If this happens, and they keep Utah, BYU, and UNLV, and get Boise St, they'll have a seat at the BCS table provided it still exists.
It looks like a lot of this is hinging on Notre Dame.
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