Big Ten football schedule model: Incredible TV prioritized with built-in flexibility set to serve league well

rewrite this content material with complete duration and stay HTML tags The Big Ten introduced its new schedule style for the 2024 and 2025 seasons because the convention prepares for the addition of USC and UCLA. The Big Ten calls its plan the “Flex Protect Plus model,” one that guarantees colleges will play one any other at least one time each two years with home-and-away conferences in opposition to everyone at least one time each 4 years.The league is sticking with a nine-game convention schedule however scrapping the East and West divisions. Going division-less is a pattern sweeping just about each Power Five league with the point of interest turning into the most productive two groups assembly in convention championship video games. That’s the straightforward a part of the plan. After that, issues get slightly sophisticated — in particular when it comes to safe rivalries, which don’t seem to be apples to apples around the convention. For example, Iowa has 3 safe rivalries (Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin) but 5 colleges most effective have two safe competitors, 9 have only one and Penn State is a competition orphan with none.Here are some number one takeaways from the Big Ten scheduling announcement.This used to be the trail of least resistanceLogically, the 3-6-6 style made probably the most sense. Each faculty would have 3 safe competitors and rotate between the opposite 12 convention colleges six at a time. That guarantees groups play one any other as soon as each two years and home-and-away each 4 years — making a “balanced” schedule for all concerned. The drawback with the 3-6-6 style and the 2-7-7 (identical concept however with two safe rivalries) is getting 16 other colleges to agree on their competitors. Particularly when two of the ones 16 colleges (USC, UCLA) are situated hundreds of miles away and don’t have any established historical past in opposition to the remainder of the convention out of doors of Rose Bowls meet-ups. The Flex Protect Plus style permits everyone to stay the video games they would like maximum. That’s why Iowa will get 3 competitors in Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin, but Penn State does not get any. Iowa sought after to play the ones 3 yearly, while Penn State most probably stated, “As long as we don’t have to play Michigan and Ohio State every year, we don’t care what you do!” For an concept of the way tough it’s to get everyone to agree, refer to the SEC’s fresh choice to stick with an eight-game schedule after no person may just agree on a nine-game style.This additionally provides the Big Ten an out. The convention most effective launched warring parties for 2 seasons; it’s going to concurrently serve as evidence of thought and allowed the league to iron out any wrinkles that might seem within the plan. Seeing that is faculty football, and we are all people (no less than I guess you don’t seem to be an AI gadget studying this), odds are prime wrinkles will seem. This will make for implausible televisionI admire when meetings are forthright, and the Big Ten used to be simply that during its free up. When explaining why the convention selected the style, it stated the objective used to be to “balance and maximize television inventory each season.” When you spot the convention has USC taking part in Michigan in 2024 and Ohio State in 2025, that did not occur to stay USC from having to play each in the similar season. The plan is to be sure that it’s going to have a USC vs. Michigan or USC vs. Ohio State on tv yearly.With colleges like Ohio State most effective having Michigan as a safe rival, will have to any other faculty “level up” in any given 12 months, the convention can then schedule a sport between that program and different powers in any given season.Television is why USC, UCLA, Nebraska, Rutgers and Maryland are within the Big Ten. While it will pass in opposition to custom and our finer sensibilities, it will have to be on the middle of scheduling choices. In this style, it’s going to be. This permits mitigation of imbalanceFor years there used to be a herbal imbalance within the Big Ten due to the East and West divisions. The East used to be a long way and away the harder department, and it proved that by way of profitable the Big Ten Championship Game yearly of its life. It used to be a depressing existence for Indiana, Maryland, Rutgers and occasionally even Michigan State and Penn State. Now the ones divisions are long past, and the trail to the Big Ten name turns into harder for groups that were within the West.Schedule imbalance could also be mitigated, however it has now not disappeared. With this style, yearly will see a workforce with an “easier” schedule, and most likely that college can take benefit and “sneak” into the Big Ten Championship Game. But there is no such thing as a style choice the place imbalance would possibly not exist. Even in a 3-6-6 style, some colleges can have “easier” rivalries than others.This style does find a way to mitigate that imbalance up to conceivable, regardless that. As methods upward push or fall, the convention can alter, which is not going to most effective assist it create robust tv matchups however permit the league to maximize its College Football Playoff attainable. Maryland, Penn State enthusiasts will have to be thrilledIf you would advised me when the College Football Playoff started that 10 years within the Big Ten would have as many faculties achieve the playoff because the SEC, I may were stunned — most effective for the reason that SEC has been so dominant. However, in the event you had advised me the Big Ten would have 3 other colleges achieve the playoff, and none of them have been Penn State, I’d be surprised.But that is been Penn State’s lot within the the Big Ten East the place it had to get thru Michigan and Ohio State yearly. That’s now not the case. Penn State will play Ohio State in 2024 and Michigan in 2025. Sure, it will get USC two times, however that is a trade-off maximum Nittany Lions enthusiasts will take. While it nonetheless is not simple, the trail to the Big Ten name and College Football Playoff was easier.Then there may be Maryland. The Terrapins went from an international the place they’d to play Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State yearly to a brand new existence the place their most effective assured opponent is Rutgers. This is like loading up on AP classes on your junior 12 months so you’ll take Bowling and Intro to Checkers as a senior. You’ll see UCLA-Rutgers greater than Ohio State-Penn StateOK, that is not a takeaway; I simply assume it is humorous. Geographically, UCLA is the Big Ten’s westernmost faculty, and Rutgers is the easternmost, so for them to play in each and every season is going in opposition to the entire concept of minimizing commute, does not it? Ah, well, no schedule is absolute best.This style is unusually … goodI’ll be truthful; as anyone who grew up within the Big Ten footprint and has adopted the convention his complete existence, I hadn’t been satisfied with most of the league’s choices in recent years. While I perceive why it is expanded this fashion , I’m really not keen on the strikes which were made. When I first heard rumors of the flex style gaining steam throughout the league, I used to be ready to hate it. But I do not. Now that I’ve noticed it, it moves me as one of the vital considerate choices the Big Ten has made in a very long time. That doesn’t suggest it is absolute best, nor does it imply that issues would possibly not stand up. They will. But as a Big Ten alumnus, I’m happy with what the convention has performed right here. Other Big Ten enthusiasts will have to be, too. 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