By now, you have read the litany of reasons why Texas would be foolish not to join the Big Ten.  Sure, it seems a little premature and the Big Ten has, in fact, stated that they are looking for recommendations regarding expansion over the next 12-18 months.  Commissioner Delaney recently discussed the league’s expansion agenda and Barry Alvarez said that the Longhorns are not on the list of initial candidates.  Despite the repudiations from Delaney and Alvarez regarding an imminent expansion, the topic has been a big topic of discussion at dinner tables in the Midwest ever since the Texas rumor was floated out there.

I am not terribly interested in discussing whether or not Texas should join, or how much money the new league would generate from television contracts.  We all know that Big Ten expansion is a money grab: add a 12th team (or perhaps more), stage a conference championship game, and count the new piles of cash that flow in.  Alvarez is not shy about admitting that fact.

I do not object to Big Ten expansion but I think it can be about more than money.  If the Big Ten wants to be as or more relevant than every other conference they should innovate in the way that they integrate any additional team(s).

First, we need to recognize some truths about the Conference.  To this point in Big Ten history the entire league is about these two teams and the season-ending matchup.  For the vast majority of the League’s history, not much else has mattered in the conference.  Seriously.  Sorry Iowa, Wisconsin, and even Penn State.

This truth presents some immediate quandaries.  You cannot split Ohio State and Michigan up into different divisions because you risk having them play two weeks in a row (the final regular season week and then imagined Big Ten Championship Game).  You cannot place them in the same division, either.  That would only ensure that The Game is at best for the opportunity to play for the conference title.  The idea that Ohio State and Michigan will never play again with the conference title on the line makes me ill.

If the Big Ten wants to expand and dominate the college football landscape and, thus, the television markets, there is a solution that would create a more compelling 12 team league.  The Big Ten could preserve The Game, get continued exposure through the first week of December, all while owning three different weekends during the season.  How?  Maintain one division, play a 10-game round-robin schedule with the elite teams playing the weekends each season.

Here is how it would work.

For the sake of blogging (and awesomeness), let’s assume Texas is the League’s twelfth team.  The Conference should ensure that Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, and Texas all play during every season.  No scheduling quirks.  No years off.  The Buckeyes, Wolverines, and Nittany Lions already play every season, so this would only mean adding Texas as a regularly scheduled opponent for each.  And, to ensure the Big Ten gets maximum exposure out of these matchups, they need to play the same weekends every year - let’s say the last weekend of September, October, and November.  This is what it would look like in 2010:

Date	Matchups
September 25	Ohio State v. Penn State Michigan v. Texas
October 30	Michigan v. Penn State Texas v. Ohio State
November 27	Ohio State v. Michigan Penn State v. Texas

This is a win, win, win.  On the field, the Conference would create a de facto tournament. The first of its kind.  I realize that ties are theoretically possible, a 10-game regular decreases this risk because only one conference opponent is skipped.

From a television perspective, the Conference’s bargaining position with the WWL and ABC surely increases, while the Big Ten Network will most likely get to show a game involving one of the big 4 each weekend, which will continue to draw more viewers to the network.  It is hard to imagine any conference could compete with those weekends on a yearly basis.  As a result, on average, the Big Ten will own the major national viewing audience for at least three football weekends.

From a tradition standpoint, the League preserves the greatest rivalry in sports and give birth to some new ones without having to manufacture some ridiculous championship game affiliated with a soda company.

For me, and I think many Big Ten football fans, this solution would be great.  What do you think?  What potential pitfalls have I overlooked?

Its game day.  Post your hate here.  I’ll be the first to say it, I hate the State Penn of Pennsylvania and I hope my roommates survive the trip to Happy Valley.

Now, bear with me a for a moment after what I’m about to say.  Terrelle Pryor has been pretty good passing the ball the last two games.  I mean good to the tune of 24/48 (50%), 374 yds, 3 TDs, and only 1 INT.  While the completion percentage doesn’t look quite like Colt McCoy’s the TD:INT ratio is where I like to see it.  Want to hear something more surprising than those numbers?  In the past two games, Pryor has only been sacked once.  Now, granted, one of these games was against New Mexico State, but that doesn’t mean that the starting 11 doesn’t have to go out there on Saturdays and do their jobs right.

Does anyone else see a correlation between the two stats?  Well, compare those numbers for the past two games with the Oct. 17 loss at Purdue.  Pryor was 17/31 (55%), 221 yds, 1 TD, 2 INTs.  In addition, Pryor lost two fumbles.  And as for the offense line that game?  They gave up 5 sacks.  Yeah, I’m starting to see a pattern here.

It may be elementary that passers who get better protection are going to pass better, but Pryor has been taking heat all year for his throwing, but the fact of the matter is he’s been under pressure all year behind an offensive line that has been more porous than swiss cheese.  Now this doesn’t absolve Pryor from all the blame, but surely it at least covers some of it.  I would love to have some numbers on the amount of time Pryor has had from the snap of the ball until he throws or is forced to scramble/roll out because of pressure.  But as a college kid who lives off of $60 every two weeks for groceries, I’m not really in the market for a DVR.

However, what I will be doing this weekend as I’m downing Budweiser’s watching the game from the comfort of my living room is taking the time and effort to calculate that exact stat for examination.  Make a mental note of it yourself, if Pryor is given ample time in which to make a decision about where he should throw or whether he should tuck it and run without being chased from the backfield by a defensive lineman or a blitzing linebacker he should have games comparable to his last two and the team will have a greater chance of coming out of Happy Valley with a Happy W.

If you remember correctly, last week I said that we’d learn a lot about the Buckeyes next two opponents, Purdue and Minnesota, because the two were to play each other that Saturday.  So, what did we learn?

Purdue: Pretty much…this is a bad team.  Now 1-5 with no hope of becoming bowl eligible this year, the Boilers will probably find themselves looking up from the bottom of the Big Ten standings come years end.  I don’t really know what else to say about this team; they do still like to throw the ball and did so to the tune of 299 passing yards last week.  But then again, there were also two interceptions by Purdue quarterback Joey Elliott.  Also, there is still some quick offensive production available as evidenced by the fact that Purdue jumped out to a 10-0 1st quarter lead last week…but then there’s the defense which took that 10-0 score and managed to give up 28 points to the Gophers over the next three (in reality, two) quarters.  So is there anything to worry about this weekend’s game?  Nah,  Elliott will be facing off against one of the best secondaries he’s seen all year and the pressure that the defensive line is going to put on him will probably end with him throwing up to 4 INTs.

Minnesota: I think this team is a lot better than a lot of people give them credit for.  Granted, every bit of analysis I may have to offer about them may be skewed by the fact that Purdue is not a good football team, but there are still some things this team can do right…and wrong.  Minnesota, unlike Purdue, favors the ground game; and it showed last week as they racked up 207 yards on 44 carries last week.  The D will have to show up in a major way in two weeks in order to limit this ground game.  For as good as the gophers are at running the ball, they aren’t that great at throwing it.  Adam Weber threw for just 75 yards last week with two interceptions and only five completions.  Derek Anderson-esque numbers.  But the win did allow Minnesota to run their record to 4-2 and they have a real good shot to make a decent bowl game.  Ohio State’s biggest advantage in this game might be the fact that it will take place in Ohio Stadium.  I feel like Minnesota is looking for a marquee win to mark the opening season of it’s new outdoor stadium, but that won’t be us.  Will Ohio State win this game?  Yes.  But it could be a lot closer than you think.

Intro: Work and life circumstances have conspired against these past two weeks and kept me from doing any thing else on time.  As a result, the preview is only getting up now.  It does not help that this is Indiana week and the anticipated threat level is green.

Factoids: Ohio State has won 15 straight Big Ten road games, 2 short of the all time league record.  The last loss was the 17-10 loss at Penn State in 2005. Michigan owns the record of 17 straight road wins from 1988-1992 … Ohio State has won 14 straight over the Hoosiers dating to 1988 … The Buckeyes have back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1996 … Indiana hasn’t been within single digits of Buckeyes since 1993, a span of 12 games … Hoosiers run defense ranks second in the Big Ten, trailing only Penn State, at 94.2 yards per game.

What the Internut is saying:

• Mr. Sassy Ballot gives you some players to watch tonight.
• Indiana has a lot of work to do if they are going change history tonight.
• The Crimson Quarry gives us a brief look at tonight’s matchup.
• Today is the biggest day in Big Ten Network history.  If they say so.
• Other, more punctual, blogs have previews: 11W, WWAHT, O-Zone

Weekly rant: It may come as surprise to you, but I tend to think highly of Ohio State’s football program.  And that goes for the entire program - the team, coaches, and stadium.  Especially Ohio Stadium.  The problem is, it does not appear that it is getting the respect it deserves.  It is on the National Register of Historic Places.  So, why is the field painted like a high school stadium (or Indiana’s Memorial Stadium)?  I dislike the synthograss, but I can live with it.  But why not paint the plastic so that it looks good?  Like Florida State, with color up to the 25-yard lines?  If it is good enough for the Rose Bowl, it should be good enough for Ohio Stadium. And, is it true that there is no gray on the field because it cost extra?  So all we get is red, white, and black trim?  Ick.  Ohio State athletics generate revenue in excess of $100M.  Take a little extra and give the field a paint job worthy of the best college football stadium in the country and a building on the NRHP.  I will save the horrific scoreboard announcing for another week.  [/rant]

Ohio State offense v. Indiana defense: Don’t be fooled.  The Hoosiers are currently 4th in the league in total defense, but their average is actually closer to the 10th place team than the first place team.  While it is certainly possible that Indiana is better than usual, they didn’t exactly crush their way through a horrendous non-conference schedule.  They struggled in each game against Eastern Kentucky, Western Michigan, and Akron.  Pryor should have no problem throwing against an IU defense that gave up 4 pass plays of 25+ yards last week (that is half of Michigan’s season total).  If the receivers are as available as the statistics suggest, Saine should have plenty of room to roam.  If he gets 17 or more carries, he will be the first Ohio State running back to gain 100 yards rushing this season (I cannot believe I typed that before week 5!).  Indiana did allow four scoring drives of 60 yards or more last week.

Indiana offense v. Ohio State defense: The Hoosiers are getting a lot of credit because of their close, high-scoring loss to Michigan but things were not good before that game.  The Hoosiers scored on 7 of their 14 possessions last weekend with another ending in a missed FG. Not bad, but there were too many field goals mixed in.  In fact, Indiana is last in red zone touchdown percentage.

IU has a semi-veteran offensive line, but Chappell will still get tons of pressure all night.  Even without Kurt Coleman, Ohio State’s nickel package will be more than enough to slow down Indiana’s spread attack.  Ohrian Johnson has been elevated to the nickel back although do not be surprised if you see 3 cornerbacks - Chekwa, Torrence, Amos - in there at the same time.

(Quick) Key matchups: Adams & Shugarts & Miller v. Jammie Kirlew & Greg Middleton.   I am thinking the same thing you are: how good could Indiana’s DEs be?  Well, these two are supposed to be decent and this is the first conference road game for Ohio State’s first-time starters.

Why Ohio State will win: Chappell is statue in the backfield and redshirt freshman Darius Willis is not keeping Heacock and Fickell awake at night. Ohio State will get an early lead and force the Hoosiers to throw more often.  Even down a defensive captain, that should be a task the Buckeye can handle.

“Have to have it” factor: 5 out of 10.  It only gets half up because I really want the all-time road wins records, which is totally achievable with Purdue up next.

Final thought: If you are looking for an fun and easy football road trip, Bloomington is your destination.  The drive is easy, the likelihood of a win is high, there is a small percentage of asshole fans, and the girls are generally regarded as high caliber. Really, it is a no brainer.

Michigan 45, E. Michigan 17
Michigan Stadium

What we knew: Michigan is drastically improved and Eastern Michigan is terrible, losing to Army and Northwestern in previous weeks by identical 27-14 scores.

What we learned: Forcier and Robinson still have plenty of work to do as passers. Sure, they did not need to do a lot of throwing but I am sure the Michigan coaching staff would have liked a bit more balance and fewer interceptions, especially ones occurring within the final two minutes of the half. Still, the Wolverines scored on their first 4 possessions and really put the clamps on in the second half. The development of a second running must be encouraging.

What we think: This may be a legitimate Top 15 team. I keep waiting for the freshman bungles to kick in but these kids are pretty cool under pressure. We will not learn much more this coming weekend but Michigan State and Iowa loom the first two weeks of October.

California 35, Minnesota 21
TCF Bank Stadium

What we knew: This was the game for Minnesota’s inaugural season in their brand new stadium – Ohio State and Penn State are on the road. The crowd was going to be a boost for the Gophers even if the University was determined to make them quieter.

What we learned: Minnesota looked a lot better than their first performance through 9 quarters had signaled. Through one quarter yesterday Minny was down 14-0 and Cal had amassed 170 yards of offense. The Gophers fought back valiantly but they were undone by turnovers on the final three possessions, the first of which gain Cal a short field to seal the game.

What we think: Without a legitimate running game Minnesota is going to struggle all season. When your longest rush of the day is 12 yards opposing defenses are 100-hundred positive there is no damage to be done there.

Penn State 31, Temple 6
Beaver Stadium

What we knew: The Nittany Lions have played their traditional wretched non-conference schedule and it is impossible to discern much from it. It is easy to imagine the players going through the motions, piling up some early yards while gaining big leads on overmatched opponents.

What we learned: The flu bug was going around in central PA but it did not seem to affect Evan Royster. The conference’s best back finally got on track.

What we think: Start paying attention this weekend as Iowa comes to Happy Valley for a night game. Penn State’s offensive line needs to continue improving this week because the Hawkeyes’ defense will be different (and better) animal than Akron, Syracuse, and Temple. Otherwise, Daryl Clark and his new receivers may feel too much pressure.

Iowa 27, Arizona 17
Kinnick Stadium

What we knew: Iowa was the luckiest team in country the first two weeks, taking advantage of Northern Iowa’s ineptitude and Iowa State’s propensity for turnovers. There was a real question about whether they could win a game where the other team actually played well.

What we learned: At least one Big Ten team can beat someone from the Pac 10. Based on the first two weeks, it seemed like Iowa was a sitting duck, but they dominated time of possession and Stanzi proved capable of leading the Black and Gold on big drives when they needed them.

What we think: Despite the improved performance against the Wildcats, a night game – a probable white-out – in Beaver Stadium seems like a tall order. It is hard to trust Stanzi in that environment.

Notre Dame 33, Michigan State 30
Notre Dame Stadium

What we knew: The Spartans were coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Chippewas and were trying to live up to the standard set by their in-state rivals. Despite the 1-1 start, Michigan State had received surprisingly good quarterback play from Kirk Cousins, who had separated himself from Keith Nichol after two weeks.

What we learned: I am not sure if the Spartans confirmed that Notre Dame’s pass defense is horrific or if they have an offense on par with the Wolverine neighbors. The Spartans are going to need a more dependable running game as it will not be as easy to slice through the defenses of the upper echelon in the conference.

What we think: The Spartans clutch defeat from the jaws of victory as well as any team in the league. Will this tough two-game losing streak cause the team to come unglued? We will find out quickly as they travel to Madtown this weekend.

Northern Illinois 28, Purdue 21
Ross-Ade Stadium

What we knew: Even though they were only 1-1, Purdue appeared to be able to score in bunches posting 52 against Toledo and 36 at Oregon. They were doing it with balance, too. Danny Hope appeared to be off to a decent start.

What we learned: That semi-positive start may have evaporated in a loss to Northern Illinois. The Huskies are improving but the Boilermakers defense was unable to stop the run on the drive where NIU bled the clock down.

What we think: Despite two close losses, the Boilermakers are staring a 1-3 start in the face. Their Big Ten schedule is favorable but their penchant for overall turnovers belies their -0.5 TO margin. Three turnovers per game in league will net a team about 6 losses.

Indiana 38, Akron 21
Rubber Bowl

What we knew: IU squeaked by a couple of directional teams to start the season and won each game in unspectacular fashion.

What we learned: The Hoosiers are not a good team but they were able to take advantage of Akron without their starting quarterback. The third quarter began with a tight game but the Hoosiers turned 4 second half interceptions into short-field scores to blow it open.

What we think: Indiana may play a little smarter and harder this season but they are unlikely to make any noise in the absence of a playmaker like James Hardy.

Wisconsin 44, Wofford 14
Camp Randall Stadium

What we knew: Wisky was lucky to be 2-0 after holding off the same N. Illinois team that took out Purdue. As usual, the Badgers have a multi-headed rushing attack with opposing styles to choose from.

What we learned: Scott Tolzien has been a pleasant surprise for the Badgers currently sitting at second in Big Ten passing efficiency. If he can keep it up it would be a big boost for a team that has not had a quarterback with a completion percentage above 60-percent in 6 years.

What we think: This program is giving off a bad vibe these days and barely beating MAC and WAC teams is not the way to invoke fear in the hearts of your opponents. The Michigan State game this weekend should go a long way towards deciding which of those two teams will have a decent season.

Rich Rodriguez is, undeniably, a successful college football coach who has been given the keys to one of the greatest programs in the sport.  Rodriguez is also, presumably, fluent on the all the (perceived) axioms and barriers to success that routinely interrupt the goals and dreams of even the most talented teams.

It is that knowledge and success that makes Rodriguez’s insistence on tempting the football gods so puzzling (again).  He plan to play not one, not two, but three quarterbacks in the Wolverines opener against Western Michigan.

I could understand if he thought Forcier needed some game experience before he was ready to take over from Sheridan; or, if he wanted to decide between Tate and Shoelace Robinson by watching their play on the field.  But the idea of playing all three seems counterproductive.  It would be difficult for any of the three to get into a rhythm if some type of rotation is implemented and I have to assume that they have been getting equal snaps in practice.  Is his decision really going to be made easier by this arrangement?

Before I get carried away, I should note that there is precedent for this setup for Rodriguez-coached teams and if the results are the same, Michigan fans will soon trade whatever wariness they currently have for glee.

In 2005, Pat White began the season as a co-starter for West Virginia sharing time with Adam Bednarik.  That system lasted for half of the season until White took over for an injured Bednarik in the fourth quarter of the Mountaineers memorable performance against Louisville.  West Virginia did not lose another game that season including a Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia.  The rests is history.

Perhaps, on October 10th, at Iowa, Forcier or Robinson will emerge from the Michigan QB logjam, turning the Wolverines into a rising Big Ten contender.  Then, The Game in Ann Arbor may begin to resemble the battles that we had grown accustomed to seeing in the past.