Power Ranking The 2010 Strength Of Schedule For Big Ten Teams

Not all schedules are created equal.

And in the high-stakes world of major college football, strength of schedule can be a crucial factor in determining which teams are earning championship trophies and playing in New Year's Day bowl games at the end of the season...

...and which teams will be spending the holidays at home because they couldn't squeeze out the half dozen wins needed to be bowl-eligible.

With that in mind, let's take a look at the highlights of each Big Ten football team's 2010 schedule, from the easiest (book that bowl trip now) to hardest (anyone having second thoughts about our home-and-home agreements yet?)

Non-conference opponents, ratio of home games to road trips, and how many of the league's top four teams a school has to play in the round-robin schedule (each Big Ten university only plays 8 of the other 10 schools in a given year) are all factors in determining how tough the upcoming 12-game slate really is.

(I tabbed Ohio State, Iowa, Penn State, and Wisconsin as the most difficult four opponents for Big Ten teams; in addition to finishing with the best four records in 2009 league play, each school won at least 10 games a year ago.)

Without further ado, it's the "strength of schedule" power rankings, starting with the relative cakewalks at number 11...

11. Michigan State Spartans

Michigan State appears to have the easiest assignment of any Big Ten school, thanks to a scheduling gift that keeps the Spartans inside their home state until October 23rd.

MSU was scheduled to visit Florida Atlantic in September, but the Owls chose to move the game to Ford Field in Detroit instead, meaning Sparty is basically playing an extra home game.

The only true road tilt in Michigan State's first six contests is a trip to Ann Arbor, so Greg Jones, Kirk Cousins, and the rest of the Green and White have a chance to build some serious momentum in the first two months of the season.

WESTERN MICHIGAN
Florida Atlantic (at Detroit)
NOTRE DAME
NORTHERN COLORADO
WISCONSIN
at Michigan
ILLINOIS
at Northwestern
at Iowa
MINNESOTA
PURDUE
at Penn State

10. Purdue Boilermakers

After an opening trip to longtime rival Notre Dame, Purdue's non-conference schedule gets significantly less daunting in a hurry.

Western Illinois.

Ball State.

Toledo.

Springfield High School.

(Okay, sorry...the last one isn't actually a 2010 Purdue opponent, but it seemed to fit with the talent level of the other schools on the list.)

In other words, Danny Hope might not have a job by the first week of October if Purdue isn't at least 3-1 heading to league play.

And as if the soft non-conference schedule wasn't enough of an advantage, the Boilers also catch a break in not having to face Penn State or Iowa this fall.

at Notre Dame
WESTERN ILLINOIS
BALL STATE
TOLEDO
at Northwestern
MINNESOTA
at Ohio State
at Illinois
WISCONSIN
MICHIGAN
at Michigan State
INDIANA

9. Indiana Hoosiers

Indiana's non-conference opponents combined for a staggering 9-38 win-loss record in 2009.

(Come to think of it, I'm not sure staggering is a strong enough word for how horrible this group of four teams really is.)

But before Hoosiers fans start booking December flights (thanks to a cupcake-filled September), don't forget about conference play.

Indiana faces off with all four league powerhouses, including trips to Columbus and Madison.

And while IU will certainly get a nice payday after moving their battle with Penn State to Landover, Maryland...

...it's safe to assume the Hoosiers will be the "home team" for that clash in name only.

Whiteout, anyone?

TOWSON
at Western Kentucky
AKRON
MICHIGAN
at Ohio State
ARKANSAS STATE
at Illinois
NORTHWESTERN
IOWA
at Wisconsin
Penn State (at Landover, MD)
at Purdue

8. Ohio State Buckeyes

The Buckeyes begin the 2010 campaign with four straight non-conference home games, the perfect schedule every athletic director dreams of.

I can hear the cash register from here.

And while a date with the Miami Hurricanes should provide a real test for a squad with legitimate national title aspirations, the rest of September looks like a MAC schedule from the turn of the century.

Still, things won't be quite as hunky-dory for the Bucks once the weather turns cold. Wisconsin, Penn State, and Iowa are all on tap and looking for revenge after 2009 losses. Most notably, Tressel and company will have their work cut out for them in an October visit to Madison and a possible Big Ten title showdown in Iowa City on November 20.

MARSHALL
MIAMI (FL)
OHIO
EASTERN MICHIGAN
at Illinois
INDIANA
at Wisconsin
PURDUE
at Minnesota
PENN STATE
at Iowa
MICHIGAN

7. Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin shouldn't have much to worry about in the non-conference portion of their schedule (opponents combined for an underwhelming 15-32 record a year ago).

The most difficult task should be a trap of an opener in UNLV (keep the guys out of the casino, Mr. Bielema!).

As for Big Ten play, the schedule has some good (missing the Nittany Lions altogether), some bad (the Buckeyes roll in to town in Week Seven), and some ugly (a trek to Kinnick Stadium the very next week).

at UNLV
SAN JOSE STATE
ARIZONA STATE
AUSTIN PEAY
at Michigan State
MINNESOTA
OHIO STATE
at Iowa
at Purdue
INDIANA
at Michigan
NORTHWESTERN

6. Illinois Fighting Illini

The Illini fall smack-dab in the middle of our SOS power rankings, with their schedule notably featuring not one, but two neutral-site games.

(I guess that means if the Zooker's schedule was any more neutral, it would be played in Switzerland?)

Illinois continues their border rivalry series with Missouri in St. Louis, but also adds a Wrigley Field showdown with in-state foe Northwestern.

That's good news for folks in Champaign, as the Illini only have to deal with four true road games all year (lowest of any Big Ten school).

And did I mention there's no Wisconsin or Iowa in conference play?

Translation: It's common knowledge that Zook's on one of the hottest seats in all of college football, and he'll have no excuses if he can't turn things around in 2010.

Missouri (at St. Louis)
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
OHIO STATE
at Penn State
at Michigan State
INDIANA
PURDUE
at Michigan
MINNESOTA
Northwestern (at Chicago)
at Fresno State

5. Iowa Hawkeyes

If you're a cup-half-empty kind of Iowa fan, the Hawkeyes schedule should keep you awake at night.

That's because Iowa is bucking the league-wide trend of a "Cupcake Central" September and facing off with two different non-conference foes from BCS conferences...

...and to make matters worse, both opponents were bowl teams a year ago (Iowa State and Arizona).

On the other hand, if you tend to subscribe to the cup-half-full way of thinking, there's still reason for optimism (and not just because Iowa won 11 games a year ago).

For while Ricky Stanzi's squad has to do battle with title contenders Penn State, Wisconsin, AND Ohio State in the last two months of the regular season, all three showdowns come in the friendly confines of Iowa City.

Will home-field advantage in the season's biggest games be enough to send the Hawkeyes back to BCS land?

The cup-half-full folks surely think so.

EASTERN ILLINOIS
IOWA STATE
at Arizona
BALL STATE
PENN STATE
at Michigan
WISCONSIN
MICHIGAN STATE
at Indiana
at Northwestern
OHIO STATE
at Minnesota

4. Michigan Wolverines

The Wolverines show up in the top portion of our rankings because they're one of only three league teams that has to play Iowa, Penn State, Wisconsin, AND Ohio State.

And did I mention that Murderer's Row quartet of powerhouses all turn up in the last half of the season?

Throw in a trip to South Bend, a dangerous opener against underrated Connecticut, and the spotlight back-to-back losing seasons and a recent NCAA investigation brings...

No two ways about it: the folks in Ann Arbor might be in for a VERY long year.

CONNECTICUT
at Notre Dame
MASSACHUSETTS
BOWLING GREEN
at Indiana
MICHIGAN STATE
IOWA
at Penn State
ILLINOIS
at Purdue
WISCONSIN
at Ohio State

3. Northwestern Wildcats

The Wildcats bear the dubious distinction of being the conference's only team with more road games (six) than true home games (five).

Northwestern's non-league assignments include trips to Vanderbilt and Rice, while what should have been a straight-up home date with Illinois is now scheduled for Wrigley Field in Chicago.

(Begging the question, why would any team wanting to win an important game move it to a venue best known for over a hundred years of the home team losing?

But I digress.)

The only good thing about this schedule is that it doesn't include Ohio State.

But the 12 games it DOES feature will have the Wildcats' hands full....and then some.

at Vanderbilt
ILLINOIS STATE
at Rice
CENTRAL MICHIGAN
at Minnesota
PURDUE
MICHIGAN STATE
at Indiana
at Penn State
IOWA
Illinois (at Chicago)
at Wisconsin

2. Minnesota Golden Gophers

Over the past few seasons, Minnesota has been accused of playing one of the country's easier non-conference schedules.

Not anymore.

In 2010, the Gophers square off with one of the country's biggest names, welcoming USC and new coach Lane Kiffin to town.

Minnesota also has to deal with Northern Illinois (the last time the Huskies played a Big Ten school, they upset Purdue a year ago) and a tricky opener on the road at Middle Tennessee State.

Survive the non-league portion of the schedule, and the Gophers will be rewarded with dates against the Badgers, Nittany Lions, and Buckeyes in the space of 21 days.

Good luck, Mr. Brewster.

You're going to need it.

at Middle Tennessee State
SOUTH DAKOTA
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
NORTHWESTERN
at Wisconsin
at Purdue
PENN STATE
OHIO STATE
at Michigan State
at Illinois
IOWA

1. Penn State Nittany Lions

Guess what, JoePa?

If your schedule includes a trip to play the defending national champion...

you win the strength-of-schedule contest hands down.

Penn State will be tested in Tuscaloosa, without a doubt, but things don't get any easier down the stretch.

Unless visiting Kinnick Stadium and "the Shoe" is your idea of fun, that is.

For those of you scoring at home, that's three teams that qualified for BCS games a season ago--the Crimson Tide, the Hawkeyes, and the Buckeyes--and all three dates will be in hostile environments for PSU.

At least they get the Hoosiers in Maryland instead of Bloomington.

Talk about miniscule consolation prizes.

YOUNGSTOWN STATE
at Alabama
KENT STATE
TEMPLE
at Iowa
ILLINOIS
at Minnesota
MICHIGAN
NORTHWESTERN
at Ohio State
Indiana (at Landover, MD)
MICHIGAN STATE