How to Separate Nebraska, Penn State, Michigan, and Ohio State

The Big Ten underwent another makeover when it added Nebraska to its conference.  This move has prompted the conference to have the championship game that is has craved for years.  It has also sparked controversy over which way the divisions should be divided up.  Some of the main issues are establishing new rivalries and maintaining old ones.

The way the 12 team Big Ten Conference should look is this:

North                                                                           South

Minnesota                                                                   Nebraska

Wisconsin                                                                    Iowa

Northwestern                                                              Illinois

Michigan State                                                            Indiana

Michigan                                                                     Purdue

Ohio State                                                                   Penn State

This alignment will ensure that Michigan and Ohio State will play each year.  It also breaks up the “Big 4” (Nebraska, Michigan, Ohio State, & Penn State).

Although it is not geographically perfect, it maintains some of the essential rivalries in the conference.  Despite Northwestern and Illinois being in different conferences, the other in state rivalries were preserved. 

Northwestern and Illinois should have the option of maintaining their rivalry annually through some type of scheduling exception.  This is also possible for the recent Michigan State – Penn State rivalry.

The new look conference alignment also opens up the opportunity for Nebraska to begin its own rivalries, especially with the opportunity to play Iowa every year.

One of the main reasons that Michigan and Ohio State must remain in the same division is because their rivalry game is played in the last week of the season.  If they were both having good seasons, there is potential for them to play consecutive weeks, due to the new championship game.

Therefore, each team will play within their conference for the final week of the Big Ten schedule.  Some will be rivalry games like Michigan-Ohio State and Iowa-Nebraska, and others will be meaningful Big Ten games.

There are multiple ways in which the conference can be divided up, but I think that this is one of the better possibilities.  It maintains rivalries, while also splitting up the four premier programs in the conference in an attempt to keep the Big Ten as balanced as possible.