BleedGopher
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Per John:
Consider Rutgers another winner in that department. This season, Rutgers doesn't have any of Michigan, Ohio State or Penn State on the schedule, three programs likely to start the season in the top 15. Instead, the Scarlet Knights get three of the newcomers (UCLA, USC and Washington) on the schedule, which are no cakewalk but look far more reasonable on paper.
"When I came to Rutgers and we were in the Big Ten East, I loved it," said Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. "I thought it was the best division in all of college football. Now, it was hard, but I embraced that. When they changed it, I'm OK with that, too."
"I did mention a large chip on the shoulder of everyone in the building, and 18th out of 18 is a big reason why," Walters said during media days.
www.cbssports.com
Go Gophers!!
Non-powers from former Big Ten East are winners
It's why, even if overly simplistic, it's easy to label every former Big Ten East school not part of that "murderers row" as winners of the conference's expansion to 18 schools. The competition got tougher overall, and there were hundreds of questions lobbied this week at Big Ten Media Days on the impact of longer travel to the West Coast schools. But simply eliminating three annual games that felt like losses makes a huge difference, especially when it comes to talking yourself into a College Football Playoff berth. If the Big Ten deserves four annual playoff teams, like Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule lobbied for this week, the path gets easier when three of the likely entrants no longer all reside in the same division.Consider Rutgers another winner in that department. This season, Rutgers doesn't have any of Michigan, Ohio State or Penn State on the schedule, three programs likely to start the season in the top 15. Instead, the Scarlet Knights get three of the newcomers (UCLA, USC and Washington) on the schedule, which are no cakewalk but look far more reasonable on paper.
"When I came to Rutgers and we were in the Big Ten East, I loved it," said Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. "I thought it was the best division in all of college football. Now, it was hard, but I embraced that. When they changed it, I'm OK with that, too."
Big Ten West's old middle class are losers
If schools like Maryland and Rutgers are winners, there have to be losers, too. This season, Purdue likely earns that ignominious honor. The Boilermakers get the two preseason Big Ten favorites, Oregon and Ohio State, plus Penn State on the slate. Purdue, which made the 2022 Big Ten title game, finished 4-8 last season after getting Michigan and Ohio State as its two cross-division opponents. Purdue was recently picked to finish last in the Cleveland.com and USA Today media polls, something that coach Ryan Walters directly addressed with his team."I did mention a large chip on the shoulder of everyone in the building, and 18th out of 18 is a big reason why," Walters said during media days.
Maryland and Rutgers benefit from Big Ten expansion in 2024 season, while Purdue faces a daunting climb
The conference eliminating divisions has created an entirely different landscape for some Big Ten teams
www.cbssports.com
Go Gophers!!