Potential Big Ten-only schedule gaining steam?

Urbandale

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Perhaps this has been posted or discussed elsewhere, but I saw a tweet from Sean Callahan:

Per Power Five head coach: Ten-game, Big Ten-only schedule likely in 2020. Source: "Nothing has been decided. Nothing's official. But I would be surprised if it's not that.”

10 games beats zero in my book. I'd sign for that right now.
 

The real question is who gets added?

if we didn’t already have Maryland in the schedule it’d for sure be them. The big ten office seems To love the Maryland Minnesota yearly rivalry.

As is, it’s either Penn state, Ohio state, Indiana, or Rutgers

or do they revamp the whole schedule? I’d imagine they want to leave the dates on the calendar that can be left alone?
 

The real question is who gets added?

if we didn’t already have Maryland in the schedule it’d for sure be them. The big ten office seems To love the Maryland Minnesota yearly rivalry.

As is, it’s either Penn state, Ohio state, Indiana, or Rutgers

or do they revamp the whole schedule? I’d imagine they want to leave the dates on the calendar that can be left alone?
That's because each team has a 6 year crossover on a rotating basis with a team from the other division, not because the Big 10 wants us to play every year.
 

If this were true, who do you think the gophers add to the schedule from the east? Ohio State and Indiana are the only teams we will not have played since 2018, think Indiana would be a good one to add
 



The real question is who gets added?

if we didn’t already have Maryland in the schedule it’d for sure be them. The big ten office seems To love the Maryland Minnesota yearly rivalry.

As is, it’s either Penn state, Ohio state, Indiana, or Rutgers

or do they revamp the whole schedule? I’d imagine they want to leave the dates on the calendar that can be left alone?

Given that there are Big Ten Games on the schedule early for a lot of teams they might be able to leave it as is and just figure out a way to add one more game for everyone in place of the 3 games they would be losing. Will be interesting to see how it shakes out if they do in fact end up going this route. If they do, fingers crossed we get Indiana or Rutgers :)
 

I'll toss out there that I'm not sure what a conference only schedule is supposed to ... do?

I have trouble believing the risks really change dramatically playing conference only.
 


Big Ten schools contract to limit litigation surrounding C19? es posible, pero.....
 



I'll toss out there that I'm not sure what a conference only schedule is supposed to ... do?

I have trouble believing the risks really change dramatically playing conference only.
I agree, seems like a regional schedule would be better(similar to what the MLB is doing). A schedule of SDSU, NDSU, Nebraska, Iowa, Iowa State, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Northwestern would be interesting.
 

I'll toss out there that I'm not sure what a conference only schedule is supposed to ... do?

I have trouble believing the risks really change dramatically playing conference only.
Basically pushes schedule out a month. My guess is if FBS goes this route, it will more likely be a nine conference game schedule with all games played in October and November.
 

Indiana would be the “right” team to add.

Both programs on the rise, and might be a good match for each other.

Ohio St would be bad for us, in the sense of a likely loss. And perhaps would be a “risky” game for them, so BT offi ie would avoid it?

I say, give Ohio St to the lowest West team that they aren’t already playing.
 

That's because each team has a 6 year crossover on a rotating basis with a team from the other division, not because the Big 10 wants us to play every year.
Well given they were assigned as our 6 year crossover it would seem they did want us to play. Especially since when they released it they explicitly said they wanted Michigan, Ohio state, penn state, Wisconsin, Iowa, and
Nebraska to play more games because it would up the value of the tv deal
 



Another line of thought might be: since this is an unexpected game, and you wouldn’t be expected to play one of the two rotating cross-division teams that you just played in 2019 ... it should be one of those.

For us then, it would be Rutgers or Penn St.
 

I'll toss out there that I'm not sure what a conference only schedule is supposed to ... do?

I have trouble believing the risks really change dramatically playing conference only.
Make it controllable.
Right now you have to get 130 teams on the same page in terms of safety, protocol, fans in stands, process, etc

If you play only conference that number drops from 130 to 14
 


Another line of thought might be: since this is an unexpected game, and you wouldn’t be expected to play one of the two rotating cross-division teams that you just played in 2019 ... it should be one of those.

For us then, it would be Rutgers or Penn St.
Given PSU traveled here last year, you would think Rutgers.
 

I'll toss out there that I'm not sure what a conference only schedule is supposed to ... do?

I have trouble believing the risks really change dramatically playing conference only.
I think part of it is to not have to deal with some teams having non-conference foes cancelling their game and other teams not. Is it fair if one team only gets 1 or 2 of their non-conference games while others get all 3?
 

Part of why they are thinking of dropping the non-conference teams is because some of those lesser teams don't have the budget to test all players on a regular basis. Many are testing only players with symptoms (see the story earlier this spring about Houston doing just that).

So, let's say for example, Tennessee Tech is only testing symptomatic players, does the Big Ten want to risk Tennessee Tech coming to Minneapolis with some potentially asymptomatic players who have C19 and unknowingly infecting the Gophers? Same with FIU, and any number of mid to low tier budgets teams that are playing all over the Big Ten in September.

Meanwhile, the Big Ten teams will be testing every player on a regular basis and have a much firmer grasp on who might have C19 without symptoms and get those cases isolated. So, playing only teams from the Big Ten may feel safer to Big Ten officials.

Bummer if you're Wisconsin who had Notre Dame at Lambeau this year.
 
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Part of why they are thinking of dropping the non-conference is because some of those lesser teams don't have the budget to test all players on a regular basis. Many are testing only players with symptoms (see the story earlier this spring about Houston doing just that).

So, let's say for example, Tennessee Tech is only testing symptomatic players, does the Big Ten want to risk Tennessee Tech coming to Minneapolis with some potentially asymptomatic players who have C19 and unknowingly infecting the Gophers? Same with FIU, and any number of mid to low tier budgets teams that are playing all over the Big Ten in September.

Meanwhile, the Big Ten teams will be testing every player on a regular basis and have a much firmer grasp on who might have C19 without symptoms and get those cases isolated. So, playing only teams from the Big Ten may feel safer to Big Ten officials.

Bummer if you're Wisconsin and had Notre Dame at Lambeau this year.
NDSU was hoping to show out at Eugene to kick things off. PAC obviously is not the Big Ten, but would be a huge disappointment for them to have that cancelled.
 

If they do this, they almost have to expand the play-off. How can you possibly even start to determine if a 1-loss B1G team is better than a 2-loss SEC team if there are zero non-conference games?
 

If they do this, they almost have to expand the play-off. How can you possibly even start to determine if a 1-loss B1G team is better than a 2-loss SEC team if there are zero non-conference games?

I don't think that's a big worry. If there's a 1-loss Big Ten team that wins the Big Ten Championship game, that team is going to the four-team playoff over any 2-loss SEC.

Likely bigger fish to worry about that the four-team playoff. They'll find four teams to play it in, if the season happens.
 

If they do this, they almost have to expand the play-off. How can you possibly even start to determine if a 1-loss B1G team is better than a 2-loss SEC team if there are zero non-conference games?
I think this might assume there are none ...
 

If this were true, who do you think the gophers add to the schedule from the east? Ohio State and Indiana are the only teams we will not have played since 2018, think Indiana would be a good one to add
Nope. B1G headquarters has already made it abundantly clear that entire classes of Indiana and Minnesota football players should go their entire careers without facing off (since 2009, they've only played in 2013 and 2018). No way they'd tack on a 2020 meeting.
 

Big ten should just dump all non conference games. Then play all conference games as scheduled. Have a four team playoff ie, 1-East vs 2-West and 1West vs 2East. First round sites in Minneapolis and Detroit
championship game in Indy
who needs the rest of the world? Especially with coivid going crazy in ari z California texa s and Florida. Doubtful colleges will be play ing this fall in those states
 

Nope. B1G headquarters has already made it abundantly clear that entire classes of Indiana and Minnesota football players should go their entire careers without facing off (since 2009, they've only played in 2013 and 2018). No way they'd tack on a 2020 meeting.

Not really a great tragedy that the Gophers/Hoosiers rarely meet in football. I was among the hundreds of fans that stuck around that Friday night in 2018 in the driving rain to watch them play.

They were scheduled to play earlier in the decade but the schedule was re-shuffled when Rutgers and Maryland joined. Also as part of the East/West Divisions they were split up with Purdue. That match up is now the only annual crossover game, so that reduces the opportunity to have them on the schedule by 33%.

October 16, 1987 (Friday night due to Twins postseason) the ranked Hoosiers came to the Dome facing a Gophers team riding high at 5-0. The crowd was pretty charged up, and over 60,000. Lost a heartbreaker 18-17, starting a 4 game skid. Probably cost them a bowl bid as the were uninvited at 6-5.
 

October 16, 1987 (Friday night due to Twins postseason) the ranked Hoosiers came to the Dome facing a Gophers team riding high at 5-0. The crowd was pretty charged up, and over 60,000. Lost a heartbreaker 18-17, starting a 4 game skid. Probably cost them a bowl bid as the were uninvited at 6-5.
First Gopher Game. First time I was ever in the Metrodome. It was a fitting introduction to life as a MN sports fan.
 

First Gopher Game. First time I was ever in the Metrodome. It was a fitting introduction to life as a MN sports fan.

Those were the glory days, the Twins won the World Series 9 days later!

It was a pretty good game, Thompson vs Thompson.
 

Those were the glory days, the Twins won the World Series 9 days later!

It was a pretty good game, Thompson vs Thompson.
I'll never miss a chance to place a video out here of my favorite Gopher football player...

 




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