Thanksgiving Weekend: MSU our new rival?

[Section 100]

Teams that play each other on Thanksgiving weekend ('11 & '12):
Indiana - Purdue
OSU - Michigan
Nebraska - Iowa
PSU - Wisconsin

Minnesota, MSU, Illinois & NW rotate with each other. In '12 Illinois and NW play. Let's assume the NW-IL game remains the same moving forward. That means Michigan State would be the Gophers last game of the year (unless they expand to 9 games).

 

[GoAUpher]

Teams that play each other on Thanksgiving weekend ('11 & '12):
Indiana - Purdue
OSU - Michigan
Nebraska - Iowa
PSU - Wisconsin

Minnesota, MSU, Illinois & NW rotate with each other. In '12 Illinois and NW play. Let's assume the NW-IL game remains the same moving forward. That means Michigan State would be the Gophers last game of the year (unless they expand to 9 games).

I wouldn't assume that the way things are the next 2 years are the way they'll be forever.

 

[EG#9]

When you play someone doesn't make them your rival. The Gophers rivals are Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan.

 

[Ski U Master]

I like playing MSU, I think they've got a good program but not good enough to create a-hole fans.

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

I like playing MSU, I think they've got a good program but not good enough to create a-hole fans.

I even have a trophy idea (It can replace the Governors Victory Bell and Land Grant Trophy):

The Biggie Munn Trophy

It can be a statue of Biggie. Done 1/2 in a Gopher football uniform, and 1/2 in Spartan coaching clothes.

It would be cool.

 

[Section 100]

When you play someone doesn't make them your rival. The Gophers rivals are Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan.

I understand that part. I was being sarcastic regarding our new rival. That's the goal of Thanksgiving weekend- have rivals playing each other.

This doesn't make sense. If OSU & Michigan can cross divisions and play the last weekend, then why can't the Gophs play Wisconsin? What a great way to end every season. It would be an easy and short trip for both fan bases. How many fans are going to East Lansing or Happy Valley over Thanksgiving weekend? I think the B10 got this one wrong.

 

[Hates Monikers]

I understand that part. I was being sarcastic regarding our new rival. That's the goal of Thanksgiving weekend- have rivals playing each other.

This doesn't make sense. If OSU & Michigan can cross divisions and play the last weekend, then why can't the Gophs play Wisconsin? What a great way to end every season. It would be an easy and short trip for both fan bases. How many fans are going to East Lansing or Happy Valley over Thanksgiving weekend? I think the B10 got this one wrong.

Here's the one thing I learned throughout the talk of divisions and from watching the BTN special on it yesterday:

The Gophers are not OSU or Michigan.

 

[MrGopher]

If MSU develops into a rivalry game, why not have it be a Halloween game. It worked well last time. I agree that playing Ill or MSU for the last game of the season is not exactly ending with an exclamation point. But if that is our worst complaint out of this whole deal... ill take it.

 

[Section 100]

If MSU develops into a rivalry game, why not have it be a Halloween game. It worked well last time. I agree that playing Ill or MSU for the last game of the season is not exactly ending with an exclamation point. But if that is our worst complaint out of this whole deal... ill take it.

Yes, but the more I think about it, the bigger the issue becomes.

What are the chances that MN & WI play each other for the CCG? Or how about PSU playing MSU? Pretty slim, I'm guessing. Therefore, have them play on Thanksgiving weekend. If it's OK for MI-OSU, then it should be fine for the longest running D-1 rivalry game.

How many Gopher & Badger fans will travel out east over Thanksgiving weekend? How many MSU & PSU fans will come out here? It doesn't make sense.

This is how Thanksgiving weekend should look:
MN - WI
NW - IL
MSU - PSU
MI - OSU
ne - iowa
indy - purdue

The teams in capital letters have a chance of meeting the following weekend. What are the odds of that happening?

 

[buddylee853]

I understand that part. I was being sarcastic regarding our new rival. That's the goal of Thanksgiving weekend- have rivals playing each other.

This doesn't make sense. If OSU & Michigan can cross divisions and play the last weekend, then why can't the Gophs play Wisconsin? What a great way to end every season. It would be an easy and short trip for both fan bases. How many fans are going to East Lansing or Happy Valley over Thanksgiving weekend? I think the B10 got this one wrong.

From the information I gathered, the last two weeks of the season are reserved for playing teams within your division, with OSU-Michigan being the exception. With this model, we can't have Wisconsin because they aren't in our division, Iowa can't be because of their new tilt with Nebraska, and Michigan can't for obvious reasons.

It sucks, but I can see why they did it because the last intra-division games have bigger implications for who's going to the title game. I guess that's what we have to sacrifice to be able to play all of our big rivals every year.

 

[2727Gopher]

From the information I gathered, the last two weeks of the season are reserved for playing teams within your division, with OSU-Michigan being the exception. With this model, we can't have Wisconsin because they aren't in our division, Iowa can't be because of their new tilt with Nebraska, and Michigan can't for obvious reasons.

It sucks, but I can see why they did it because the last intra-division games have bigger implications for who's going to the title game. I guess that's what we have to sacrifice to be able to play all of our big rivals every year.

The math doesn't work out to only play division teams if they allow OSU/MI to happen. In our division, say you have IA/NE and MN/MSU playing the last week - then Northwestern has to either have a bye, play a team from the other division or play a non-conference game since all of the teams in the division have other games to play. I think we clearly want to have every Big Ten team playing conference games that weekend (something we weren't able to do with an 11 team conference) so essentially, if you have an OSU/MI game the last week, you need to have one more cross-division game. Why not MN/WI???

 

[GoAUpher]

This is how Thanksgiving weekend should look:
MN - WI
NW - IL
MSU - PSU
MI - OSU
ne - iowa
indy - purdue

The teams in capital letters have a chance of meeting the following weekend. What are the odds of that happening?

Won't work. MSU and PSU aren't guaranteed to play every season since they aren't protected rivals.

 

[MrGopher]

I think we clearly want to have every Big Ten team playing conference games that weekend (something we weren't able to do with an 11 team conference) so essentially, if you have an OSU/MI game the last week, you need to have one more cross-division game. Why not MN/WI???

Exactamundo. Which is the best rivalry involving teams other than Mich and OSU? I have to believe it is the axe game, right?? It should be the exclamation point for both teams' seasons.

Of course, scheduling issues can be resolved easily for 2013 and beyond. Hopefully they will realize these things when they hammer out those schedules. Plus, with a potential nine game schedule on the horizon, things will shift even more, for better or worse.

Oh well.