The Athletic: Who should Big Ten football teams face on their schedule? Our experts break down the votes

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theathletic.com

Who should Big Ten football teams face on their schedule? Our experts break down the votes

Breaking down readers' votes about who the Big Ten teams should play when USC and UCLA join the conference.
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Minnesota​

Top vote totals: Wisconsin 1,547; Iowa 1,475; Nebraska 761; Michigan 496

Choice 1: Wisconsin 1,081; Iowa 418; Michigan 66

Choice 2: Iowa 835; Wisconsin 335; Nebraska 170; Michigan 121

Choice 3: Nebraska 547; Michigan 309; Iowa 222; Illinois 139; Wisconsin 131

There’s no surprise on the first two choices. Wisconsin and Minnesota have the most-played series in FBS. The Iowa-Minnesota rivalry is tied for fourth in Big Ten longevity. Both rivalries boast iconic trophies. To lose either series would rip apart the seams of what makes college football special.

The third choice is the most interesting. The oldest traveling trophy belongs to Minnesota-Michigan, and it once was the league’s signature rivalry. But its importance waned in the 1950s, and it cycled off as an annual series in the 1990s. Still, there’s a tug of war among Gophers fans between resuming yearly games with Michigan for the Little Brown Jug or continuing a regional series with Nebraska. — Dochterman

Wisconsin​

Top vote totals: Minnesota 1,531; Iowa 1,391; Nebraska 690; Illinois 351

Choice 1: Minnesota 1,101; Iowa 389; Illinois 59

Choice 2: Iowa 785; Minnesota 340; Nebraska 161; Illinois 99

Choice 3: Nebraska 483; Iowa 217; Illinois 193; Northwestern 174

The first two voter choices are absolute no-brainers. The Wisconsin-Minnesota game is the most-played rivalry in the FBS, and the battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe is fierce. Wisconsin and Iowa traditionally have succeeded with similar approaches and have been the most consistent programs in the West Division.

The third choice of Nebraska is interesting because it’s the rivalry people have hoped for that hasn’t materialized. Wisconsin has won nine straight games in the series, and Nebraska has yet to become relevant in the Big Ten. Illinois, which has split the past four games with Wisconsin and is led by former Badgers head coach Bret Bielema, would be an intriguing choice (and finished fourth in the voting behind Nebraska). — Temple

Iowa​

Top vote totals: Nebraska 1,445; Minnesota 1,391; Wisconsin 1,349; Illinois 365

Choice 1: Nebraska 607; Minnesota 592; Wisconsin 334; Illinois 108

Choice 2: Wisconsin 531; Minnesota 526; Nebraska 407; Illinois 80

Choice 3: Wisconsin 484; Nebraska 431; Minnesota 273; Illinois 185

There’s no vote among any of the teams that was as close as Iowa’s. Nebraska edged Minnesota as the top choice by 15 votes, while Wisconsin topped the Gophers at No. 2 by just five votes with the Cornhuskers not far behind. It was nearly as close at No. 3 with Wisconsin on top, too.

What’s clear is Iowa fans want to play historic rivals Minnesota and Wisconsin every year, plus relative Big Ten newcomer Nebraska. Wisconsin is the closest to Iowa City in proximity, Minnesota is the most historic and Nebraska has the most growth potential. Illinois picked up some votes as a strong No. 4, but the Illini still were way behind the other three. — Dochterman

Nebraska​

Top vote totals: Iowa 1,580; Minnesota 825; Wisconsin 763; USC 557; UCLA 508

Choice 1: Iowa 1,379; Wisconsin 63; Minnesota 61; USC 56

Choice 2: Minnesota 519; Wisconsin 339; UCLA 225; USC 166

Choice 3: Wisconsin 361; USC 335; UCLA 256; Minnesota 245

Quite a statement by Nebraska voters to rate Iowa as the resounding top choice, by a margin of more than 20-to-1 over Wisconsin. The recent history of competitive games against Iowa — and close Nebraska losses until 2022 — no doubt factored in. And while Nebraska also topped the list of Iowa fans, earning nearly as many overall votes as the Hawkeyes did from the Nebraska fans, the Huskers got less than half as many first-place votes from their rival to the east as Iowa received from fans of the Huskers.

The simple analysis is that Iowa has more rivals from which to choose. Minnesota over Wisconsin as the second choice of Nebraska fans surprised me a bit. Blame P.J. Fleck, who turned into a villain in Lincoln with his four consecutive wins against the Huskers.

USC and UCLA both showed strong in the Nebraska voting. It’s a safe bet that the Big Ten will feel similarly in building schedules. — Sherman

Michigan​

Top vote totals: Ohio State 1,674; Michigan State 1,504; Penn State 505; Minnesota 417

Choice 1: Ohio State 1,438; Michigan State 210; Illinois 20

Choice 2: Michigan State 1,184; Ohio State 208; Penn State 115; Minnesota 53

Choice 3: Penn State 390; Minnesota 364; USC 318; UCLA 165

The top two spots broke down exactly as you might expect for Michigan: Ohio State No. 1, Michigan State No. 2, with a decent gap in between. Meanwhile, Michigan was far and away the No. 1 choice for Michigan State, a result that speaks to the uneven dynamic of that rivalry.

The 2022 Michigan-Ohio State game reached 17 million viewers on Fox, making it the highest-rated regular season college football game in 11 years. The Michigan-Michigan State game doesn’t draw the same audience, but it’s still one of the Big Ten’s longest-running annual rivalries. That game needs to stay on the schedule, even if there’s an argument for a cooling-off period after last year’s tunnel incident.

The third spot gets interesting for Michigan. Penn State is the most popular choice, with Minnesota not far behind. From an audience perspective, there’s also a case for playing Michigan-USC or Michigan-UCLA on an annual basis. Since there’s no clear consensus, maybe the right move is to give Michigan two protected rivals and rotate the rest. — Meek
 

The author wrote that Minnesota-Michigan waned as a rivalry in the 1950s, suggesting the Gophers had become irrelevant. The fact is that the Gophers beat Michigan in 5 games out of 6 from 1960-1965 and 6 out of 8, including 1966 and 1967.
 

Before 2012, the Nebraska fanbase for the most part viewed the Gophers in a benign light. Now that Minnesota has beaten them 7 out of the last 10, disbelief seems to have evolved into grudging respect. Kind of like how Neanderthals could not believe that they were being killed by Cro-Magnons with spear throwers in "Quest for Fire".
 

I definitely would vote NW as #3 for Bucky. That has been a very good game for both. A lot of Nebby fans must want Gophs for the third... can't think most Gophs fans wouldn't vote for Michigan and the jug.
 

Bits of Broken Chair is the most relevant, natural trophy to have come from the modern era by a mile. I respect the hell out of the jug and its history, but geography and recency make Nebraska my clear #3 behind WI and IA. I'd love MI as a fourth locked opponent.
 


The university presidents and their ADs will make the decisions with the TV stakeholders having some input.
For MN, WI, and IA I am sure their choices will mimic these fans' choices.
I really doubt that there will be more than two choices for locked-in games.
 


Pleasantly surprised by Nebbie fans.

The Old Timers from 1983 (84-13), 1989 (48-0), and 1990 (56-0) are rolling in their graves...
 





Gophers_4life said:
I want nothing to do with Michigan as an annual opponent.

The programs are not on the same level anymore.
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Glad you're not our coach then. That and I'm sure your highly under qualified for the position.
 

Minnesota’s rivalries with Northwestern and Purdue are deeply underrated. There’s never been a trophy or a name for them, but dozens of great and very competitive games since the founding day of the Big Ten.
 

fmlizard said:
Minnesota’s rivalries with Northwestern and Purdue are deeply underrated. There’s never been a trophy or a name for them, but dozens of great and very competitive games since the founding day of the Big Ten.
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In a perfect world, every conference game should matter. Yes, teams go through cycles where some are more competitive and some are less competitive, but the conference should still mean something IMHO. That is one aspect of the divisional scheduling that I dislike - the fact that some of the Eastern teams hardly seem to be in the same conference anymore - like Indiana. from 2009 to 2021 - a span of 13 years - the Gophers and Indiana faced each other 3 times. We play some non-conference teams more often than that.

I await the 2024 schedule and beyond with great interest and a little bit of trepidation.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
In a perfect world, every conference game should matter. Yes, teams go through cycles where some are more competitive and some are less competitive, but the conference should still mean something IMHO. That is one aspect of the divisional scheduling that I dislike - the fact that some of the Eastern teams hardly seem to be in the same conference anymore - like Indiana. from 2009 to 2021 - a span of 13 years - the Gophers and Indiana faced each other 3 times. We play some non-conference teams more often than that.

I await the 2024 schedule and beyond with great interest and a little bit of trepidation.
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I think the one thing we'll be able to etch in stone, regardless how the fine details go, is: we're going to be playing Neb, Illinois, NW, and Purdue less and playing Mich, Mich St, Ohio St, and Penn St more.

More than likely, that's going to decrease the average conference wins over an 8 year period.

Playing in the West is what has allowed Fleck to build this program up.
 

first 2 on the list are easy ones. Personally I have no desire to play Nebraska annually other than it's fun to see their fans in starter jackets lose their mind when they lose to us. Much rather see us play Michigan as B10 history, to me, is what makes the league have its shine and is part of what makes CFB special. Things cycle over time. There was a reason that people got so animated when Claeys blew the end of the game where we lost at home (and why Michigan fans had a melt down when we beat them there in 2014). The game matters. MN-Nebraska happens and a week or two goes by and no one cares as it's in the same category as Purdue, NW, Illinois.
 

If 3 games are protected and we protect Iowa/Wisconsin/Michigan or Iowa/Wisconsin/Nebraska, we better be ready to consistently beat Iowa or Wisconsin again as having all 3 protected games being toss ups or worse is not a recipe for success. If our administration pushes for one of the above, then they should be willing/able to hold their coach to that standard... that means giving them the resources to win and expecting they do so. If not, they should be pushing for something like Indiana/Rutgers/Northwestern. We know what Iowa/Wisconsin/Michigan/Nebraska(financially, I know they've sucked recently) will do, if we consider then are peers/rivals (as we should) then the same commitment and expectations need to be there too.
 

I hope the 3rd isn't permanent.

Cycle it every 4 years. Neither Nebraska nor Michigan deserve to be permanent for us.

Worst case: we'll play your favorite rival every two years. That's plenty good enough for any Big Ten that isn't Wisc or Iowa. Deal with it
 

Gophers_4life said:
I hope the 3rd isn't permanent.

Cycle it every 4 years. Neither Nebraska nor Michigan deserve to be permanent for us.

Worst case: we'll play your favorite rival every two years. That's plenty good enough for any Big Ten that isn't Wisc or Iowa. Deal with it
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I wouldn't be surprised if the protected rivals were set to be reviewed every couple of years. Some teams only have one true rival and we are maybe the only one that could argue that we have three rivals. I would be fine with the third rotating every 4 years, as long as Iowa and Wisconsin are always a constant
 

PMWinSTP said:
I definitely would vote NW as #3 for Bucky. That has been a very good game for both. A lot of Nebby fans must want Gophs for the third... can't think most Gophs fans wouldn't vote for Michigan and the jug.
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As a 39 year old... I like the idea of playing Michigan but to be honest in my lifetime Nebraska is a bigger rival. They have become a yearly opponent since joining the Big Ten and have some memorable games.

In my head, only a couple of games against Michigan pop in my head. I just don't remember us playing them a lot in my lifetime.
 

MNfootballfan said:
As a 39 year old... I like the idea of playing Michigan but to be honest in my lifetime Nebraska is a bigger rival. They have become a yearly opponent since joining the Big Ten and have some memorable games.

In my head, only a couple of games against Michigan pop in my head. I just don't remember us playing them a lot in my lifetime.
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Minnesota has by far played more games (63) against Nebraska than any other B1G team. Iowa is second with 43, and Indiana third with 22. Wisconsin has only played Nebraska 16 times.

I’m not sure how the schedule will be, but I kind of like the 4 team regional pod of MN, IA, WI and NE.
 


fmlizard said:
Minnesota’s rivalries with Northwestern and Purdue are deeply underrated. There’s never been a trophy or a name for them, but dozens of great and very competitive games since the founding day of the Big Ten.
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Agreed.
 

BleedGopher said:
CBS predicts the Gophers three permanent opponents will be wisconsin, Iowa and Maryland:

www.cbssports.com

Big Ten football schedule: Projecting permanent rivals for each team once league adds USC, UCLA in 2024

The Big Ten will look a lot different when the Trojans and Bruins join the fold
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com

Go Gophers!!
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That’s completely nuts! I think Maryland and Rutgers should play each other three times during the season. Two solves a lot of problems and three gives them the rubber game. Lol!
 

WAGopher said:
That’s completely nuts! I think Maryland and Rutgers should play each other three times during the season. Two solves a lot of problems and three gives them the rubber game. Lol!
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Why do 3 permanent rivals and give us Maryland?

Minnesota (WI, IA) and Michigan (OSU, MSU) are the only schools in the conference that are the primary historical rival of two different schools.

If only a couple schools have 2 rivalries worth protecting, why protect 3 for everyone? Will be a ton of reaches in a 3 protected games model.
 

They won't be permanent. They'll shuffle things around every 4 years.

Only actual, long-standing rivalries (like MN vs Iowa and Wisc) will be permanent and not change every four years.
 

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