Unbalanced B1G Schedules Need to be Addressed when determining Divisional Champions

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Breaking Down 2016 B1G Conference Schedules, With 4 Glaring Conclusions

These are conference games only for 2016. Listed by division from toughest schedule to easiest schedule. I have included the B1G championship game in the records of Michigan State and Iowa.

East (B1G Opponents Record)
1. Rutgers (40-34, 54.1%)
2. Michigan (39-35, 52.7%)
3. Ohio State (37-36, 50.7%) -- tougher crossovers than Indiana
4. Indiana (37-36, 50.7%)
5. Penn State (36-38, 48.64%)
6. Michigan State (35-37, 48.61%)
7. Maryland (34-39, 46.6%)

West (B1G Opponents Record)
1. Wisconsin (43-31, 58.1%)
2. Illinois (41-33, 55.4%)
3. Northwestern (39-35, 52.7%)
4. Nebraska (35-38, 47.9%)
5. Purdue (34-39, 46.6%)
6. GOPHERS (32-41, (43.8%)
7. Iowa (31-41, 43.1%)

East Crossover Opponents
1. Michigan (16-9, 64%) -- @ Iowa (8-1), Wisconsin (6-2), Illinois (2-6)
2. Ohio State (15-9, 62.5%) -- @ Wisconsin (6-2), Northwestern (6-2), Nebraska (3-5)
3. Michigan State (14-10, 58.3%) -- Northwestern (6-2), Wisconsin (6-2), @ Illinois (2-6)
4. Rutgers (12-13, 48%) -- Iowa (8-1), @ Gophers (2-6), Illinois (2-6)
5. Penn State (11-14, 44%) -- Iowa (8-1), Gophers (2-6), @ Purdue (1-7)
6. Indiana (10-14, 41.7%) -- @ Northwestern (6-2), Nebraska (3-5), Purdue (1-7)
7. Maryland (6-18, 25%) -- @ Nebraska (3-5), Gophers (2-6), Purdue (1-7)

West Crossover Opponents
1. Wisconsin (21-4, 84%) -- @ Michigan State (8-1), Ohio State (7-1), @ Michigan (6-2)
2. Northwestern (17-8, 68%) -- @ Michigan State (8-1), @ Ohio State (7-1), Indiana (2-6)
3. Illinois (15-10, 60%) -- Michigan State (8-1), @ Michigan (6-2), @ Rutgers (1-7)
4. Iowa (11-13, 45.8%) -- Michigan (6-2), @ Penn State (4-4), @ Rutgers (1-7)
5. Nebraska (10-14, 41.7%) -- @ Ohio State (7-1), @ Indiana (2-6), Maryland (1-7)
6. Purdue (7-17, 29.2%) -- Penn State (4-4), @ Indiana (2-6), @ Maryland (1-7)
7. GOPHERS (6-18, 24%) -- @ Penn State (4-4), @ Maryland (1-7), Rutgers (1-7)

Four Glaring Conclusions
1. The Gophers need to get it done in 2016. In the near future hard to believe they'll have a more manageable B1G schedule than this one.

2. If the Badgers win the West they will have earned it. As others have pointed out, absolutely brutal set of crossovers.

3. Ditto for Michigan in the East, except the Wolverines crossovers not quite as brutal as Badgers.

4. Rutgers is in for a long, long season.
 

Do we really play Maryland 4 years in a row????
 


Golden Elephant said:
The issue of whether to count crossover games or not in division standings becomes more relevant now that there are 3 crossover games. Now, there theoretically could be a team that could go 0-3 against the other division and go 5-1 or 6-0 against its own division and be beaten out by an inferior 7-2/8-1 team.

But even that could mostly be avoided if the B1G would take care to more evenly schedule crossovers. No one should ever play MSU, Mich, & OSU in the same year just like we should've never played OSU & Mich the last 2 years. Each West team should have crossovers that include at least 1 from Mich/OSU/MSU and at least 1 from Ind/Mary/Rut. The West is a more balanced division, but ideally each East team should play 1-2 of Neb/Wisc/IA/MN/NW and not get both Purdue & Illinois (except for Indiana which has the permanent crossover with Purdue).

But all that said, there's nothing we can do about it now. 2016 is our year to strike, just like 2014 & 2015 were Iowa's (they went 1 for 2). Let's hope we take advantage.
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What you are asking for is nearly impossible. Scheduling for 14 teams is not easy and trying to be overly selective with the crossover games would make it even tougher. Plus scheduling is done many years in advance so there is no way to guarantee just how good a team is going to be. It is easy to say going into a given year that certain teams are going to be good but much harder to say who is going to be good in 5 years. Even the traditional powers are not as dominant as they once were and go through downturns from time to time. Heck most teams coming into the season seeing Iowa as a crossover game would have assumed it was going to be a victory. For that matter look at how we viewed the game against Michigan before the season started. Most, myself included, thought we had a great chance to beat them again given that they were in a transition year and had not been that good the previous few seasons.
 

matt said:
Do you think a 6-10 Packers team that went 6-0 in the NFC North should make the playoffs over a 14-2 Vikings team?
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Why have a big conference if all the games don't count. It's silly.
 



MNVCGUY said:
What you are asking for is nearly impossible. Scheduling for 14 teams is not easy and trying to be overly selective with the crossover games would make it even tougher. Plus scheduling is done many years in advance so there is no way to guarantee just how good a team is going to be. It is easy to say going into a given year that certain teams are going to be good but much harder to say who is going to be good in 5 years. Even the traditional powers are not as dominant as they once were and go through downturns from time to time. Heck most teams coming into the season seeing Iowa as a crossover game would have assumed it was going to be a victory. For that matter look at how we viewed the game against Michigan before the season started. Most, myself included, thought we had a great chance to beat them again given that they were in a transition year and had not been that good the previous few seasons.
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I agree with you that teams change - even year to year - but they don't change all that fast. Ohio State will be a top team for the forseeable future, so will Michigan and Michigan State. Indiana, Maryland, and Rutgers may eventually climb to contender status, but they're not there now and won't be for several years anyway. I realize my viewpoint is pretty much from the West's point of view, because the good teams in the West have been much more fluid in the past few years, but still I don't think it's nearly impossible. You'd just have to flip a few of the games you have now to make it work. But it's not going to change, so we should try to take advantage of it in 2016, and 2017 to a lesser extent.
 

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