It's being reported on NDNation that several sources are saying that the B10 has finalized it's expansion and will be taking in Missouri, Neb, Syracuse, Pitt and Rutgers. They will split into 4 divisions East: Syr, RU, Penn State, Pitt MidWest Mich, MSU, Wisc, Minn MidEast Ohio State, IU, Purdue, Northwestern. West Neb, Missouri, Iowa, Ill If true that should be interesting, it would be a big blow to the B12 as now I could see Colorado leaving for the Pac10. We could add TCU, Houston, and Tulsa but other than TCU that wouldn't be all that attractive.
So let me guess, they have 2 semifinal games between the division winners and then a conf. championship game.
I don't know, that might make sense or they might just be for scheduling purposes. You play the 3 teams in your division home/home every year. Then maybe you rotate through the other divisions home/home giving you 4 more games so now you have 7 games. Then you probably get to desiginate a "rival" game that is played every year. So that Michigan and Ohio State could also play home/home every year. That would make 8 games. Then add in non-conference games. Regular season end the Thanksgiving weekend, then a semifinal the next weekend and a final the 2nd week in Dec. Then the B10 champion would not have the big layoff that they have now before the Bowls. I just know that when the WAC was 16 teams, it was a nightmare for scheduling and was the reason the Mtn West teams left.
That would be 14 games for the conf. champ before the bowl game. And if they played at Hawaii.....oh never mind.
So....other than the one tough non-game with USC does Notre Dame ever play another tough non-con foe on the road ......ever again? :wink: :lol: 8)
I guess I should read a little closer.....I don't see ND in that expansion list so I guess the Irish can keep on playing Connetticutt and Army after all.
If true, that will pretty much decimate the Big East. It also almost insures our continued independence for whatever that is worth. I think future scheduling for the Irish will be difficult to say the least. If the program has a resurgence under Kelly, as many of us believe, it will be very tough if not impossible to get games with top programs who are already locked into conferences because there is not much upside for them. That leaves second tier teams who would value an upset over the Irish. That leaves little upside for ND. That's how I see it.
I haven't given this subject a lot of thought, but I don't believe it will adversely impact ND's scheduling. No conference team is going to play 100% of its games within the conference. In a 12 game season, most BCS conference teams would play a maximum of 8 conference games, leaving 4 out-of-conference ("OOC") games. There are enough high-level teams who aren't afraid to play a competitive opponent, if for no other reason, for the payday, that ND will not IMO have a problem putting together a competitive schedule. Keep in mind that just because teams are changing conferences does not mean that their scheduling formats (# conference games vs. # OOC games) will change dramatically. People who claim otherwise are IMO either chicken littles (the sky is falling) or anti-NDers who have found yet another reason to predict disaster for our FB program.
I heard some of this early yesterday... and as far as anyone can tell it was just blog speculation. Of course it set off a storm of "What ifs" everywhere... One thing is for sure... if that list was accurate, it would cause majore realignment. The Big XII would not really be viable, and I think it would split up.
...or who don't already have a non-con, annually scheduled home and home with a major opponent....ie. UF-FSU. You could still get the Tennessee's of the world who otherwise don't have any such pre-determined commitments.
As far as the B12, I agree with Scott that losing a couple of teams unless they are named Baylor or Iowa State would be mortal. There really aren't a lot of attractive teams out there to add to the B12. Everybody points to TCU and sure they are attractive and are an excellent program that has caught the attention of the nation. But they are probably the 2nd or 3rd most popular team in their own home town behind Texas and Texas A&M, so it's not like they bring a lot to the table. Others propose Houston, but they are a long way from being a quality program. They play in a crappy old stadium, they don't excite many people in Houston, and I can't see that they have any impact on TV sets tuned to B12 games one way or another in Houston. Geographically I'd like to see Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado State or BYU and TCU join the B12. Problem is our current TV deal won't attract schools like the TV contract that the B10/SEC has currently.
Terry, As "good" as TCU has been lately, they have NO drawing power. They are purely a Fort Worth phenomenon, and have virtually no draw in the rest of the state. They can't even fill their little 50K stadium when they are a potential BCS team... Houston is a commuter school, and again can't fill their own little stadium, much less command the interest of their home town TV's... If any of the "major" market teams leave the XII, it will lead to a mass exodus of the others. IMHO. I'm torn. Scholastically, A&M is probably more similar to the PAC 10, but culturally much closer to the SEC. Either one would work, just not sure which I'd like better...