Point well taken Gip....the game has forever been THE GAME in the conference. No matter the realignment or the scheduling, the simple fact is that there is now another GAME with even greater title impact....
Interestingly, the move by the SEC to the divisional format is what actually created the relatively new but intense rivalry between the Vols and Gators. Of course, Spurrier coming along at the same time didn't hurt.
True. I would like to see a PSU-Neb rivalry get going like that. It wouldn't take much. I think that would be better than asking Ohio State or Michigan to suudenly get excited about a new rivalry. PSU vs. OSU has been a little intense at times but PSU-UM has mostly been a little average I think.
Barry Alvarez has said the B10 will play a 9 game conference schedule, so it's a 5-4 rotation. That probably is a good thing, for the AD's it means only having to worry about 3 non-conf games and most likely means more of the trophy games will be kept (old oaken bucket, etc). I'm guessing it also means that everybody gets 1 "crossover" as a perm rivalry, which would allow UM/OSU to be in different divisions and still play every year.
Here they all are: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070721080324AA5SpDK I forgot the Old Brass Spittoon.....IU vs. MSU...
He's trying to sell it, but the Buckeye Nation ain't drinking the kool aid....polling currently being done on The O-Zone is overwhelmingly favoring same division, last conference game of the year - by a 93% - 7%margin. Not much of a race....we may have a mutiny of our own to report soon... :shock:
I know Michigan fans are shell-shocked right about now Don...especially with the prospect of the coming season not being any better than the last two and with all of this NCAA mumbo jumbo. But when they collectively can clear their heads of all things negative I am sure that playing OSU at the end of the season with something big on the line is still very important to the UM fans and the program.
If this information proves to be correct, I would not be disappointed. Icing on the cake would be to maintain the Michigan Ohio State game at seasons end.
I don't think this allows for that Don unless the conference doesn't care if they play twice in successive weeks. I also think Neb should have been playing Wisconsin annually.
Dave, I think too much emphasis is being given to the possibility of the two universities meeting the second time in the same season. It certaibly hasn't worked that way is the SEC.
Who the hell cares?...more likely is the possibility that we'll be knocking each other OUT of the B10 championship game from now until eternity...great fun! Only chance for both to play twice in a row is for both to dominate the rest so much that...the loser can go. If that's the case...then who cares anyway. Bring it on!...As I think about it...MUCH better than a setup that totally precludes OSU-UM for the championship game!
In the same division they would play once for certain....could play it at the end of the season and it most times could have an impact on who plays in the conference title game. Fla and Tenn and sometimes Ga knock each other out all the time. Therefore...the rivalries are pretty intense. In the SEC Fla has played Bama twice and Auburn twice and I think there has been a couple of other rematches as well. This year the prediction...if it holds up is a Fla-Bama rematch in the title game. So....it can happen.
I do think it would be better for them to play early in the season like Texas/OU and eliminate the possibility of playing 2 weeks in a row if they play at the end of the season. Of course the ACC put Miami and FSU in opposite divisions envisioning no doubt classic showdowns between two powers for the ACC title. Hasn't ever happened though. And they don't play each other every year. But when they do it's the 1st game of the season I think.
Yeh, I don't know how the ACC schedules football but, FSU and Miami have played every season since the canes joined in 2004. And, while not always the first game, it's usually in the 1st half of the season - played by mid October. I think the noles and canes have played every year for the last 40 or so years, half of which both were independents.