Big Ten 2024/25 football scheduling model to be announced 6/8
- Thread starter doctornick
- Start date
Sooo, the B1G network is going to use the Ohio State AD to help release the information along with the B1G COO? Well, that should certainly suppress the notion that the B1G looks at the league as the big two little eight.
Spoiler alert: PSU opens Big 10 play on the road.
Speaking of tOSU, they have let their future November night game intent be known.
Gene Smith Says Ohio State Won’t Play Home Night Games Past First Week of November After 2023 Season
Gene Smith says Ohio State will not play night games at home past the first weekend of November after this season's Nov. 11 matchup with Michigan State under the lights.
While I know this is a joke, it doesn’t seem like the actual schedule will be announced tomorrow just the conference opponents in 2024/25. And the scheduling model used. It sounds like either it will be 3 fixed opponents for each team and you rotate through the other 12 teams playing 6 a year (so home and away with all of them over 4 seasons) or more variable with different teams having between 1-3 fixed opponents and this different number of teams to rotate through.
Divisions should be going away in 2024 unless they throw out a curve ball. Actual schedule for 2024 probably not until October or so.
I actually am kind of hoping for a USC visit and to have that be a Whiteout.
We tried to white out the Rose Bowl in January and it was an epic fail.
A--Utah is closer to Pasadena than Happy Valley.
B--Some PSU fans don't care that much about football to learn about a whiteout
C--In cold weather, lots of people don't have white jackets or even sweatshirts...so they wear any old color (or PSU blue, of course).
A--Utah is closer to Pasadena than Happy Valley.
B--Some PSU fans don't care that much about football to learn about a whiteout
C--In cold weather, lots of people don't have white jackets or even sweatshirts...so they wear any old color (or PSU blue, of course).
Here's my guess about protected rivalries. It's being predicted that it'll be a flex system (i.e. some schools have 1 rival, some 3...and everyone else rotates through evenly.
USC-UCLA
Indiana-Purdue
Northwestern-Illinois
Ohio St.-Michigan
Michigan-Michigan St.
Penn St.-Ohio St.
Rutgers-Maryland
Penn St-Maryland
Rutgers-Penn State
Iowa-Nebraska
Nebraska-Minnesota
Minnesota-Wisconsin
Wisconsin-Iowa
Iowa-Minnesota
WIsconsin-Nebraska
With three protected rivals, we'd see the other 12 schools once in Happy Valley and once at their stadium every 4 years.
I love that.
USC-UCLA
Indiana-Purdue
Northwestern-Illinois
Ohio St.-Michigan
Michigan-Michigan St.
Penn St.-Ohio St.
Rutgers-Maryland
Penn St-Maryland
Rutgers-Penn State
Iowa-Nebraska
Nebraska-Minnesota
Minnesota-Wisconsin
Wisconsin-Iowa
Iowa-Minnesota
WIsconsin-Nebraska
With three protected rivals, we'd see the other 12 schools once in Happy Valley and once at their stadium every 4 years.
I love that.
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If my prediction is true, it works out mathematically.
3 protected rivals--PSU UMD Rutgers Iowa Wiscy Neb Minny (7 teams)
2-- Michigan OSU (2 teams)
1-- USC UCLA MSU Indiana Illinois Purdue NW (7 teams)
3 protected rivals--PSU UMD Rutgers Iowa Wiscy Neb Minny (7 teams)
2-- Michigan OSU (2 teams)
1-- USC UCLA MSU Indiana Illinois Purdue NW (7 teams)
Yep, won't know that we are starting conference play on the road until next year. Reports are they will lock 1-3 annual rivalry games per program and divisions will be eliminated.
PSU's locked games will be one of the more interesting debates. I'm hearing rumors ours will be MSU only, which would be strange. I assume the networks that just ponied up huge amounts will want USC, UM, OSU, and PSU to play each other as often as possible since those games will be the most viewed. I assume Franklin and Kraft would prefer protected games with nearby states but don't want 2-3 of these programs to be protected since that would create a brutal schedule every year, so maybe they'd push for OSU and Maryland to be protected.
OSU-UM being protected is a 100% lock. UM-MSU likely will be protected. I assume USC-UCLA as well. Everything else would revolve around that. I figured PSU-OSU might be as well, but if not there are likely some additional agreements stating that these teams will play each other more often than not despite not being protected games in order to appease the networks. Losing the OSU game would be a shame, I read it's the only opponent we've played every single year since joining the conference.
I’d be shocked if it’s MSU only. There’s basically 4 teams we could be locked with - Rutgers, Maryland, tOSU and Michigan St. Really the main reason I could see for locking MSU with us is in order to have us play our final game each year; otherwise it would pretty much be a slam dunk to be tOSU/RU/UMD as our three. I can’t imagine a scenario where we don’t have at least one of UMD or RU locked.
Curious why you think they will have less protected rivals than us in your predictions.
Everybody wants a piece of OSU and UM. This allows them to be played by other Big Ten teams more frequently.
Michigan has OSU and MSU as their two chief rivals.
OSU might have more history with other Big Ten schools...but the TV networks want PSU/OSU more than those other games. So, I think they lock up those two rivalries for UM and OSU.
It makes sense for PSU to play the region's biggest outliers (we used to be that...but now Maryland and Rutgers have that honor) every year to make the eastern flank more cohesive. Just a guess though...
Here are the rivalries I'd like to see protected. Then rotate everything else:
USC -- UCLA
Michigan -- Ohio State
Michigan State -- Michigan
Penn State -- Ohio State
Iowa -- Nebraska
Wisconsin -- Minnesota
Northwestern - Illinois
Indiana -- Purdue
Rutgers -- Maryland
You could play your protected rival(s) every year. Play several non-conference games. And still play the other teams in the conference 2 out of every 4 years.
As an example, Penn State could play the following schedule:
2025
OOC
OOC
OOC
OOC
USC
Indiana
Rutgers
Ohio State
Michigan State
Northwestern
Wisconsin
Iowa
2026
OOC
OOC
OOC
OOC
UCLA
Nebraska
Maryland
Ohio State
Michigan
Illinois
Minnesota
Nebraska
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Speaking of tOSU, they have let their future November night game intent be known.
Gene Smith Says Ohio State Won’t Play Home Night Games Past First Week of November After 2023 Season
Gene Smith says Ohio State will not play night games at home past the first weekend of November after this season's Nov. 11 matchup with Michigan State under the lights.www.elevenwarriors.com
Only "home" night games.... they haven't ruled out away Primetime games after week one of Nov.
Was just coming here to post that leak. If accurate, I think we have our Whiteout game for 2024 against USC
If they eliminate Divisions, how many Conference Games will they play - 8, 9 or 10?
Using the example that I showed, it would be 8 or 9.
If you have 2 protected rivals, you'd play 9. With one protected rival you'd play 8.
Even with a 9-game Conference schedule, you're missing 40% of the Conference in a 16-team league... Not sure that's a great thing and could wind up creating CCG births via wonky tie-break criteria (i.e., schedule strength is going to vary greatly across the league).
Tiebreaker 1: all benefit is given to OSU and Michigan, whichever team needs it.
Tiebreaker 2: both teams can now rematch in the ccg if all else fails.
Every team is playing 9 conference games. They are not doing uneven scheduling. Teams that have fewer "protected" games will just play more rotating games.
You might be right. However, just last year the eight-game conference schedule, with the elimination of divisions was under consideration:
Report: Big Ten Considering Eight-Game Conference Schedule, Eliminating Divisions
The move would allow for Big Ten teams to schedule ACC and Pac-12 opponents as part of The Alliance.
Possibly, the Michigan - OSU game would be considered OOC if they chose to protect the game, and each team already has another protected game.
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2025 home schedule is beyond abysmal. Conference games of Illinois, Minnesota, Rutgers and UCLA in addition to Nevada and Villanova. Kraft better cancel the idiotic Temple series and find a good non-conference team to play home 2025/away 2026.
I have a little additional inside information to share prior to the official announcement. B1G is going to go to 4 pods of 4 teams each. Each pod will be named after a color: red, yellow, blue, and white. Dynamic 8-team divisions will be formed each season. In the first year, red and white will combine to be the Pink Division and yellow and blue pods will be the Green Division. In year 2 it will be Powder Blue and Orange and then the third rotation will be Light Yellow vs. Purple. You heard it here first.
Its PSU first year right? That is why PSU has no rival? - F this Conference.Welcome to the Big 10!
Neither of the B2G wanted us as a rival because they hate the White Out. And having Rutgers or Maryland is embarrassing. Hence, none for us.
That’s my question too. Maybe seem annoyed by not having any fixed teams but I’m not sure who even should be given they went small with the number of protected games. I feel like the same people complaining about not having anyone fixed would be complaining if PSU got Maryland and/or Rutgers every season.
I would prefer it to be MD, just so PSU can keep giving them big L's and controlling the DMV for recruiting
Yeah, if we had to lock in one of the eastern teams, I'd rather it be Maryland. Maryland is a more interesting/competitive opponent and I think that the Maryland/mid-Atlantic area is more critical for recruiting so having a presence there more frequently is nice.
