Hey All,
Training camp is in full swing for colleges across the land. Times have officially changed as the Pac 12 lives on in a hollow shell of itself as only OSU and Wazzu remain in The Conference of Champions. With the earliest games starting on August 24th, it's time to look at the schedules of the four major conferences. This week we will look at the Big Ten and the Big XII
Big Ten Conference
This old league is now a coast to coast conference with 18 members. The members are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State, Purdue, Ohio State, Oregon, Rutgers, USC, UCLA, Washington, and Wisconsin.
There are no divisions in the Big Ten for 2024. The top two teams in the regular season will meet at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in the league's title tilt on 12/7.
Big Ten Top Out Of Conference Games
A disclaimer here first. The USC-ND and Iowa-Iowa State games aren't on this list because the significance of these annually played rivalry games have been well known for a very long time.
9/1- USC v. LSU: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV- Pretty simple storyline here for the Trojans. Can their new look defense under new DC D'Anton Lynn stuff LSU's running game behind their huge O-line? If they can and force new LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier to win the game on his own, the Trojans could emerge at 1-0 and have the Coliseum rocking for their home opener a week later.
9/7- Texas at Michigan: The only prior meeting between these two was the 2005 Rose Bowl where PK Dusty Mangum split the uprights from 37 yards out as time expired to lift the Longhorns to a 38-37 victory. Will the Wolverines be able to stop a Texas squad that believes they are in position to win the natty this year? Would a win by the Wolverines send the 'Horns into a tailspin before they enter their first season of conference play in the SEC? The stakes are high in this one for sure.
9/7- Colorado at Nebraska: If Dylan Raiola is the truly the Patrick Mahomes clone that he is advertised to be, this could be an epic shootout between Raiola and CU QB Shedeur Sanders. However, if Colorado's problems in the trenches from last year resurface, it could be an ugly Buffalo hunt in the land of corn and Runza beef sandwiches.
9/14- Alabama at Wisconsin: These two haven't met since Bama beat the Badgers, 35-17 in a neutral site game at Jerryworld in 2015. The only other time they met was in 1928 when the Badgers hosted the Tide and won 15-0. The win could have been called the best thing to happen for the Badgers since sliced bread and that would have been a topical claim. Sliced bread was only first sold in the United States a few months earlier by the Chillicothe Baking Co. of Missouri on July 7th of that year, but I digress. What an opportunity for HC Luke Fickell's squad to burst onto the national scene with a takedown of the Crimson Tide under new HC Kalen DeBoer. An upset here would have the Crimson Tide faithful calling for DeBoer's job as soon as the clock hit 0:00.
9/21- UCLA at LSU: Can UCLA go to Death Valley and tame the Bayou Bengals? We shall see. It's an uphill battle but it's the kind of game that UCLA tends to win and then they underachieve after that. The only other meeting between these two teams was when Coach O's Tigers were beaten 38-27 by the bRuins at the Rose Bowl in 2021.
Big Ten Intriguing Out Of Conference Games
The Facing Your Exes Doubleheader
9/14 Oregon at Oregon State : The rivalry formerly know as The Civil War will be more explosive than ever this year as an angry set of Beavers greets the Quacks at the fully renovated and improved Reser Stadium. Even without the extra incentive for OSU going into this game let me remind you that the Beavers have won three of the last four games v. Nike U in Corvallis. Hmmmmmm
9/14 Washington State v. Washington: Lumen Field, Seattle, WA- This "neutral site" game that will be played a stone's throw from UW's campus will be a hotly contested if not well played affair. The Dawgs will still be getting used to their new system under new HC Jedd Fisch and Wazzu will still be picking up the pieces after all the defections they suffered due to being left behind in the wake of the collapse of the Pac 12. A sloppy, entertaining game seems to be in the offing here.
The Rest
8/31 Penn State at West Virginia: This rivalry, if you can call it that, (PSU owns a 49-9-2 series edge). Was rekindled last year after not being played since 1992 which was the year before the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten. PSU won last year's game, 38-15 and they are expected to whip the Mountaineers this year too. However for tradition sake, it's good to see Penn State playing West Virginia again.
9/7 Duke at Northwestern: It's good to see the Goldman Sachs- Johns Hopkins Bowl still going strong. This one will be at the new temporary 15k seat yard NU is using this year. It is on campus and sits right on Lake Michigan. Should be a beautiful day for a game.
9/21 Michigan State at Boston College: Its will be neat to see just how far these two teams have come in just a short time under their new HCs in BC's Bill O'Brien and MSU's Jonathan Smith. Also we will see if MSU can get a win here. The Spartans are just 1-4-1 all time v. BC. Sparty's only win over the Fighting Fluties was a 24-21 win in the Champs Sports Bowl back in 1995.
Big Ten Top Conference Games
9/21- USC at Michigan: The Men of Troy's first league game is a visit to the defending champs. Depending on how SC handles LSU and Michigan fares with Texas early on, this already hyped up game could reach maximum hype-ness the week leading into it. A Trojan victory would send some buyer's remorse shockwaves throughout the Big Ten.
10/5- Iowa at TheeeOSU: Classic trap game here. Can a believed to be improved Hawkeyes bunch trip up the Buckeyes the week before they travel west to take on Oregon? Look for the Scarlet and Gray to have their hands full in this one.
10/12- TheeeOSU at Oregon: With the way their schedules are set up, this could be a battle of unbeatens for league supremacy. It could also be the first of two meetings between the schools picked by most to meet again in the league title game. Both teams are loaded for this donnybrook at Autzen Stadium. The Buckeyes own the series over the Quacks with a 9-1 record, but they lost the last meeting in Columbus, 35-28 back in 2021. The Buckeyes have only been to Eugene once before. In 1967 Woody Hayes' boys shutout UO, 30-0.
10/12- Penn State at USC: It's the first meeting for these two since the Trojans pulled off an incredible comeback and beat the Nittany Lions, 52-49 in the 2017 Rose Bowl. If either team wants to stay in the league title and playoff hunt, a win here is mandatory.
11/2- Oregon at Michigan: If the Ducks beat TheeOSU they could take down both of the Big Ten's traditional top dogs in their first season in the league. Wow. For UM, they could really dent Oregon's league takeover plans while also staying in position for the conference title with a win.
Bonus Game
10/26- Rutgers at USC: This Friday night affair is on the list thanks to the schedule makers. Rutgers has a dream schedule. The Scarlet Knights will not play TheeeOSU, Michigan, Penn State, Oregon or Iowa. The Trojans could be the only huge hurdle keeping Rutgers from a miracle run to Indianapolis.
Big Ten Scheduling Notes
...Home Cooking; TheeeOSU plays eight home games, three true away games and one neutral site game when they take on Northwestern at Wrigley Field.
...Home is where you make it; Due to the renovation of Ryan Field, Northwestern has built a temporary 15,000 seat stadium on campus that sits right on the shore of Lake Michigan. They will play five home games there and two neutral site games at Wrigley Field v. TheeeOSU and Soldier Field v. Illinois.
...Little experience; Rutgers has never played USC, UCLA, and Oregon. They have squared off against Washington twice in a home-and-home series in 2016-17 where the Dawgs won both games.
...Weak sauce; Indiana faces and incredibly soft non conference slate as the Hoosiers will host FIU, Charlotte and FCS bottom feeder Western Illinois. WIU is currently riding a 24-game losing streak.
...Bye Bye; Everyone in the Big Ten has two byes this year.
..Doing it wrong; Purdue plays back-to-back road games twice this year. On 10/5 and 10/12, the Boilermakers go to Wisconsin and Illinois the on 11/23 and 11/30 they travel to Michigan State and Indiana.
...After the leaves turn; Michigan doesn't play a road game until 10/5 when they travel to Washington.
...3/4 time; Penn State is the only squad that will face three of the four former Pac 12 members. The Blue and White will host UCLA on 10/5, travel to USC on 10/2 and then host UW on 11/9.
...3M road slate; USC will play at Michigan on 9/21, at Minnesota on 10/5, and at Maryland on 10/19.
...Well rested foes; TheeeOSU plays four teams coming off byes this year.
...Neutrally Away; Thanks to the Ryan Field Stadium renovations, Northwestern will play only one true home game in the last eight weeks of the year. Wisconsin rolls into Evanston on 10/19.
...Early one; Michigan State travels to Maryland on 9/7 in the first Big Ten league game of 2024.
Big XII Conference
Aloha means hello and good bye. The Big XII saw both Texas and Oklahoma bolt to the SEC, but picked up four of the truly non-Pacific schools from the Pac 12 in their place. The league now has 16 teams. The members are Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, UCF, Utah and West Virginia.
Big XII Top Out Of Conference Games
8/31- TCU at Stanford: The now ACC Cardinal will host the Horned Frogs. TCU leads the series 3-0 with their last meeting being int he Alamo Bowl in 2017. Whipping Stanford would make everyone realize that this year's Purple Gang could be on the way to being as special as the 2022 squad.
9/7 Colorado at Nebraska: The battle of second year HCs could go either way. Will the intense Matt Rhule and his Huskers take down the flash, dash and trash talk of Coach Prime's Colorado? I'm sure sparks will fly and it could also be a pretty good game.
9/7- Kansas State at Tulane: HC Willlie Fritz has left the Green Wave, but can the Wildcats actual win a true road OOC game? K-State is 1-2 over the last five years in true road games and that one win was in 2019 at Mississippi State.
9/7- Arkansas at Oklahoma State: Yes, folks the Hogs will travel to take on Mullet Mike Gundy and his Pokes. The two schools have squared off 46 times but not since 1980 when Lou Holtz's Razorbacks beat Jimmy Johnson's Cowboys, 33-20 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. This year the Pokes are expected to challenge for the Big XII title while Arkansas is playing to stave off the firing of HC Sam Pittman. A win here would definitely help Pittman's job security.
10/5- UCF at Florida: Simply said beating the Gators would be a huge for the Golden Knights and the Big XII as a whole.
Big XII Intriguing Out Of Conference Game
9/7- North Dakota State at Colorado: Could the mighty Bison of the FCS upset the Buffs? It's more likely to happen than you think. If CU does fall, the school should have to change their name to the Prairie Dogs in disgrace.
9/14- Air Force at Baylor: Odds are it will be triple digit temps when these two meet. If Air Force can eat clock with their option game, the Bears could easily wilt on the banks of the Brazos. Baylor would like to avenge their 30-15 loss to the Falcons in the 2022 Armed Forced Bowl and notch another much needed win towards potential playoff eligibility.
Big XII Top Conference Games
9/21- Utah at Oklahoma State: This will be the Utes first big road test in their new league. Can the Utes handle the atmosphere at Boone Pickens Stadium?
9/28- Arizona at Utah: This is the first game between any of the four schools that left the Pac 12. It's a revenge game here with Utah looking to avenge the 42-18 butt kicking they got in Tucson last year. 15 returning starters including QB Noah Fifita and WR Tetairoa McMillan may just thwart Utah's plans for redemption.
10/26- Kansas at Kansas State: The Jayhawks are a sneaky pick to win double digit game this year. What makes that possible is an improved squad and also not having Utah or Okie State on their schedule. So, getting a win over the Wildcats could put them on a potential run to the league title game. However, the Jayhawks have lost 15 straight to the inhabitants of the Little Apple.
11/9- BYU at Utah: This game means something again as far as conference play goes. The last time the combatants in this rivalry known as "The Holy War" played a league game was 2010 when they were members of the Mountain West Conference. Utah is the prohibitive favorite to win the Big XII with Cam Rising back for his 25th year as their QB. It would make BYU's year to derail the Utes.
BYU-Utah Fun Fact
Utah maintains the rivalry dates back to 1896 when BYU Academy lost to Utah 12-4, However BYU doesn't recognize that game or five others played between the two schools from 1896-98. BYU only recognizes the rivalry as starting in 1922 with a 49-0 Utah win. Weird, huh?
Big XII Scheduling Notes
...Two weeks to glory; Oklahoma State hosts Utah on 9/21 and then travels to Kansas State on 9/28. A pair of wins over the league's top ranked teams will give the Cowboys the inside track to the league title game.
...Four for the Two; Arizona and Arizona State are now in their fourth conference together. They have been members of the Border Conference, WAC, Pac 10/12 and now the Big XII.
...Almost all; The four former Pac 12 schools are one game away from all facing each other this year. Colorado does not play Arizona State.
...Tough stretch; From 10/19- 11/9 Okie State will play back to back road games at BYU and Baylor, come home for an ASU team coming off a bye then hits the road again to face TCU.
...Two for all; Everyone in the Big XII has two byes this year.
...A fine nine; TCU has won nine straight games v. Houston.
...More well rested foes; Texas Tech will play four teams this year coming a bye.
...WAC-y schedule; BYU's slate is loaded with old foes from the crazy days of the WAC. The Cougars will play Wyoming, Arizona, Utah and Arizona State.
...That's cool, but; Texas Tech doesn't play Utah or Kansas State, but will face conference contenders TCU, Iowa State and Okie State all on the road.
...Seven first dates; UCF will play seven teams for the first time ever this year. Five of those will be conference games v. TCU, Colorado, Iowa State, Arizona and Utah. Oh, and they've only played ASU once before.
...Feeling Western PA; West Virginia plays both Penn State and Pittsburgh this year. First time that has happened since 1992.
Until next time folks, remember that every game is a big game. Like John Madden once said, "Somebody tell me when there's a little one. They're all big."
-The Commissioner
