OWH Barfknecht: During realignment, four others from Big 12 took a look at Big Ten switch

[Landlord]

 

If we went to a 20 team conference, then get rid of out-of-conference scheduling all together. 13 games, all in conference, with schedule fairness/equality determined by previous years' win-loss records.

 

Divide the conference into 4 5 team pods, you play all 4 teams in your pod every season, as well as rotating with another pod every 2 years, and 2 each from the two remaining pods. That way you don't go more than 2-3 years without playing every team in your conference.

Careful. Some on this board think that permanently adding OU and Colorado to NU's OOC list now with the 9 conference game schedule is too harsh...and doesn't make sense.

 

 

 

No need to use my post to take silly jabs at other people. That's an entirely different scenario than what I am proposing, where over half of your schedule would still be P5 but not good teams.

 

 

 

I'll just lay out a quick hypothetical because I think it's interesting. Doing this in like two minutes so obviously it's not really about the details.

 

 

Pod 1

Nebraska

Oklahoma

Kansas

Minnesota

Northwestern

 

Pod 2

Michigan State

Oklahoma State

Kansas State

Iowa State

Iowa

 

Pod 3

Missouri

Michigan

Wisconsin

Indiana

Purdue

 

Pod 4

Ohio State

Penn State

Rutgers

Maryland

Illinois

 

 

 

Every year we would play our pod, one other pod, and two opponents from the two remainings (these would likely almost always be weaker opponents). So a hypothetical schedule (not in chronological order) could be:

 

Oklahoma

Kansas

Minnesota

Northwestern

Missouri

Michigan

Wisconsin

Indiana

Purdue

Iowa State

Iowa

Rutgers

Maryland

 

 

13 game all conference schedule with 8 safe bet wins. It'd be tougher, but if the landscape is going this way, and if the Big Ten pioneered it, everyone else would follow, and it would make for a better product overall nationwide, as well as greater conference affinity.

[Mavric]

 

Four pods, play your own and one other every year. I'd even rotate the "other" pod each year so you'd play each team every three years, everyone at home once every six.

[Scratchtown]

 

 

If we went to a 20 team conference, then get rid of out-of-conference scheduling all together. 13 games, all in conference, with schedule fairness/equality determined by previous years' win-loss records.

 

Divide the conference into 4 5 team pods, you play all 4 teams in your pod every season, as well as rotating with another pod every 2 years, and 2 each from the two remaining pods. That way you don't go more than 2-3 years without playing every team in your conference.

Careful. Some on this board think that permanently adding OU and Colorado to NU's OOC list now with the 9 conference game schedule is too harsh...and doesn't make sense.

 

 

 

No need to use my post to take silly jabs at other people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TITANIC VS LUSITANIA]

 

 

If we went to a 20 team conference, then get rid of out-of-conference scheduling all together. 13 games, all in conference, with schedule fairness/equality determined by previous years' win-loss records.

 

Divide the conference into 4 5 team pods, you play all 4 teams in your pod every season, as well as rotating with another pod every 2 years, and 2 each from the two remaining pods. That way you don't go more than 2-3 years without playing every team in your conference.

Careful. Some on this board think that permanently adding OU and Colorado to NU's OOC list now with the 9 conference game schedule is too harsh...and doesn't make sense.

 

 

 

No need to use my post to take silly jabs at other people. That's an entirely different scenario than what I am proposing, where over half of your schedule would still be P5 but not good teams.

 

 

 

I'll just lay out a quick hypothetical because I think it's interesting. Doing this in like two minutes so obviously it's not really about the details.

 

 

Pod 1

Nebraska

Oklahoma

Kansas

Minnesota

Northwestern

 

Pod 2

Michigan State

Oklahoma State

Kansas State

Iowa State

Iowa

 

Pod 3

Missouri

Michigan

Wisconsin

Indiana

Purdue

 

Pod 4

Ohio State

Penn State

Rutgers

Maryland

Illinois

 

 

 

Every year we would play our pod, one other pod, and two opponents from the two remainings (these would likely almost always be weaker opponents). So a hypothetical schedule (not in chronological order) could be:

 

Oklahoma

Kansas

Minnesota

Northwestern

Missouri

Michigan

Wisconsin

Indiana

Purdue

Iowa State

Iowa

Rutgers

Maryland

 

 

13 game all conference schedule with 8 safe bet wins. It'd be tougher, but if the landscape is going this way, and if the Big Ten pioneered it, everyone else would follow, and it would make for a better product overall nationwide, as well as greater conference affinity.

 

So there would be a Big10 Semi-final game? Now your season (if you reach the NCAA final) would be 17 games

[ColoradoHusk]

 

 

 

 

 

 

If we went to a 20 team conference, then get rid of out-of-conference scheduling all together. 13 games, all in conference, with schedule fairness/equality determined by previous years' win-loss records.

 

Divide the conference into 4 5 team pods, you play all 4 teams in your pod every season, as well as rotating with another pod every 2 years, and 2 each from the two remaining pods. That way you don't go more than 2-3 years without playing every team in your conference.

Careful. Some on this board think that permanently adding OU and Colorado to NU's OOC list now with the 9 conference game schedule is too harsh...and doesn't make sense.

 

No need to use my post to take silly jabs at other people.

 

 

 

 

I think a schedule of nothing but conference games would be so freaking boring. If that would happen be B1G might as go on with the threat of being like the Ivy League.

[teachercd]

Don't you want to see a few new teams each year? Hell I am pumped for Oregon and I am even pumped for Tennessee and that is like 10 years from now.

[RedDenver]

Don't you want to see a few new teams each year? Hell I am pumped for Oregon and I am even pumped for Tennessee and that is like 10 years from now.

Agreed. I think there's a greater chance that the P5 teams form a new NCAA and dissolve the conferences (in order to allow greater schedule flexibility) then teams being reduced to only conference games each year.

[teachercd]

 

Don't you want to see a few new teams each year? Hell I am pumped for Oregon and I am even pumped for Tennessee and that is like 10 years from now.

Agreed. I think there's a greater chance that the P5 teams form a new NCAA and dissolve the conferences (in order to allow greater schedule flexibility) then teams being reduced to only conference games each year.

 

I even kind of like the cupcake games...sometimes the are close or a huge upset and that is crazy fun (unless it is your team), they are fun to bet and sometimes its nice just knowing that by halftime all you need to concentrate on is drinking and telling stories with your friends.

[The Duke]

Oklahoma vs Wisconsin, Texas A&M vs Nebraska? Great, even in a fantasy world, Nebraska isn't scheduled to play Oklahoma.

+1 That was really funny!

[Landlord]

Don't you want to see a few new teams each year? Hell I am pumped for Oregon and I am even pumped for Tennessee and that is like 10 years from now.

 

 

Yes, but if I had to pick between that and actually feeling like belonging to a conference meant something, I would pick the latter.

 

This is a "make the best out of a worst case scenario" situation for me. I personally hate what money is doing to cfb and the conference realignment race is a huge, ugly part of that. I wish all conferences maxed out at 12.

[Redux]

OU and KU would be my top two targets.

[The Duke]

OU and KU would be my top two targets.

They would be my first two choices as well. Top-notch football program in Oklahoma, and obviously top-notch basketball program with Kansas.

 

The only issue that will be present when trying to add these two teams to the Big Ten would be their companion state schools in Oklahoma State & Kansas State. So if the Big Ten wants the Sooners & Jayhawks bad enough, they might be forced to bring aboard the Cowboys & Wildcats as well, and if you're down that road than the conference might as well include the Iowa State Cyclones, while looking for one final team (Missouri?) to make it an even 20 teams.

 

However, if they can get away with just getting Oklahoma & Kansas (16-Team Big Ten) without needing to bring aboard the state schools, than the Big Ten should jump on this opportunity soon to add one more powerful poker chip to their TV rights negotiations which are coming up within the next year.

[Scratchtown]

I would settle for just Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

 

Kansas doesn't bring anything of substance for what I watch. So I don't want them to be brought in, if going with 2 is the only option.

[Redux]

I would settle for just Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

 

Kansas doesn't bring anything of substance for what I watch. So I don't want them to be brought in, if going with 2 is the only option.

This goes far beyond what KU brings as a football presence.

[The Duke]

Let's add another log to the fire shall we...

 

 

Clay Travis of Fox Sports referenced Lee Barfknecht's Omaha World Herald article and has now taken the speculation further. http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/outkick-the-coverage/oklahoma-nebraska-texas-a-m-kansas-and-iowa-state-sought-to-join-big-ten-in-2010-072615

 

If Oklahoma and Kansas become the 15th & 16th Big Ten members, what then happens to the Big 12 particularly how it pertains to Texas and the Big 12's overall TV contract?

 

In the article Travis mentions:

 

"(I don't believe ESPN or Fox would stop paying the Big 12's television rights fee because they could be sued for helping to encourage the existing Big 12 schools to change conferences. Why would the schools be leaving for the Pac 12 and the Big Ten? For more TV money. Where does that money come from? ESPN and Fox's deals with the two conferences. It's no surprise that no conference has ever lost its television package over the loss of members. Now what would happen when the TV contracts ran out? The conference might well die).

 

 

This is just starting to heat up. College football could be VERY interesting this year both on & off the gridiron. Stay tuned.