Hey All,
Here's my third installment on scheduling in the BCS conferences for the upcoming season. This time I will look at the schedules of teams from the Big Ten and the Pacific 12. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.
Big Ten
Five Big Ones: Non Conference
8/31 Boise State at Michigan State: Welcome to Friday night lights in East Lansing! The good news for the Spartans is that QB Kellen Moore is gone along with a large group of seniors. The Broncos have only seven returning starters with just two of those returning to the defensive side of the ball. The bad news for Sparty is that the last time Boise was this decimated by graduation losses they went 12-1 with their big win being a 37-32 upset of Oregon in Eugene.
9/1 Michigan v. Alabama at Jerryworld: This could be a big game. It really means everything for the Big Ten. A Michigan win and it's big time national attention for the Big 10. A loss allows every writer east of Norman to marginalize the Big 10 for the rest of the season. A loss to 'Bama wouldn't hurt them nearly as bad because all those writers will soon tell us how 'Bama will return from this horrible loss to contend for the SEC crown. You know, that same crown that 'Bama HC Nick Saban didn't matter when it came to national title game selection in 2011.
9/1 Ohio at Penn State: Forget about the matchup and the score of this game. What Nittany Lion fans will remember about this game is that nobody is ever going to let them watch a game and forget about Jerry Sandusky. Every game broadcast this year, (and in those to come), will have a point where the commentators will remind us all, (as if we needed it), about Sandusky. Opposing fans, win or lose, will spout off about it to your fans with chants, signs, and everything they can think of to belittle you. A lot of it will be "over the line." Oh, and it won't end any time soon.
9/8 Nebraska at UCLA: The Cornhuskers want a real look at the Rose Bowl now that they have a real shot of playing in the New Year's Day affair on a regular basis. The Huskers hold a 6-4 overall record v. the bRuins and have won six of their last seven meetings, dropping their 1988 meeting, 41-28. A loss here by the Huskers would be a big embarrassment for the Big Red and Big Ten.
9/22 Michigan at Notre Dame: These games have been just heart-stoppers over the last three seasons with Michigan coming away with three dramatic victories. If UM comes into South Bend with a win over 'Bama under their belt, this game will be huge. Beano Cook and every other ND apologist will be there touting how this will be the game that truly vaults the Irish back into the national picture. If UM comes in with a loss to 'Bama under their belt, it'll be a survival game for the Wolverines. Either way, it's gonna be a really, really good game.
Five Big Ones: Conference
9/29 Ohio State at Michigan State: This will be new OSU HC Urban Meyer's first taste of Big Ten action. This one shapes up to be a defensive battle as both squads return eight starters on defense. The loser of this one will be a quick 0-1 in league play. The Scarlet and Gray have some recent history on their side with three straight wins at Spartan Stadium by an average margin of 27 points per game.
10/27 Michigan State at Wisconsin: These two split a pair of dramatic finishes last season. Who could forget last year's Hail Mary win for the Spartans in East Lansing or fail to remember Wisconsin's great final TD drive in the inaugural Big Ten title game? This one should be a good one too. Oh, and as if it didn't need any more hype, the game is Wisconsin's Homecoming game.
11/3 Michigan at Nebraska: The Wolverines will make their first trip to Lincoln since 1911. Fielding H.Yost coached the Wolverines that day in a game that ended in a 6-6 tie. I don't think this one will end in a tie. Last year, the Wolverines whipped the Huskers up in Ann Arbor, 45-17. The Blackshirts will need to rise up with a huge effort to stop the Maize and Blue this year.
11/17 Iowa at Michigan: Huh? Yes, this game is important because Iowa has beaten Michigan three straight times. It also comes the week before UM faces Theee Ohio State. Hawkeye HC Kirk Ferentz always seems to have his squad ready for the Wolverines.
11/24 Ohio State at Michigan: Brady Hoke v. Urban Meyer will be the big story in this game. It could also be round one of a two game battle for the Big Ten title. Remember these two teams are in separate divisions in the Big Ten. Yes, they could play each other twice in a seven day span.
Scheduling Odds and Ends in the Big Ten
...A big miss; Wisconsin doesn't play Michigan this season. The Badgers also get Ohio State and Michigan State at home.
...Yes, those are really considered road trips; Theee Ohio State plays just four road games with a round trip total of 2,650 miles for all four games. By comparison, USC's trip to Washington this season will cover 2,274 miles round trip all by itself.
...Tough Double; Illinois starts October with back-to-back road games at Wisconsin and Michigan.
...Tougher Triple; Purdue has a three week stretch where they host Michigan and Wisconsin, then go on the road to Ohio State.
...Not this century; Penn State hasn't won at Iowa since 1999.
...Even Lee Corso gave up; Indiana is just 1-15 in their last 16 Big Ten games. The Hoosiers are just 178-462-28 all-time in conference play. That's a .259 winning percentage.
...Big Red in the Rose Bowl; Nebraska will take on UCLA at the Rose Bowl on 9/8. That means that the crowd will be about 70,000. 50,000 will be Husker fans.
...Not much of a home field advantage; Minnesota is only 4-8 at home v. Big Ten foes since moving into TCF Bank Stadium in 2009.
...No Clark and Addison; I'm glad Northwestern and Illinois won't be playing at Wrigley Field this season.
...Just three; Michigan State has just five road games this season, but they only leave the state three times. The other two road games are at Central Michigan and Michigan.
Pacific 12
Five Big Ones: Non Conference
(Note: I think we all know the importance of USC-ND. Here's five others to watch.)
9/8 Washington at LSU: The Huskies don't have history on their side here. The Dawgs are just 2-9 all-time v. the SEC. Also, the only other time the Dawgs visited Baton Rouge was 1983 and they were whipped, 40-14. Also, LSU is 20-4 all-time vs. the Pac 12 with USC being the last team to beat LSU back in 1979.
9/8 Wisconsin at Oregon State: The Beavers never seem to start fast and just stumble through their early games. If the Beavers stumble, the Badgers will bury 'em. RB Montee Ball made a Matt Barkley style decision and is back for a shot at the Heisman and a BCS bowl. Oh, and Ball will be running behind a line that averages 6-6, 320 LBS all the way across. Could be a bad day for the Beavs in Corvalis.
9/8 Oklahoma State at Arizona: Last year the Wildcats were whipped by the Cowboys, 37-14 in Stillwater. This is a huge opportunity for the Wildcats to show new HC Rich Rodriguez just how fast they've picked up his system against an Okie State team without QB Brandon Weeden and WR Justin Blackmon. Mizzou is looking for a credibility building win before they enter SEC play.
9/15 Arizona State at Missouri: So, now this is a SEC-Pac 12 tilt. New ASU HC Todd "Text Me" Graham will have the task of trying to get an early big win. A win would be ASU's first ever against an SEC school.
9/22 California at Ohio State: The two teams haven't met since 1972. The Golden Bears are just 1-5 vs. the Buckeyes with their only win coming in the 1921 Rose Bowl. Well, it's Jeff Tedford, not Andy Smith at the helm for Cal and Tedford has a habit of having teams that start fast. The Bears have a good shot of an upset here. Just don't laugh at me so hard when they blow it.
Five Big Ones: Conference (Or at least five games that I find intriguing on the schedule.)
10/4 USC at Utah: The Trojans will make their first trip to Salt Lake City since 1917. USC won that one, 51-0. This trip may be a little tougher. The Utes have 16 returning starters with high hopes of beating USC in one of those crazy Thursday night games. Both teams will be coming off a bye, so both squads should be rested and ready for this one.
10/6 Washington at Oregon: This is the game where the Huskies will try to lay claim as the big dogs of the Pac 12 North. However, recent history isn't on UW's side. The Dawgs have lost five straight in Eugene by an average of 28 points per game.
10/20 Stanford at California: Due to a new Pac 12 scheduling plan, the game was moved to October. There was another plan that would have kept the game in November this year, but that plan was voted down by the conference. What a shift from tradition this represents in the Pac 12. The Cardinal and the Golden Bears gear their whole season towards this game being in late November. It will be nteresting to see how well these two teams play in the weeks after this game.
11/3 Arizona at UCLA: This is the meeting between the two new HCs on the block. UofA's Rich Rodriguez and UCLA's Jim Mora, Jr. will fighting it out for the to see who is the king of the Pac 12 South basement. It should be a pretty good game.
11/3 Oregon at USC: As we enter fall camp, this is the biggest game on the Pac 12 slate. Last year, USC held off a furious rally by the Ducks and came away with a win at Autzen Stadium. USC also set a precedent by being the first team to beat a Chip Kelly led Duck squad with just one week to prepare. As for Oregon, RB La Michael James and QB Darron Thomas are gone, but RB DeAnthony Thomas and QB Brian Bennet are ready to step into the spotlight and lead the Quack Attack. College Gameday will have a tough choice ahead of them. Do they come to USC or to LSU for the Alabama-LSU game?
Scheduling Odds and Ends in the Pacific 12
...Taking a tip form the SEC; Oregon has four straight home games to start the season. They spend the first three games warming up with Arkansas State, Fresno State, and Tennessee Tech before they open up Pac 12 play with Arizona.
...Tough double; Cal plays Ohio state and USC in back-to-back road games in September.
...Five states of Husky football; Washington plays San Diego State, Louisiana State, Portland State, Oregon State, and Washington State this year.
...Over a century; Wazzu hosts Eastern Washington this season. The two schools haven't met since October 10th, 1908. Wazzu whipped EWU, 73-0. I know this game was a neat idea when Paul Wulff was the HC at Wazzu. However, he's gone now and his old school EWU is under NCAA scrutiny. That takes a little shine off this penny.
...Just not right; Playing the Cal-Stanford game on 10/20 is just plain wrong.
...Tough double- Part II; Stanford plays Notre Dame and Cal in back-to-back road games in October.
...No place like home; Arizona has eight home games this season.
...Tough double- Part III; Colorado plays back-to-back road games at USC and Oregon in October.
...Going owling; UCLA travels to Houston this year to take on Rice. That makes UCLA the first Pac 12 school to play at Rice since USC in 1971.
...Feeling Arizona; Colorado is 7-0 lifetime vs. the Wildcats in Tucson.
Until next time folks, remember we're only about 50 days out from kickoff.
-The Commissioner
