Big Ten Divisions

The Big Ten will announce its brand-new football divisions this evening.

ESPN is reporting that it’s going to look like this:

• Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern, and Minnesota.
• Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana, and Illinois.

I think this is a mistake, for a variety of reasons (with the most obvious being the splitting up of Ohio State and Michigan, who will apparently still play every year because tradition — and revenue — demands it).

What would I do, you ask?

Well, how about:

• Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State, Northwestern, and Illinois.
• Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana, and Minnesota.

Or, if that doesn’t suit you, there always:

• Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State, Northwestern, and Minnesota.
• Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana, and Illinois.

Or perhaps:

• Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State, Northwestern, Illinois, and Minnesota.
• Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana, and Penn State.

Or finally:

• Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State, Northwestern, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
• Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Purdue, Indiana, and Penn State.

I feel like any one of those divisions is a bit cleaner with regard to geography … except that Penn State in the latter two is really messy. I don’t like either of those scenarious, but my good friend Marcus Sanborn tells me that PSU, OSU, and U-M can’t all be together in one division because — when Michigan finally wins more than three games a year — it’ll be too much of a powerhouse division.

Of course, if Nebraska and Michigan State end up in the same division, I get to wear a lot more green to Memorial Stadium a lot more often … and to enjoy the gentle, “we’re all friends here,” good-natured jeering of the Husker faithful around me. I probably also get visits from my MSU friends more often. So, not all bad.

Anyhow, these are just some thoughts, since waiting until 6pm Central to find out that ESPN has the right information all along is far too dull.