We officially know what Big Ten football will look like once USC and UCLA join the league in 2024.
The Big Ten revealed its new scheduling model for the 2024 and 2025 seasons on Thursday, which will be the first two seasons with USC and UCLA in the conference. The Big Ten will move away from the East and West Divisions and will use the “two-play opponents” model which essentially means you will play these three teams in both 2024 and 2025. Part of that is the inclusion of protected rivals which will be games that remain in place annually after the 2025 season (i.e. Michigan-Michigan State, Michigan-Ohio State, Iowa-Wisconsin, etc.).
This new model was what was expected and is something I even speculated about earlier this year when I tried to predict who each team would get as their protected rivals. I’m back again to see how my predictions compared to the official rotations released on Thursday, and to offer up my general thoughts on each pairing below:
Illinois
Two-Play Opponents: Northwestern (protected), Ohio State and Purdue (protected)
My Prediction: Northwestern, Purdue and Rutgers
I predicted both Northwestern and Purdue would be here so I have no beef with these selections for the Fighting Illini. This seems like a fair draw for an Illinois program currently on the rise.
Indiana
Two-Play Opponents: Maryland, Michigan State and Purdue (protected)
My Prediction: Maryland, Michigan State and Purdue
I was spot on with all three of these teams so of course I’m going to agree with what the Big Ten gave Indiana here. The draw is also relatively manageable for the Hoosiers should they get themselves back on track as all three of these teams aren’t perennial contenders in the Big Ten.
Iowa
Two-Play Opponents: Minnesota (protected), Nebraska (protected) and Wisconsin (protected)
My Prediction: Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin
Iowa was probably the easiest to peg for their protected rivals as all three of their opponents have been true rivalries matchups for years. The Big Ten didn’t overthink it with the Hawkeyes — which is always great to see in situations like this.
Maryland
Two-Play Opponents: Indiana, Michigan and Rutgers (protected)
My Prediction: Indiana, Rutgers and Penn State
Maryland was tough to predict who would be their rotating regulars since they are still relatively new to the league and lack true rivalry matchups. But overall, I like what the Big Ten did for the Terps as it keeps their two east coast peers as regulars for the next few years.
Michigan
Two-Play Opponents: Maryland, Michigan State (protected) and Ohio State (protected)
My Prediction: Michigan State, Ohio State and UCLA
Well, it was pretty obvious that Michigan State and Ohio State would be on this list so the real surprise would be who was the third team. I liked UCLA since it’s new blood in the league for one of the biggest brands currently in the conference. But I don’t have an issue with Maryland here for the Wolverines.
Minnesota
Two-Play Opponents: Iowa (protected), Nebraska and Wisconsin (protected)
My Prediction: Iowa, Northwestern and Wisconsin
Iowa and Wisconsin were obvious choices for the Golden Gophers, and I can see how Nebraska was the third from the league as well. I personally liked keeping Nebraska open for another program but nothing to scream about here.
Nebraska
Two-Play Opponents: Iowa (protected), Minnesota and UCLA
My Prediction: Iowa, Purdue and UCLA
I’m glad UCLA was one of the three schools Nebraska got from the league. I not only picked that to be the case, but love the opportunity of two historic programs both looking to get back to the top of the game playing regularly like that.
Northwestern
Two-Play Opponents: Illinois (protected), Ohio State and Purdue
My Prediction: Illinois, Minnesota and Rutgers
This was one of the predictions I was the most off on. I personally don’t get Ohio State getting paired up with Northwestern here as this seems like a complete mismatch the league could have avoided.
Ohio State
Two-Play Opponents: Illinois, Michigan (protected) and Northwestern
My Prediction: Michigan, Penn State and USC
I gave the Buckeyes a gauntlet while the league gave them a cakewalk. Certainly Michigan will be tough but Illinois and Northwestern as the other two seems a bit odd and it’s a missed opportunity to not have either Penn State, USC or Wisconsin as one of the other two regulars here.
Penn State
Two-Play Opponents: Michigan State, Rutgers and USC
My Prediction: Maryland, Michigan State and Ohio State
My prediction was a bit off but the idea of it isn’t in theory as we could easily swap out Maryland for Rutgers. What bothers me, though, is that Ohio State isn’t on here as that matchup is annually a great game that I would hate to see fall off the schedule.
Purdue
Two-Play Opponents: Illinois (protected), Indiana (protected) and Northwestern
My Prediction: Illinois, Indiana and Nebraska
Indiana and Illinois made sense for the Boilermakers, and I have no problem with the Big Ten going with Northwestern instead of Nebraska as I predicted.
Rutgers
Two-Play Opponents: Maryland (protected), Penn State and UCLA
My Prediction: Illinois, Maryland and Northwestern
Maryland and Penn State make sense to me as they are both fellow east coast schools for the Scarlet Knights. However, I’m a little puzzled with how UCLA ended up as their third rotational rival — maybe the league was going for the farthest possible trip here?
UCLA
Two-Play Opponents: Nebraska, Rutgers and USC (protected)
My Prediction: Michigan, Nebraska and USC
I would have much rather seen Michigan or Ohio State end up here than Rutgers for some more sizzle. But I’ll gladly take Nebraska getting one of these three spots and USC was obviously going to be a protected rival for the Bruins.
USC
Two-Play Opponents: Penn State, UCLA (protected) and Wisconsin
My Prediction: Ohio State, UCLA and Wisconsin
I love what the Big Ten did for USC. I had Ohio State instead of Penn State, but I have no problem with the Nittany Lions being here instead. The Trojans will bring plenty of excitement to the league so I would have been disappointed had they not been given two big-time programs like Wisconsin and Penn State.
Wisconsin
Two-Play Opponents: Iowa (protected), Minnesota (protected) and USC
My Prediction: Iowa, Minnesota and USC
I clearly have no issue with what the Big Ten did for Wisconsin since I had these same three teams. The Badgers were always going to be given traditional rivals Iowa and Minnesota, and I’m glad the league agreed to fill the third final spot with USC.
Michigan State
Two-Play Opponents: Indiana, Michigan (protected) and Penn State
My Prediction: Indiana, Michigan and Penn State
I would have loved to see Michigan State get USC or UCLA as one of its three teams to provide a little bit more sizzle. But these three teams always made sense for the Spartans so I have no objections here.
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