On Saturday, the Big Ten will officially open its Eastern front when Penn State visits Rutgers in the Big Ten opener for both teams and the Big Ten inaugural for Rutgers, which joins the conference (along with Maryland) this season.
Adding a pair of teams that combined to go 13-12 last season may not offer much of a boost to a conference whose national standing has taken some substantial hits in recent years but does promise to significantly expand the Big Ten's financial portfolio.
Expected to pull in $27 million per school this year (minus Nebraska, which will not get a full share until its sixth season in the conference), according to a report by Mike Carmin of the Lafayette Journal & Courier, the Big Ten is projecting that share to rise to $44.5 million for every school (minus this year's additions) by 2017-18, the first year of a new TV-rights deal.
"Our goal is to be relevant [in the region]" Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany tells Bleacher Report in a call from the conference's New York offices. "We're not going to be dominant. There are too many other factors involved. That's for the Yankees and the Redskins and all the other franchises that have been around for years."
Indeed, the conference doesn't anticipate that adding Rutgers is going to make the Northeast a Big Ten hub. But with Maryland, Delany believes the Big Ten is now entrenched in the "most competitive corridor in the world—in everything. Maybe that stretch of real estate is as important real estate as exists in the world."
That matters for a conference that Forbes reported is taking in $250 million from its television contracts but faces competition for dollars from the newly formed SEC Network and for headlines from a host of power conferences that all but saw their playoff hopes dashed by Week 2.
"We still believe on a collegiate level in athletics and academics, we're still the gold standard," Delany says.
That gleam has not been so easy to see in recent years.
The conference hasn't produced a national champion in the last 11 years and recorded a middling 13-15 mark in BCS bowl games.
And last week saw Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State all lose while Nebraska had to break a tie in the last few seconds to beat FCS school McNeese State.
Delany says the success on the field or on the basketball court is only part of the overall picture the Big Ten has had in expanding its footprint now and in recent years.
"A lot of the shaping [of the Big Ten] has been tied to the growth of the conferences," said Delany, who has been the Big Ten commissioner since 1989. "Penn State leaned East and that was good, but we sat there for 20 years with what we had.
"But then there were other changes. The ACC, the SEC, the Pac-12. All of those other conferences were going into second regions. If we didn't take the opportunity to do something, we felt we would be disadvantaged. We were happy with 11 teams and OK with 12 [Nebraska]. But then when the ACC started to make more moves and then went to Notre Dame, we felt we needed to grow a bit."
Expansion in all areas was researched, but potential new additions had to be what Delany called "peer" institutions with the existing Big Ten schools. Delany said the Big Ten also looked into the expanding into the Sun Belt region.
"But there had to be a mutuality of interest. Rutgers and Maryland both fit the profile we wanted," he said.
"Maryland has had a history of broad-based success in the ACC," said Delany, a North Carolina graduate. "Rutgers was emulating Bucknell more than Penn State. They didn't have the history of conference affiliation or an iconic coach, but they have good athletes, they have good students. With the Big Ten structure and Big Ten resources in academics and athletics, it gives them a chance. The idea is that we all talk the same language."
For now, Delany, 66, thinks expansion has stopped.
"I don't see anything on the horizon," he says. "I think now is a time for a period of quiet reflection about what has happened. But who knows what will happen? A lot of it is out of our control."
Same Teams, New Roles in SEC
There is nothing like a solid bit of role reversal to spice things up in the Southeastern Conference race.
Take this week in the SEC East, where No. 6 Georgia visits No. 24 South Carolina. Only two weeks ago in the AP preseason poll, South Carolina was No. 9, Georgia was No. 12. The Gamecocks were a consensus choice as the favorites in the SEC East, and the Dawgs stood as a solid second choice.
But a Week 1 blowout loss to Texas A&M bounced the Gamecocks, and a solid win by Georgia over Clemson in its opener flip-flopped the two teams.
Maybe South Carolina was overrated. Maybe Georgia, led by running back Todd Gurley, who looked a Heisman front-runner against Clemson, was ready to move into the SEC driver's seat earlier than anticipated.
Just how good are the Dawgs? They were supposed to take a hit when quarterback Aaron Murray and an assortment of talent departed, leaving the signal-caller chores to senior Hutson Mason, who took a redshirt season two years ago so he would have this opportunity. In Game 1, Mason was good enough, throwing for a modest 131 yards but connecting on 69 percent of his throws and not turning the ball over. And Gurley was otherworldly, rushing for 198 yards and three scores.
The showdown with South Carolina is intriguing not only because it will offer a test of Georgia's credentials as a contender, but also because it promises to heat up some of the bad blood these two share.
South Carolina, which, ironically, has 27 players from Georgia on the roster, enters the game as an underdog, something that likely will fuel South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier's already strong drive to punish Georgia.
How much does the Ol' Ball Coach like to beat the Dawgs?
According to SEC insiders, Spurrier's drive to stop Georgia began 48 years ago, when, in the middle of a Heisman Trophy-winning season at Florida, Spurrier wanted to cap his career with a victory against the Dawgs in their annual skirmish in Jacksonville, Florida.
Spurrier brought his Gators team into the game with a 7-0 record and a chance to clinch a share of Florida's first SEC championship.
Final score: Georgia 27, Florida 10, as Spurrier threw three interceptions.
Spurrier has faced the Dawgs 21 times since as a coach at Florida and South Carolina and has walked away with a win in 15 of those games.
The Gamecocks have won three of their last four meetings with Georgia, and Spurrier and Co. are now in a desperate situation. Starting 0-2 in conference play would mean the dreams of winning the SEC East will be gone before the end of September.
"We've got to play 10 more [games]," Spurrier said on the SEC media call this week. "We've got to try to get our guys to a higher level. We've got to find out where we are."
A loss will put them nowhere in the ever-changing SEC.
A Rivalry Renewed
Rutgers' Big Ten debut this weekend will be the school's third different conference opener in three years. Two years ago, the Scarlet Knights opened the final season of Big East football; last season they were part of the first season of the newly formed American Athletic Conference; and this season they will make their Big Ten debut against an old and familiar rival.
"First Big Ten Conference game for Rutgers in school history," said Penn State coach James Franklin at his weekly media conference this week. "... I do think it's good for New Jersey and I think it's good for the Big Ten and I think it's good for both institutions. I think it's going to be a fun game and we're looking forward to playing it."
Despite the new conference backdrop, Penn State and Rutgers share a history that dates back almost 100 years, with the Nittany Lions holding a 22-2 edge in the series. (Though few, at least the Rutgers victories are well spaced, coming in 1918 and 1988.)
The two almost became conference-mates about four decades ago, when former Penn State coach Joe Paterno envisioned turning the Eastern block of football schools—Penn State, Rutgers, Syracuse, Boston College, Pittsburgh—into an Eastern football league. Throw in nearby schools such as Temple, UConn, Maryland and West Virginia, and the plan made more than a little sense: a geographically tight, rivalry-driven conference where football and basketball could thrive at the national level.
The first move was made in 1982, when the Big East, still in its infancy, explored the idea of adding football, with Penn State as the cornerstone. The basketball side of the family—primarily Georgetown and St. John's—shot the idea down, which was the beginning of a simmering Big East family feud between the basketball-dominated side and the schools that played Division I football.
Paterno almost left for the conference on his own in 1984. Former New York Jets owner and Rutgers alum "Sonny" Werblin, who was instrumental in getting the sports complex in the New Jersey Meadowlands built and who enticed Alabama quarterback Joe Namath with a $400,000 contract, reportedly offered Paterno the Rutgers coaching job for $1 million a year, which would have made Joe Pa the highest-paid coach in college football. Paterno pondered the offer for a week before turning it down.
Penn State eventually turned its focus west and in 1990 became the 11th member of the Big Ten. When the Big Ten's longtime flirtation with Notre Dame ended, Nebraska jumped from the Big 12, and then last year, Maryland and Rutgers made their moves from the ACC and American Athletic Conference respectively as Big Ten members 13 and 14.
Now Penn State and Rutgers will be united at last, commencing with the Nittany Lions' first visit to the Scarlet Knights' campus since 1955.
"Rutgers vs. Penn State in the Big Ten?'' said former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese with a laugh. "If you would have told me 20 years ago that was going to happen, I would have said you were absolutely nuts.''
Countdown to Football Final Four Playoffs
(Teams eliminated from consideration)
Week 1
1. UCF; 2. Virginia; 3. Navy; 4. Western Michigan; 5. Troy; 6. Ga. Southern; 7. UMass; 8. West Virginia; 9. Miami (Ohio); 10. Rice; 11. Florida Atlantic; 12. Arkansas; 13. Kent State; 14. Louisiana Tech; 15. FIU; 16. So. Miss.; 17. Fresno State; 18. New Mexico; 19. North Texas; 20. Wake Forest; 21. Boise State; 22. Tulane; 23. Washington State; 24. Vanderbilt; 25 UConn; 26. Bowling Green; 27. Colorado; 28. Houston; 29. UNLV; 30. Hawaii; 31. SMU; 32. Appalachian State; 33. Northwestern; 34. Utah State; 35. Miami (Fla.); 36. Iowa State.
Week 2
1. UTSA; 2. Boston College; 3. Tulsa; 4. Buffalo; 5. Toledo; 6. Arkansas State; 7. Akron; 8. Purdue; 9. Temple; 10. Georgia State 11. UAB; 12. Middle Tennessee; 13. Ohio; 14. South Florida; 15. Ball State; 16. Eastern Michigan; 17. Old Dominion; 18. East Carolina; 19. San Jose State; 20. Louisiana-Lafayette; 21. Texas; 22. Michigan; 23. San Diego State; 24. Idaho; 25. Memphis; 26. Colorado State; 27. Air Force; 28. UTEP; 29. Western Kentucky
Total teams: 128
Eliminated this week: 29
Total eliminated: 65
Remaining: 63
You've Got to Be Kidding
1. In a 13-10 loss to USC last week, Stanford coach David Shaw punted from the USC 29- and 32-yard line. I didn't know that Rush Limbaugh had taken over as Stanford's offensive coordinator.
2. Selected scores from last week:
Texas A&M 73, Lamar 3
North Texas 43, SMU 6
Baylor 70, Northwestern State 6
BYU 41, Texas 7
That's a combined total of 186-15 for three Texas schools that the University of Texas has dominated over the years. Granted, the level of competition is far different for Texas, but the context is not good for the Longhorns, who must deal with No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 8 Baylor and No. 12 UCLA in the next month.
On a related note, SMU has been outscored 88-6 in its first two games, and coach June Jones announced his resignation this week, citing personal reasons.
They do not do things in little ways in Texas.
3. In the coaches' poll this week, Ohio State (1-1) was ranked No. 18. Virginia Tech (2-0) was ranked No. 19. Final score from Saturday night in Columbus, Ohio: Virginia Tech 35, Ohio State 21. And these guys had a say as to who should play for the BCS title for 16 years?
Quotes of the Week
1. "It is an embarrassment to this program and an embarrassment to the university."
— Texas coach Charlie Strong following the Longhorns' 41-7 home loss to BYU last week. It was the worst home defeat suffered by a Texas team since a 66-3 loss to UCLA in 1997.
2. "In the best interests of our team and our coaches, I will stay off the sidelines for our next two games."
— USC athletic director Pat Haden in a statement after he came down from the press box and argued with officials on the field during the Trojans' 13-10 win over Stanford.
As a member of the college football selection committee, Haden also drew extra attention to himself for his actions. His actions led to a $25,000 fine from the Pac-12.
Extra Points
• For what's it worth, the Atlantic Coast Conference went 11-0 in nonconference games last week, the most nonconference wins in the league's history. It should be noted that it wasn't a heavy-lifting weekend in the ACC. FSU beat The Citadel, Clemson beat South Carolina State, Louisville beat Murray State, N.C. State beat Old Dominion, Wake Forest beat Gardner-Webb, Miami beat Florida A&M, Duke beat Troy and Virginia beat Richmond. Only North Carolina's win over San Diego State, Georgia Tech's win over Tulane and certainly Virginia Tech's upset of Ohio State could be labeled as anything but expected.
• Talk about student-athletes: All five of the starting offensive linemen at Boston College have received their undergraduate degrees.
• It will be interesting to see just how much better Tennessee is this season after last season's 5-7 wipeout. The Vols are 2-0 after impressive home wins over Utah State and Arkansas State. Next up: a trip to unbeaten and No. 4-ranked Oklahoma. In case you didn't notice, the SEC had the Nos. 3, 5, 6, 7 and 10 ranked teams in Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Texas A&M and LSU, respectively. Ole Miss (14), Missouri (20) and South Carolina (24) rounded out the Top 25.
Game of the Week
Tennessee at Oklahoma: Big 12 vs. SEC showdown. OU coach Bob Stoops talked about how the SEC wasn't all that big a deal this spring. Now he can prove it. Tennessee is not part of the power elite of the SEC East, but it can certainly screw up the Big 12 with a win over the Sooners.
The pick: Oklahoma 42, Tennessee 21
Mark Blaudschun covers college football as a national columnist for Bleacher Report. He has more than three decades of experience covering sports at a variety of newspapers in New Jersey, the Dallas Morning News and the Boston Globe. Follow him on Twitter @blauds.
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