The 2023 Season Has Yet to be Played, but Here's What the B1G Schedules Could Look Like in 2024

[Jon Joseph]

The 2023 season kicks off Saturday on Week Zero. The premier game is Notre Dame versus Navy in Dublin. Sorry Leprechauns,  but I am rooting for the Midshipman to sink the Irish. 

 

Here's yet another reason to be happy about Puddles going B1G. The 'feature game' on ESPN brings us New Mexico State versus UMass. Meanwhile, AP Poll #6 USC will be playing San Jose State on Larry's Loser Network. The Pac-12 strikes again!

 

The Athletic's (paywall) Stewart Mandel in today's Mailbag pondered what scheduling will look like in the 18-team B1G in 2024 and IMO, came up with an excellent flex scheduling idea.

 

Q. 'At 18 teams, how is the B1G going to avoid the possibility of three 9-0 teams?'

 

Mandel - 'How about three six-team division champs and one wild card? Everyone plays five inter-division games and three cross-division games. The ninth [game] is flex scheduled, with cross-division matchups for 14 of the 18 plus two semifinal matchups, culminating in the league title game.'

 

This would make travel planning more difficult but I have to believe that the networks would love this model that would conclude with three 'playoff' games.

 

Stewart provided no more detail but if this was to be the format I believe the divisions would look like the following. (Team 2023 AP Poll preseason Top 25 rankings are shown as applicable.)

 

West - Oregon - 15, Minnesota (closer than Iowa to Seattle by a couple of hundred miles,) Nebraska, UCLA, USC - 6, UW - 10.

 

Central - Illinois, Iowa - 25, Michigan - 2, Michigan State, Northwestern, Wisconsin - 19. 

 

East - Indiana, Maryland, Ohio State - 3, Penn State - 7, Purdue, Rutgers

 

[Michigan vs. Ohio State would be a protected cross-division game.)

 

The above format would consist of three fairly balanced divisions. The rub, of course, would be the teams you draw cross-division. For example, this season Minnesota plays #2 Michigan in Minneapolis and #3 Ohio State in Columbus. Brutal!

 

But before any of this happens I am excited to watch the Ducks outperform the pollsters in 2023.

[2002duck]

Hard pass. Uneven divisions. We don't have to be beggars anymore now that we are in. I vote for NO divisions.   

[Charles Fischer]

On 8/23/2023 at 12:58 PM, 2002duck said:

Hard pass. Uneven divisions. We don't have to be beggars anymore now that we are in. I vote for NO divisions.   

I think two divisions of nine each is good; play eight conference games and four non-conference games with a conference championship.  Easy-peasy.

[Tandaian]

I think the word being used should be pods and not divisions.  I don't think the B1G will have divisions, but they will have pods of teams that will play annually.