Big Ten Realignment?

With the addition of Rutgers and Maryland, they could get to relatively balanced divisions (traditionally speaking) based on geography ...

East
Rutgers
Maryland
Penn State
Ohio State
Michigan State
Indiana
Purdue

West
Minnesota
Iowa
Nebraska
Wisconsin
Northwestern
Illinois
Michigan (yes, it's more east than Purdue ... but figure there can be an exception to put it opposite Ohio State)

... or ...

North
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Michigan
Michigan State
Northwestern
Iowa
Purdue

South
Nebraska
Maryland
Rutgers
Illinois
Indiana
Ohio State
Penn State

 

Your East-West set-up was originally reported as what the new alignment would be shortly after Rutgers & Maryland were announced.

 

Interesting. Didn't see that. Only "hang up" I potentially see is splitting Michigan and Michigan State. Since Michigan has Ohio State as its traditional crossover rival, there would be years where Michigan and Michigan State don't meet.

 

Let's just draw names out of a hat every year at the conference media day. Would give the media something to actually talk about.

 

Sorry, I misread what you had. What was reported was that Illinois would switch divisions and Maryland & Rutgers would join the Ohio State division. Michigan & Michigan State would remain together:

Illinois
Iowa
Michigan
Michigan St.
Minnesota
Nebraska
Northwestern

Indiana
Maryland
Ohio St.
Penn St.
Purdue
Rutgers
Wisconsin

 

I saw an idea on Twitter following Bill O'Brien's slip of the tongue last week to rename the divisions the Fighters and Fuckers Divisions ... I kinda like it

 

So, what are the Thanksgiving week "rivalry games?"

Michigan-Ohio State (cross-divisional)
Indiana-Purdue
Wisconsin-Minnesota (cross-divisional)
Iowa-Nebraska
Northwestern-Illinois
--
Those are the obvious ones. Where things get murky is that Michigan State basically has no one to play, since its one natural "rival" plays OSU that week. What makes the most sense is that B10 can bring back the forced MSU-PSU rivalry that nobody bought, and then just have Rutgers play Maryland each year.

My best stab at the "protected rivalries" cross-divisions:
Illinois: Purdue (trophy game, closest geographical foe)
Iowa: Indiana (well, because)
Michigan: Ohio State
Michigan State: Penn State (trophy game) (if 2: Indiana-trophy game)
Minnesota: Wisconsin (trophy game)
Nebraska: Maryland (because somebody has to)
Northwestern: Rutgers (again, somebody has to)

Indiana: Iowa (well, because)
Maryland: Nebraska
Ohio State: Michigan
Penn State: Michigan State (trophy game)
Purdue: Illinois (trophy game, closet x-division geographical foe)
Rutgers: Northwestern
Wisconsin: Minnesota (trophy game)

 

Reaction of 99.9878 % of the college football world: So what?

 

Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Nebraska and Wisconsin and Iowa in the "We Used to Matter" division.
Rutgers, Maryland, Purdue, Minnehaha, Northwestern, Indiana and Illinois in the "We've Never Mattered" division.

 

Being a trophy game in the b1g is as prestigious as getting a Publishers Clearinghouse mailer.

 

I would do this but swap NW and Purdue for tOSU and PSU. That puts the Michigan-Ohio State and the Land Grant Trophy in one division and the NW-Illinois and Old Oaken Bucket in the other.

 

Rutgers never mattered? They were national champions as recently as the Grant Administration.

(Unless you ask someone from Princeton.)