The Big Ten has long been known as a stodgy conference, reliant on its methods, its style of play, steeped in an older, more traditional way of doing things. Thus, even when the first monumental change in the modern era occurred – the addition of Nebraska in 2011 – it was a change, but not exactly seismic.
Adding the Huskers was similar to adding Penn State in 1990, it was a move that made sense for both the team and the conference. They were programs that fit almost perfectly into the collective in which they recently found themselves.
Although 2014 saw the additions of Rutgers and Maryland – two programs that weren’t quite the same as the Big Ten, but close enough – July 1, 2024 will mark a new day in the Big Ten.
On Monday it will be official. USC, UCLA, washingtonIt is Oregon will join the Big Ten and do so at a time when everything in college football is changing. The College Football Playoff expands from four to 12 teams this year, marking a departure from the 10-year status quo. But now there’s an entire country between conference foes, a 2,000-mile gap between many of the existing Big Ten teams and their new rivals. And yet, with the expansion of the playoffs, losing the conference is not a deal breaker when it comes to the national championship picture.
Although the Big Ten and the old Pac-12 were related conferences, with a marriage consummated in the year-end Rose Bowl Game, the new four teams are markedly different in the way they operate, in the way they exist. O Iowa, Nebraskas, Minnesotas and Michigans thrive in a more hard-nosed system, emblematic of its running games and stout defenses. Although Ohio State It’s trending more towards a basketball-on-grass style of play, it still has a lot of those principles, even if it’s different every year. But the West Coast programs? Although they also differ annually, they have a little more flair, more enthusiasm when it comes to offensive play, and are often devoid of defensive play.
These are not hard and fast truths every year. We’ve seen top defenses emerge from the West Coast and Oregon under Dan Lanning, who are building themselves in the image of SEC programs. But with the additions, the stylistic symmetry of much of the Big Ten disappeared. Seeing USC in Minnesota or Rutgers having to take a mid-year trip to Los Angeles to face UCLA completely changes the dynamic of the conference.
The conference championship will also no longer be East vs. West. They will be the first two teams, with details not yet disclosed. The danger of a Michigan-Ohio State rematch a week after The Game becomes a real possibility, but there are also some other intriguing matchups that could occur. Perhaps this will open the door further for a Penn State team that has long struggled to overtake the other two big boys in the East. Or perhaps the potential cannibalism of top teams ends up giving more opportunities to intermediate programs.
We won’t know and this is not the time to fear change. It could produce a better product or diminish one that has been built over more than a century. We’ll know more this fall. But still, this marks the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.
It will be interesting to see what the new Big Ten brings, for better or worse.
