Division “A” (or “roughly” South)

• Illinois
• Indiana
• Ohio State
• Penn State
• Purdue
• Wisconsin

Division “B” (or “roughly” North)

• Iowa
• Michigan
• Michigan State
• Minnesota
• Nebraska
• Northwestern

First, some thoughts from Little Nick,

In my opinion, we should be more worried about beefing up the fluff we play in our non-conference schedule (with the slight exception being the Illini this year) than with our conference alignment.  I think we should get rid of a few non-conference games and play more in conference games, but since the question was asked…

I have been totally confident that a good conference alignment would surface, and it has.  Three reasons:

1. The Big Ten’s track record of doing things that work for fans and still makes lots of money (BTN and bowl contracts as two examples).
2. There would still be cross-division games (and we already don’t play every conference opponent) with the guarantee of cross-division rivalry games.  I like the fact that the primary reason for the alignment was keeping as many rivalry/trophy games in tact.  And whichever sports talking head first said the reason UM and tOSU were split was to have them meet in the title game should be fired for stupidity.  The Big Ten has looked at past data in all its expansion and scheduling plans, not future probabilities.
3. In recent history how many schools other than tOSU and PSU have been pre-season favorites to win the conference?  I’m guessing maybe one or two.  The Big Ten seems to be setting up Iowa, Nebraska, and probably Wisconsin as schools to challenge and solidify their place on the national scene by playing tOSU or PSU in the title game.  No matter how you look at it, the Big Ten having a title game only helps our comparisons to other conferences and schools.

Enjoy your football everybody!

And now Jesus’ instant reaction,

First, as an Illini fan, I love it.  Sure in the forseeable future there will beat downs at the hands of Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin.  But there’s also Indiana and Purdue.  Now Purdue has a decent history, but have fallen leaner times so there will be some competition (if thats what we can call it) amoung the bottom half.  If I had to choose five teams to play every year, the five in Illinios’ division are the teams I would pick (Michigan would be a close 6th).  And we keep the game with Northwestern every year (I don’t subscribe to this series as a rivalry, despite the geographic proximity) and maybe a real rivalry can develop.

Now some more general thoughts.

• Top to bottom Division “B”, as I’ve named it, seems slightly more competitive.  Minnesota is definitely low man in the division, as everyone (rightly?) believes Michigan will bounce back.  But who knows what the future holds of Illinois and Indiana.  Though OSU, PSU, and Wisconsin trump Iowa, Nebraska, and TBD at this point.
• If there is one thing that doesn’t “feel” right, its the placement of Wisconsin and Northwestern.  A switch of those two schools would make the divisions a trule North/South division (though “wreck” competitive balance when one assumes each school remains in their historic status quo, which clearly isn’t the case when you consider Michigan).  Wisconsin is separated from rivals Minnesota and Iowa, and just about everyone agreed Wisconsin farmboys and Nebraska farmboys made an ideal rivalry.
• Most of the rivalries and trophy games were saved (minus the aforementioned Wisconsin games).

I was quite sure the Big10 would screw this up [and it looks somewhat like a mixed bag of reactions- some who do think the Big10 screwed it up and some, like myself, who think they nailed it (this may be because of my Illini bias)].  But it doesn’t matter what we think at this point.  The games will be played as the conference is divided, with a yearly protected cross-over rival, and your division champions will meet for the Big10 Championship in a Big10 Title Game.  And while there is the possibility of a OSU/UM rematch back to back weeks, I think there is enough top talent in this league to create amazing title games.

• The Illinois Game- No explaination needed
• The Nebraska Game- As the newest member of the Big10, we’ve got to keep tabs on the Cornhuskers in their final season in the Big12
• Big Ten Game of the Week- Best game featuring at least one Big10 team
• NCAA Game of the Week- Best game of the weekend, period
• Historically Black College Game of the Week (And Probably Contemporary Black College) *- This one goes back to the early days of Jesus and Keith living together

* It’s really easy to find out if a college is “historically black”.  Plug the name into Wikipedia search and if you’ve hit the jackpot, the first line will read something like this, “founded (insert year), is a historically black university located (insert location)”.

It can be as simple as picking a winner.  It can be picking a winner with score.  It can be a ridiculously insulting comment along with a winner.  There’s no formula.   So here we go for the Week One picks.

Illinois vs Missouri (Striving Hard to be the new, “The U”) @ St. Louis

Jesus: I would love this border war if it was somewhat competitive.  This year looks a lot like last year.  Mizzou 48 Illinois 20

Little Nick: Mizzou over Illini (I hope the broadcasters use the phrase “jailbreak” for any big Mizzou gain.)

Captain Keith: Mizzou

Nebraska vs Western Kentucky

Jesus: Love the mascot, Mom but your alma mater is going down.  I’m sure they’re making bank though.  Nebraska 51 WKU 13

Little Nick: Cornhuskers over Hilltoppers (I still don’t know what a Hilltopper is.)

Captain Keith: Nebraska (although, they’re over-rated at #8)

Purdue @ Notre Dame

Jesus: Is it possible that I hate every school in Indiana?  Oh wait, I went to grad school at Ball State.  Hate to do it but.  Notre Dame 23 Purdue 16

Little Nick: Gold and Black over Gold and Navy (I’ll never pick ND.)

Captain Keith: Purdue

Boise State vs Virginia Tech @ Landover, Maryland (FedEx Field)

Jesus: If this was in Blacksburg, no question I would take VTech.  Though it will still be a very pro-Hokie crowd (60,000+).  I’m taking the Broncos.  Boise State 24 Virginia Tech 23

Little Nick: Va Tech over Boise State (Order will be restored this season for any FBS upstarts)

Captain Keith: VaTech ( I give VA credit for trying to get the best games not in their conference every year)

Mississippi Valley State @ Alabama State

Jesus: I’m going with the alma mater of the greatest wide receiver ever, Jerry Rice.  But the real question is, “Which team has the better band?”  MVS 28 Alabama State 13

Little Nick: Alabama State over Mississippi Valley State (Wish I could tailgate at this one!)

Captain Keith: Alabama State ( a conference game to open the year, wtf?)

Per usual, we know nothing.  This is all for shits and giggles.

1. Keep on Rockin in Free the World- Neil Young: This is a staple of the Memorial Stadium soundtrack.  Every Saturday morning this song would be blaring from the speakers as the fans filed in (all 407 of them- it was way too early and Illinois sucked).  While its an awesome song (ranked #214 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time) I’m not really sure what the songs subject matter (social problems of late 20th century America) have to do with Illinois football.  My best guess, “the free world” is the field when Illinois is on defense, and the opponent is most certainly going to “keep on rockin”.

2. Start Me Up- The Rolling Stones: Quite fittingly this song would be played at Memorial Stadium right before the start of the second half.  Usually when the Illini would be taking the field to at least some deficit, most likely double digits.  Don’t mind the first half when the team really needs to get going, let’s wait until the damage is done before we start up the offense or the defense for that matter.  I never understood this one.  Just simply move it to before the start of the game or scrap it from the playlist.  What poor timing.

3. William Tell Overture- Rossini: An Illinois tradition from the Marching Illini.  Wrap your arms around the shoulders of the people sitting next to you, hop left and right on one leg, bang the shit out of the bleachers in front of you, all while keeping your hungover ass from falling and taking the entire row with you.  I wasn’t a full participant in this “routine”, I generally halfassed it, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless.  It happened a few times a game, but it was never as good as the first time around.

4. Rocky Top- Osbourne Brothers: Nothing reminds me of Tennessee Orange and my hate for that school more than this song.  Growing up in Kentucky with Tennessee as UK’s biggest conference rival, I heard this song a lot each season when the Wildcats and Vols faced off.  The Vols have dominated this series my entire life.  In fact the Wildcats never beaten Tennessee in my lifetime.  They are 25-0.  And most of those games were beat downs, so “Rocky Top” played early and often.

5. True Blue: Ryan Parker: But not to be outdone, the Wildcats have their own tune.  Besides the crazy loyalty that is so obvious in this ballad, the ridiculous history that is recalled in the form of song is fabulous.  And simply put their are some wacky events that take place in this trip down memory lane.  My favorite, of course, is 2002 when the Wildcats thought they had upset the LSU Tigers.  Their coach was doused in Gatorade.  Fans were storming the field, even hanging on the goal posts to bring them down.  Except the final play was still developing and LSU completed a crazy Hail Mary for a game winning touchdown (not to mention which I predicted).  But don’t worry, I’ll be there when the win the SEC.

Honorable Mention: Crazy Train- Ozzy Osbourne (seriously, go to a college football game and if the band doesn’t play this song I want to know)

So there is my very personal and incomplete list.  Put yours in the comments!

6. Which former Illini standout would make the best coach?

Little Nick: Dino Pollock (’86-’90).  He was a receiver, though not sure how much he stood out, and I’m not sure about his actual coaching ability.  The point is, I went to law school with this guy, and he is a motivator (though he was anti-Chief).

Jesus: Butkus.  Period.

Captain Keith:

7. If you could offer Ron Zook one piece of advice, what would it be?

Little Nick: Win.  Seriously, just win.

Jesus: Sunscreen would be it.

Captain Keith:

8. Who will be the Illini’s MVP?

Little Nick: The Marching Illini.

Jesus: Mikel LeShoure.  As long as Zook makes him the feature back, and that’s certainly not a guarantee.

Captain Keith:

8a. If a team wins 3 or fewer games, is any player really valuable?

Little Nick: Only if it’s the Marching Illini.

Jesus: The punter is usually my default answer, but we’ve seen how things have gone since Steve Weatherford left.

Captain Keith:

9. Jason Ford or Mikel LeShoure?

Little Nick: Both.  While statistically almost even, Zook could keep defenses guessing with a clever combination of utilizing both players.  This could also be an answer to #7, but I’m not quite sure if I want to assume Zook is clever.

Jesus: I’d like to see LeShoure as the featured back, but this could be the best backfield in the conference.  Could be.  Won’t be.

Captain Keith:

10. What’s worse- watching the Illini play Northwestern at Wrigley Field in November or any home Cubs game?

Little Nick: Watching on tv:  Cubs, by a lot, though both teams tend to blow leads at the end of games.  Watching at Wrigley Field/Wrigleyville:  doesn’t matter.  There’s still going to be jackasses in Cubs jerseys.

Jesus: Any home Cubs game.  I’ve been three times this year, twice against the Pirates, and the nostalgia of Wrigley Field wears off in about 1/2 an inning and I’m stuck watching a baseball team I don’t like.

Captain Keith:

11. If the Illini win and nobody is there to see it, did it actually happen?

Little Nick: Irrelevant.  Thanks to the Big Ten Network someone will always be able to see it.

Jesus: If the Illini win…Ahaha!

Captain Keith:

12. Give me one reason the Illini should even bother traveling to Fresno State at the end of the season?

Little Nick: Non-conference games should be wins for big schools like Illinois.  And Fresno State’s magic from last year should have run out.  Also, our school could benefit from seeing another stadium post-expansion.  Check out our website for “Illinois Renaissance.”  Another catering to rich alumni?  Bad news is that since Pat Hill took over as head coach of Fresno State, he is 38-7 at home.  On a different note, it would be a great place for the team to hideout if the have another embarrassing season.

Jesus: It’s not Champaign in December?!

Captain Keith:

13. What will be the BigTen order of finish?

Little Nick: tOSU, PSU, Iowa, doesn’t matter.  (But for the sake of bragging rights:  UW, NU, UofI, MSU, UM, Minn, Purdue, IU.)

Jesus: Iowa, Ohio State, (Nebraska), Wisconsin, Penn State, Northwestern, Michigan State, Purdue, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota

Captain Keith:

14. Was Nebraska the right team to add to the BigTen?

Little Nick: Nebraska was the right team to add, too bad we couldn’t add more.  With the ‘Huskers comes great tradition in football, a decent basketball program, and competitive non-major sports.

Jesus: From a football perspective, absolutely.  But much like Penn State, they bring very little to the table when it comes to basketball.  Three BCS schools have never won a NCAA tournament game.  Two now reside in the Big Ten with the addition of the Cornhuskers.  But if there was ever a team that plays BigTen football it is Nebraska.

Captain Keith:

15. How should the BigTen be divided into divisions?

Little Nick: Logically, divide the conference into East and West.  The real question is how to schedule games to keep the conference race interesting.

(Editor’s Note:  Captain Keith’s answers will be added once I receive his answers)

1. How many games will the Illini win this season?

Little Nick: 7 wins this season…and you know my sense of optimism.  Unfortunately I think 3 of those will be non-conference wins (not Mizzou), but NIU might just surpass us as the better in-state team.  How bad will that suck for recruiting?  I pray we’ll beat them, if only to prevent my father from saying how his alma mater beat mine for the rest of my life.

Jesus: I see five “winnable” (I use that term loosely, VERY loosely) games on the schedule.  That leaves me with 3 wins on the season for this team.  Pick three from these opponents: Southern Illinois, Northern Illinois, Indiana, Purdue, Michigan, and Minnesota.

Captain Keith:

2. Will Ron Zook survive all 12 games this season?  If not, after which week will he be fired?

Little Nick: Does Guenther fire coaches mid-season?  And with an extension through 2014, I doubt Zook will be let go.  If he does, I say it’s early, perhaps after a loss to IU or Purdue because of the embarrassment at such a result and to let the assistants prove themselves.

Jesus: In-season firings are rare at the college level and I just don’t see it happening here.  Zook finishes the season but he’s certainly not riding off into the sunset.

Captain Keith:

3. If the Illini have another fluke season and go bowling, does Ron Zook keep his job?

Little Nick: IF the Illini go bowling, Zook keeps his job.  The school extended his contract after a 9-3 season, why not let him play it out after another “good” season.

Jesus: If he can keep his job through this clusterfuck then a trip to a bowl certainly ensures him another year, and probably a pay raise and an extension.

Captain Keith:

4. If Ron Zook is fired doesn’t that mean Ron Guenther should be fired?

Little Nick: Not necessarily.  If Zook is fired, Guenther should not be allowed near Memorial Stadium, but our basketball program has regained momentum and I’m not sure what Guenther has done for other sports.  (Though Illinois needs a men’s varsity soccer team, as good as the club team has been.  Find a way around Title IX.)

Jesus: The University is cash strapped and recovering from a academic scandal, looking for a AD is the last thing on the administration’s mind.  But if Zook fails this season, Guenther has to go.

Captain Keith:

5. How much does it suck to admit that Florida fans were right and Ron Zook does indeed suck?

Little Nick: I’m fine with admitting Florida fans were right.  It’s not like it will boost their GPAs.

Jesus: First time they’ve been right, so I’ll give them this one.  But look how things turned around after Zook was gone.

Captain Keith:

(Editor’s Note:  Captain Keith’s answers will be added once I receive his answers)

Check back this weekend as the remainder of the questions will be answered.