Today, we dive into some of the best, most comical quirks on the 2024 Big Ten football schedule.
With the Big Ten’s expansion from 14 teams all the way up to 18, geographic conference alignment is officially dead. The Big Ten’s geographic footprint makes no sense anymore and rivals only the ACC for its silliness. With that being said, it has created several comical scheduling quirks.
Here’s the top five that I’ve noticed so far. Let us know if you see any other fun ones in the comments.
1. Late Kickoff Times
The addition of four teams that all reside in the pacific time zone has already created some comical start times. While most kickoff times haven’t been announced just yet, of those that have there are more than a few 9 p.m. ET kickoffs such as Illinois vs. Eastern Illinois, Iowa at UCLA (on a Friday nonetheless), and Michigan State at Oregon, which is also on a Friday. While these times make sense for the West Coast teams, it makes little to no sense for Iowa and Michigan State fans who have every right to be upset.
However, it’s worth noting the worst offender here. The Rutgers at USC matchup on Friday, Oct. 25 is currently slated to kick off at 11 p.m. ET. Those poor Rutgers fans.
2. Short Rest
While some teams such as Michigan State have been prone to play a few early season Friday night games, they have never been prevalent later in the season. However, the schedule as it stands today has quite a few Friday games, even for teams not coming off of a bye.
The roughest one I noticed again hurts our friends in East Lansing. The Spartans host Ohio State on Saturday, Sept. 28; just six days later, they have to play at Oregon on Friday, Oct. 4. Getting one less day of rest on top of having to travel cross-country is simply brutal.
3. Cross-Country Travel
Speaking of brutal travel conditions, the schedule-makers did their best to limit USC, UCLA, Washington, and Oregon’s travel, but there was only so much they could do.
The back half of Oregon’s schedule consists of alternating home and away games with the road contests being against Purdue, Michigan, and Wisconsin. That’s three long trips in just a few weeks. USC sees a similar pattern as they alternate home and away games for much of the season.
Meanwhile, UCLA’s October looks like this:
- 10/5: at Penn State
- 10/12: vs. Minnesota
- 10/19: at Rutgers
- 10/26: Bye
- 11/2: at Nebraska
That’s two full cross-country trips and then another trip halfway across the country just two weeks later. They better get used to sitting on an airplane.
4. Snow Football
It’s tough to imagine any of the new Big Ten additions playing in the snow in late October/November/December as they’re coastal schools. However, that’s a new, very real possibility with their addition to the conference. The three best chances we have to see a former Pac-12 school play in a good, old-fashioned Midwest snowstorm are on Nov. 2 (UCLA at Nebraska), Nov. 9 (Washington at Penn State), and Nov. 16 (Oregon at Wisconsin).
5. December Home Games
With the new CFP format in place this season, the Nos. 5-8 seeds in the inaugural 12-team field will be hosting playoff games on-campus. While the Big Ten champion is almost assuredly going to be a top-four seed and receive a bye, there’s a legitimate chance that one or two additional Big Ten teams could occupy those middle seeds. How cool would it be to see Michigan, Penn State, or Ohio State host a home playoff game in mid-December? You’d better bring the hand-warmers.