If You Were Excited About Seeing Rutgers or Maryland in Football, Just Settle Down

Because the 2015 Big Ten football schedule is out and it still looks like a 1994 Big Ten football schedule for Purdue, if Purdue had had the balls to schedule a non-con game with Nebraska. (Which they did not. Thank goodness.)

We noted Rutgers' tough-looking go of a first season in the Big Ten in 2014 last week, but 2015 looks to be doing them no favors, either. Again, obviously no Big Ten season is every easy, per se, so what you need to look for to make these determinations is those brutal stretches. Those packs of games where a precious month goes by and you feel like you've just tried to cross West State Street at 1:15 AM while people are careening past the Chauncy mall. (That's what you get at this blog -- local flavor!)

Your head is kind of spinning and you have no idea what just happened, but you know your helmet is on crooked and your bones hurt. RU has that sort of stretch again in 2015, as from 10/24 to 11/14 they go:

vs OSU
@ Wisc
@ Michigan
vs Nebraska

Fun times! We know it all too well.

Purdue, though, as I mentioned, continues to be like the youngest child in a family of 14 kids. We don't get to play with any of the new things until everyone else has had a turn. So far, no Rutgers and no Maryland until at least 2016. I don't suppose that really matters to anyone.

In 2015, the Boilers will go @ MSU, vs Minn, @ Wisc, vs Neb, vs Ill, @ Northwestern, @ Iowa, vs IU. Their non-con games will be @ Marshall, vs Indiana State, vs ND and vs Bowling Green.

2014 Big Ten Football Schedule Welcomes Rutgers Rudely

Rutgers has had its share of challenges and missteps lately. They have to get their sh-t together for a variety of reasons, one of the less top-of-mind being the fact that they have just over a year before they jump to the Big Ten conference -- assuming the conference doesn't excommunicate them before they even arrive.

The conventional wisdom has been that while RU basketball was going to be pummeled (just like being in the Big East, only worse), their football program had advanced to the point where they could compete in the Big Ten.

Of course, they don't have Greg Schiano any longer and the jury is really still out on Kyle Flood. I have RU alum friends who are convinced that there was a possibility that the RU athletics department was going to wait things out and then once they were officially a Big Ten school instead of an afterthought pursue more "big time" coaches. Who knows. Mike Rice's behavior then was made public and Rutgers made one disastrous move after another. For now, since Flood doesn't appear to have abused any of his players, he's probably safe.

What's not safe, though, is Rutgers in 2014. The Big Ten football schedule was released and RU gets welcomed to the Big Ten with a four-game stretch that could make any lower-tier Big Ten program shudder. From October 4 to November 1, they go vs Michigan, at Ohio State, at Nebraska, vs Wisconsin. Whee! They also have PSU and MSU on that schedule. Have a ball, Rutgers.

Purdue, incidentally, has a conference schedule that goes like this for 2014: vs OMHR (do we have to retire that now that it's no longer a protected rivalry?), at Illinois, vs MSU, at Minn, at Nebraska, vs Wisconsin, vs Northwestern, at IU.

Purdue gets neither of the newbies, so the BS New Jersey tailgate will have to wait. Also of note, RU and Maryland will play in their final conference games of the season against one another -- perhaps they will be each other's forced rival. 

We now return you to your regularly schedule sneaker and IndyCar content.

Purdue Basketball Non-Con Unveiled; Critics Yawn

The 2013-2014 men's basketball schedule is coming into focus, way out there on the horizon, and it's been met with little fanfare, given the opponents this year.

For example, in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the Boilers get underwhelming Boston College. Now, don't misunderstand: I'm not saying they're underwhelming in the sense that Purdue will have no trouble with them. I'm just saying that even if Purdue wins by 30, it's not going to register much of a blip on the consciousness of college basketball fans. By comparison, last year's pounding of Clemson actually did get some attention and made people -- including us -- think the Boilers were turning a bit of a corner. Sadly, around that corner was an alley with locked doors and mean street toughs waiting to beat up our Boilermakers.

Two other highlights of the pre-con schedule include a road date at West Virginia on December 21, which will be no picnic, and the Crossroads Classic in Indy against Butler on December 14. Butler, as you'll recall, came back from a large deficit to nip the Boilers in the Classic two years ago. If nothing else, playing Butler is not nearly as gnawingly irritating as playing UND or IU. Regardless of where Butler is in the national consciousness at that point, though, it would be good PR to win that game.

The Boilers are also playing in the Old Spice Classic at Thanksgiving time in Orlando, Florida. That field includes LSU, Memphis, Siena, Oklahoma State, St. Johns, Washington State and Butler. So it's conceivable that Purdue could play Butler twice in a two week span. While some will probably say that's stupid, I actually enjoy unique scheduling anomalies. That could be kind of neat. Unless, of course, the Boilers get trampled twice.

Some of the other squads in the Old Spice Classic also appear to have a chance of being competitive/significant programs in '13-'14, so another quality matchup or two could happen in the land of Mickey and Minnie in November.

As the headline notes, several outlets have sort of turned an ambivalent attitude towards the non-con schedule, which I can't completely blame them for. However, it it helps the Boilers get out to a fast start and on their way to a 20+ win season and a return to NCAA tourney action, I'm pretty sure none of us will care.

BS Readers Think ND Should Stay On The Schedule

Just closing the loop on our poll, with more than 500 responses, 63% of BS readers feel that ND should stay on the schedule and would prefer it to stay that way.

We're of the opinion that Purdue will be on the chopping block as ND tries to figure out how to fit in football powerhouses from the ACC like Duke and North Carolina.

I know, I'm as shocked as you are that BS reader opinions don't move mountains as much as they should.

Next up, in the sidebar, let's just cut to the chase as Purdue steams towards conference play. Will the Boilers' win their division and wind up playing in Indy for the Big Ten title?

Is The Shillelagh Game In Trouble?

It was announced yesterday that Notre Dame will move from the Big East to the ACC in all sports except for football and hockey. As per usual, ND has kept their football entity separate because, you know, it's such a national brand.

But there was something more significant in the announcement -- the Domers have committed to play five ACC schools per year in football. That's a big deal, actually. This year, for example, the Irish play no more than three schools from any one conference, with the three being the Big Ten (Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State). Playing five "conference games" (which is effectively what they are, even if they won't be reflected in the ACC standings) eats up a lot of real estate in ND's schedule.

Why am I bringing this up? Because Purdue and Notre Dame have played every year since the '40s (even though it's not a rivalry, remember) and I think that could be in danger.

Morgan Burke was quoted yesterday as saying it "only make sense" that Purdue and ND will continue their regular meetings, but I'm not sure it's something that Morgan can just hang back and assume will happen. It might take some effort/lobbying on his part.

Consider that Notre Dame AD Swarbrick said the Domers are committed to playing USC, Stanford and Navy every season. They also currently face Michigan and Michigan State on a regular basis, and it's fair to say that at least the game vs. Michigan is a marquee matchup on a more national level. If you assume those five games remain and then you add in five ACC games, Notre Dame is down to two slots left. They already have some agreements in place, such as Miami this year in Chicago and a home and home with Oklahoma starting this season, and while I'm too lazy to research their ongoing committments in this regard, it's safe to say Army and others might be already on the schedule in upcoming seasons.

The point is, the 12 game slots are more quickly and easily filled now. You might be thinking you remember reading that Purdue and ND are committed to play through early next decade, and you'd be partially right. But the ever-thorough Mike Carmin of the J&C reported the following:

The schools have an agreement to play annually through 2021, but only the 2013 and 2014 games have signed contracts.

According to information provided to the Journal & Courier through a public records request, the contract for the 2015 game hasn’t been signed and a “letter agreement” exists for the 2016 and 2017 matchups.

I find this interesting and telling. There are also reports that ND is already floating the fact that some of their regular opponents are going to need to get used to the idea of, for example, a two years on, two years off arrangement.

While Purdue and ND have a longstanding history of playing each other regularly, I think this may be the beginning of the end of having ND automatically on the schedule every year. From what Carmin reported, it looks like it would be tough for ND to get out of the games through 2014, but not difficult at all after that. I also think it would be possible for ND to negotiate with Burke and offer future guaranteed matchups (though not annually) in exchange for letting them out of those contracted 2013 and 2014 games. The point? This "rivalry" could dissipate faster than you think.

It also does bring me to a question: do you care? Vote in the poll to the right and let us know your thoughts on this in the comments.

As Far as Purdue Football Goes, Nebraska Isn't Joining Big Ten for Years

As we all heard endlessly yesterday, the Big Ten announced their divisional alignment for football (starting next year) as well as the 2011 and 2012 schedules. I like the fact that the two years of schedules are out, but if you were excited about seeing new member Nebraska anytime soon, well, sorry. They'll be harder to find that Boilerdowd's hairline.Due to the new divisions and scheduling breaks, Purdue football will not see Nebraska football on either school's campus until 2013 at the earliest. Of course, the two could meet in the conference title game sooner. What?

The 2011 schedule:

Sept. 3 - KENT STATE
Sept. 10 - at Rice
Sept. 17 - SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE
Oct. 1 - NOTRE DAME
Oct. 8 - MINNESOTA
Oct. 15 - at Penn State
Oct. 22 - ILLINOIS
Oct. 29 - at Michigan
Nov. 5 - at Wisconsin
Nov. 12 - OHIO STATE
Nov. 19 - IOWA
Nov. 26 - at Indiana

The 2012 schedule:

Sept. 1 - EASTERN KENTUCKY
Sept. 8 - at Notre Dame
Sept. 15 - EASTERN MICHIGAN
Sept. 29 - MARSHALL
Oct. 6 - MICHIGAN
Oct. 13 - WISCONSIN
Oct. 20 - at Ohio State
Oct. 27 - at Minnesota
Nov. 3 - PENN STATE
Nov. 10 - at Iowa
Nov. 17 - at Illinois
Nov. 24 - INDIANA

In 2012, how about that scheduling balance, folks?  Five of six at home to start, then four of five on the road, with the only home game vs Penn State. Yeesh.

Next year, on September 10, the team travels to Houston to take on Rice. While this pleases me since I live here (BS tailgate in the Rice parking lot -- mark your calendar now), it's also interesting to think about how much time Purdue sports could be spending in Houston.

Last March's regional semi-finals in the NCAA Tourney.
This December, the Texas Bowl is in Reliant Stadium and features the 5th place Big Ten team.
Next April....there's something here. I can't quite remember what.

As you were.

Patriots Get The Pick Of The Schedule

Tim brought to our attention that the Patriots have a really ridiculous schedule next year. I guess the league really, really, really wants them to go undefeated all the way through the Super Bowl.

When Tim said the Patriots "have the weakest schedule" in the league, I assumed this was a Tim-like exaggeration. (Not sure if you know this, but Tim is prone to exaggerate sometimes.)

So I looked at the schedules and who they're playing and, well, it's kind of ridiculous.

The Patriots do indeed have the easiest schedule when you look at their opponents 2007 records. Yes, yes, I know the NFL is a league when things can turn around quickly, but still. One of the big ways the NFL got known as a league with parity was that they always gave teams an appropriate schedule that reflected the kind of year they'd just had. If you went 3-13, you got a "3-13 schedule," which meant you got a lot of weak teams and you didn't have to face more than one powerhouse. If you went...oh....I don't know.... 16-and-freaking-0, you would likely have a schedule that would make you cry. All good teams, lots of marquee matchups, many prime time games, etc.

But no. Now the NFL has given Steelers the toughest schedule, followed by the Colts, Jags, Vikes, Ravens, Bengals, Texans, Browns and Lions.

Wait, the Vikings, Ravens, Texans, Browns and Lions all get top-ten schedules?

Meanwhile, the Patriots opponents this coming season had a .387 winning percentage in 2007 and a combined 99-157 record. Solid.

Roger Goodell and Bob Kraft put the finishing touches on the Patriots 2008 "schedule."

Poor Hawaii

You've probably been hearing more about the University of Hawaii football program this year than you ever have, mainly because of their sensational system quarterback, Colt Brennan. Nobody picks apart vaunted defenses such as Northern Colorado or Charleston Southern (seriously? Charleston Southern?) like him.

But this post is actually about some whining the football program is doing. You see, they have long flights to get to their away games which result in "demanding" road trip conditions. (One can only assume that none of these guys studied Geography in high school as the reason they would be surprised by how far away Hawaii is from basically any other land mass.)

From the article:

"We're very isolated out here and I don't think people tend to appreciate that and don't realize how much we overcome," Brennan said. "When people come and play us, they gain time. No one ever talks about this and says it straight: When we go and play teams, we lose time."

Yes, you lose time. But teams coming to play you, that's easy? I don't completely follow. It's hard to adjust anytime you travel that far.

While many teams complain about how difficult it is to travel to the islands, Coach June Jones said traveling east is "way worse."

"They should try it. We sleep on the plane all night and try to get ready to play a football game," he said. "It's [traveling west] not even the same ballpark going east."

Yes, you sleep on your private, chartered plane. I'm sure it's a nightmare.

Then the story gets particularly interesting to me, though. More from Colt Brennan:

Brennan said it's much easier for teams to play in Hawaii because all the players just have to stay up late to adjust to the time change, while the Warriors are forced to sleep and wake up earlier than normal.

"It's a lot harder to get up early at 3 in the morning and go play a football game at 7 in the morning," he said. "So people tend not to respect us, and that's why we're always an underdog."

Hmmm, get up at 3 in the morning and go play a game at 7 in the morning. Really? Since Hawaii is in the WAC, they play mostly Western teams, meaning their road trips usually put them in the Pacific or Mountain time zones. 7 AM Hawaii time is 9 AM Pacific time and 10 AM Mountain time. Played a lot of games against Boise State or BYU at 10 AM, have you, Colt?

But let's not just pick on Colt for hypotheticals. Let's look at their actual schedule and all the unfair road game times they have to face this year.

9/7 @ La Tech: 7 PM Eastern, 2 PM Hawaiian.
Doesn't seem unreasonable or "7 AM."

9/15 @ UNLV: 9:30 PM Eastern, 3:30 PM Hawaiian.
Gosh, that seems downright midafternoon.

9/29 @ Idaho: 5 PM Eastern, 12 Noon Hawaiian.
When most college games are played.

10/12 @ San Jose State: 8 PM Eastern, 3 PM Hawaiian.
Again, not even close to the AM.

11/16 @ Nevada: 11:05 PM Eastern, 6:05 PM Hawaiian.
Gee, that almost sounds like an advantage for Hawaii.

And that's the road schedule. Their earliest road game is at Noon, Hawaiian time and that only happens once. Seems like this bitching is all a bunch of mularky. But wait, let's look even closer at their schedule (and hey, what a schedule, boys -- well done) and see what the visitors to Hawaii have to endure.

9/1 vs Northen Colorado: 7:05 PM Hawaiian, 9:05 PM Mountain.
Kind of late for the hapless Bears to begin getting steamrolled.

9/22 vs Charleston Southern: 7:05 PM Hawaiian, 12:05 PM Eastern.
So it's okay for Charleston Southern to have to fly 6,000 miles and then play after midnight their time? Classy hosts.

10/7 vs Utah State: 7:05 PM Hawaiian, 9:05 PM Mountain.

10/28 vs New Mexico State: 7:05 PM Hawaiian, 9:05 PM Mountain.
Seems to me Hawaii is getting the better end of these WAC matchup timeframes.

11/10 vs Fresno State: 6:05 PM Hawaiian, 8:05 PM Mountain.
Okay, the first somewhat fair one.

11/23 vs Boise State: 3:05 PM Hawaiian, 5:05 PM Mountain.
I wonder if Boise State pressed this issue.

12/1 vs Washington: TBD.

So I don't know. It seems like Hawaii schedules games mostly in the evening when their opponents are really not used to playing games. Add onto that the inherent exhaustion that comes with simply traveling 3,000-6,000 miles just to get to Honolulu and you have a pretty disoriented visiting team. Brennan then throws four quick-strike TDs and suddenly you're down a ton and out of your game plan. Good formula.

But to bitch and moan about how hard the gents from Hawaii have it is disingenuous at worst and clueless at best. Just look at the schedules, boys.

The Popular Spreadsheet Schedule

You may well have seen this in the past couple of years (I know I've had it sent to me a number of times) but each year somebody out there creates an Excel spreadsheet with every single Divison 1 football program in it with their schedules. It's organized by conference and perhaps the coolest simple little thing about it is that every school's helmet is represented. Hey, it might be the only time Buffalo sees their helmet displayed.

It's also a really handy thing to have. Who is has the gimmicky-est opening game matchup in the Big Ten? (How about Northwestern playing Northeastern?) How has Hawaii racked up so many 60-point, six-passing-TD games by Colt Brennan? (They play two -- two! -- Division I-AA schools in addition to their patsy WAC schedule.) The answers are all here.

Thanks to Cobra Brigade for making the spreadsheet a downloadable link. I could have done that but I'm too lazy.

Share it with your friends! Share it with your rivals! Predict outcomes with ease! Know the answers whenever somebody asks who Louisiana-Lafayette is playing in Week 5! Look at Notre Dame's schedule and make yourself giddy knowing that it's not completely far-fetched for them to start Jimmy Claussen's multiple-Heisman tenure under TD Hey-soos at 0-5!

The possibilities are limitless, much like Tim's abilities in the sack.