The Big Ten did a great move last week, when it announced that all fall sports would change to a conference-only schedule, which includes the soccer season that will begin on September 5, in response to the rapid growth of the coronavirus pandemic.
It was the first of the Power 5 leagues to make the move, but the Pac-12 followed closely behind, announcing the same plan for their conference two days later.
It was great news that it put ACC, Big 12 and SEC in a place where they have to consider making a similar change. The start of fall camp is fast approaching, and the pressure is mounting for athletic programs across the country to move forward with their biggest moneymaker.
The Big Ten and Pac-12 have already delivered some marquee games. Michigan will not begin its season with the trip across the country to Washington, and the same goes for the Ohio State to Oregon trip in Week 2. Penn State will not receive Virginia Tech and Michigan State will not welcome Miami in the Week 4 Iowa’s annual Iowa state rivalry game will have to take a year-long break, and it missed the highly anticipated matchup between Wisconsin and Notre Dame at Lambeau Field.
So where is the Buckeye soccer program located now, and what happens next?
Exploring a schedule of 10 Big Ten games
|
Original date |
Adversary |
|---|---|
|
9/26 |
Rutgers |
|
10/10 |
Iowa |
|
10/17 |
@ Michigan State |
|
10/24 |
@ Penn State |
|
10/31 |
Nebraska |
|
11/7 |
Indiana |
|
11/14 |
@ Maryland |
|
11/21 |
@ Illinois |
|
11/28 |
Michigan |
Multiple reports indicate that Big Ten is considering an additional league game for this year’s roster, dropping the conference game from nine games to 10.
On the right is the Ohio State calendar as it is after canceling its contests against Bowling Green, Oregon and Buffalo. The Buckeyes, of course, play against the other six teams in the Big Ten East Division. The divisional clashes this fall are Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska.
One of the benefits of canceling games without a conference is that it gives the Big Ten and their members flexibility. The league essentially took a couple of extra weeks off. Those are two more opportunities to isolate Covid-19 positive players for a week without competition, if in fact the league is considering a 10th conference game.
And if that tenth game is up for grabs, here are two options.
Add a divisional matchup
This is the option that makes the most sense from a competitive point of view, but it is the riskiest from a security perspective.
The league could and probably will take travel into account. You could plot the least amount of distance for your additional crossover engagements. So instead of having Maryland go the 1,200 miles to face Nebraska (or vice versa), the league could pair the Cornhuskers with a team like Michigan, which is 750 miles apart.
With that in mind, Purdue would be a good candidate for Ohio’s aggregate opponent. It would be a bit more of a trip, but the Buckeyes could also reciprocate Wisconsin’s trip to Columbus last fall with a visit to Camp Randall.
Play a divisional opponent twice
This option would require fewer trips, but it does bring some tricky tiebreaks in case of split. But oh … the possibilities.
What if the Big Ten allowed Ohio State and Michigan to meet twice in one season? There has been talk of rearranging some of the major conference games by loading them in advance. The Buckeyes could welcome Michigan to open the season and then take a trip to Ann Arbor to end it.
Who says no to that?
Penn State and Michigan State could trade shots twice. Maryland and Rutgers could play the we fully belong here rematch. So the outlier, Indiana, could face Purdue in the state.
What is your ideal solution for Big Ten adding a tenth game?
