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Dave Wilson
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ESPN Staff Writer- Dave Wilson has been an editor for ESPN.com since 2010. He previously worked for The Dallas Morning News, San Diego Union-Tribune and Las Vegas Sun.
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Kyle Bonagura
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ESPN Staff Writer- Occupies the Pac-12.
- Joined ESPN in 2014.
- Attended Washington State University.
The longest offseasons in our lives got much longer last week for the Big Ten and Pac-12 with the postponement of the seasons for fall college football.
Of course, this is a painful thing for fans of the greatest sport on the planet. To make matters worse, the ACC, Big 12 and SEC are still scheduled to play, leaving the potential for four months of byke weeks in the fall for fans of sidelined teams.
The upside is that all bets are off, and fidelity will get a pass of one year. We study each team for potential matches. Some are obvious similarities. Others offer a chance to see how the other half lives a season.
Here’s a handy guide for free agent fans. Enjoy, Rutgers.
BIG TEN
Illinois
About me: Try to hang in there, catch someone surprise.
Matchmakers’ choice: South Carolina
Why you hit it off: A defensive-minded coach with a conservative offensive approach will feel at home. Illinois put last season at no. 6 of Wisconsin 24-23 and finished 6-7. South Carolina defeated No. 3 Georgia 20-17 and finished 4-8.
Indiana
About me: Football is not my strong suit. But we turn things around.
Matchmakers’ choice: Kentucky
Why you hit it off: Coach Tom Allen’s first three seasons (18-19) mirror Mark Stoops’ second, third and fourth seasons (17-20). But Stoops won 10 games just two years later.
Iowa
About me: Love life on the plains, scary birds, feel reliable and yet dangerous.
Matchmakers’ choice: Auburn
Why you hit it off: You both understand the unpredictability of football season. You could win eight games with some narrow losses, or mess up and win 12 and fulfill the dreams of a national title match. You have the experience and temperament to jump on this train.
Maryland
About me: Looking for stability after some big changes lately.
Matchmakers’ choice: Virginia Tech
Why you hit it off: We know it’s hard to root for an old ACC rival. But you know what helps? When the enemy of your enemies becomes your friend. Spend a season rooting against old ACC rivals like Duke, North Carolina and NC State – the ones you grew up in that other sport that you just love a little more.
Michigan
About me: Love tradition, iconic headwear, Rose Bowls.
Matchmakers’ choice: Texas
Why you hit it off: You have won both – many, many more than 900 victories each. The past decade has not been so friendly, but this may be your year.
Michigan State
About me: Fan of upsets, chaos, defense and Pat Narduzzi.
Matchmakers’ choice: Pitt
Why you hit it off: Fans of Michigan State can recall Pat Narduzzi as their own and recall the glory days when he teamed up with Mark Dantonio for huge wins. In some otherwise mediocre Pitt seasons, however, Narduzzi, who finished UCF’s 27-win streak last season, beat No. 2 Miami in 2017 and beat No. 3 Clemson in 2016.
Minnesota
About me: Retro vibes (love 1960s), but my division rivals celebrate the 1990s. Millennial coaches are the blueprint.
Matchmakers’ choice: Missouri
Why you hit it off: Coach PJ Fleck took you at a Prefontaine pace to the ELITE of the sport. Row The Boat over to Columbia, where the Tigers put a brutal scheme in Eli Drinkwitz’s first season on the #NewZou and could use some of that energy.
Nebraska
About me: Grain is life. Misleading authority. Proud Midwesterners.
Matchmakers’ choice: Iowa State
Why you hit it off: The Cyclones may have been old conferences, but you owned them. Now they have a solid team with one of the best quarterbacks in the country, Brock Purdy. Wouldn’t it be fun to root for the Clones against Texas and Oklahoma?
Northwest
About me: Defense is great, every offense is a bonus. Large fan of pear.
Matchmakers’ choice: TCU
Why you hit it off: You will see the defense of coach Gary Patterson. Freshman running back Zach Evans could add a mess to last season’s lackluster offense.
State of Ohio
About me: Love dynamic quarterbacks, linebackers, not a fan of neighboring states.
Matchmakers’ choice: Georgia
Why you hit it off: You both wonder what might have been if quarterback Justin Fields got the field. Ohio State is the most recent team not named Clemson to end the Alabama season with a loss, in the 2015 Sugar Bowl. You could give Georgia a little mojo in exchange for Fields.
2:09
Justin Fields joins Zubin Mehenti, Jay Williams and Keyshawn Johnson to tackle why he’s petitioning the Big Ten to return to football this season.
Penn State
About me: Commit, but still have an independent streak. Love history, tradition.
Matchmakers’ choice: Notre Dame
Why you hit it off: Put the old resentment aside and root for a return to the blue days when the independents can come up and show these conference members how it was done.
Purdue
About me: Engineering excitement is my passion. Love transportation and golden things.
Matchmakers’ choice: Georgia Tech
Why you hit it off: Take the Boilermaker Special to catch a ride in the Ramblin ‘Wreck. Sure, you can appreciate a school whose fighting song “I’m a ramblin ‘, gamblin’ hell of an engineer!”
Rutgers
About me: Just happy to be here.
Matchmakers’ choice: Alabama
Why you hit it off: Look, 151 years ago you started playing football. We love you, but it has not always been easy for you. So live this season a bit. This is on us.
Wisconsin
About me: Keep the cooler lower. Make sure there is enough space for a tailgate. Get ready for some defense.
Matchmakers’ choice: LSU
Why you hit it off: You already got to know each other a little bit with games in Houston in 2014 and Lambeau Field in 2016, and you swam together. Make some sausages, have a few drinks and you will feel right at home.
PAC-12
Arizona
About me: Bite from an outsider, looking for some company to talk hoops.
Matchmakers’ choice: Syracuse
Why you hit it off: Both prefer to discuss the merits of man-to-man vs. zone then a 3-4 against a 4-3.
Arizona State
About me: Great state school, love a good party, great fan of Mike Norvell’s misdeeds.
Matchmakers’ choice: Florida State
Why you hit it off: A spear is not as effective as a pitchfork, but Arizona State has gradually become less offensive since Norvell stepped down as coordinator after the 2015 season.
Cal
About me: To be extremely proud of a top rank public academic institution, looks good in blue, likes opportunity to go to a building location.
Matchmakers’ choice: Virginia
Why you hit it off: Rooting for the Cavaliers will be a similar experience for Old Blues, as neither program has won a direct conference title in more than 60 years. Both, however, finished last year in the top four of the US News & World Report’s rankings of the top public universities in the country. Not a bad trade-off.
Colorado
About me: Outdoorsy, looking for something new.
Matchmakers’ choice: Appalachian State
Why you hit it off: The Appalachians are not the Rockies and the Sun Belt is not the Pac-12, but a few trade-offs for a rare chance to win a conference title has its appeal.
Oregon
About me: News school bladder blood. Prefer quarterbacks with potential for shampoo spokesperson.
Matchmakers’ choice: Clemson
Why you hit it off: Clemson is the program that Oregon fans thought they were on the verge of under Chip Kelly. This is a course correction.
Oregon State
About me: Fan of Halloween colors, not great at recruiting rankings. Watch out for rivalry games.
Matchmakers’ choice: Oklahoma State
Why you hit it off: It’s just an annual thing, so why replace a perfectly good orange-and-black OSU wardrobe when you can not afford it?
Stanford
About me: More turtle than hair; more train than plane. Smart, calculated and proven.
Matchmakers’ choice: Oklahoma
Why you hit it off: If you are on vacation where money is not an object, do you rent the reliable car with a good gas mileage that left you at home in the garage? No. You get the fast, fun car and enjoy the experience. Take a gap year and enjoy the ride.
UCLA
About me: Love large, historic stadiums. Living among the most fertile recruiting grounds in the country. One top-10 finish in the past two decades.
Matchmakers’ choice: Texas A&M
Why you hit it off: UCLA can relate to A & M’s frustrations about punching below its weight class and hope the Aggies finally break through. There may even be some lingering blame for erasing a 34-point deficit to beat A&M at the 2017 Rose Bowl.
USC
About me: Frustrated traditional power, enjoy life at the beach and chat about the good old days (that were not so long ago).
Matchmakers’ choice: Miami
Why you hit it off: USC fans have been pissed off lately and what could serve as a better reality check than cheering for Miami for a season? Call it a lesson in “it could be less.”
1:12
Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott discusses the possibility of a spring football season and says that if there is no way to do it safely, the conference will not play out.
Utah
About me: Eventually Pac-12 champion, power media in social media and, according to the NCAA, a 2008 national champion.
Matchmakers’ choice: Florida
Why you hit it off: What better way to start a new relationship than, “Hello, fellow 2008 national champion!” Urban Meyer’s road from Salt Lake City to Gainesville seemed to work well, so why can’t Utah fans follow? The real answer here, of course, is who plays BYU.
Washington
About me: Great at sailing, loving dogs and enjoying the glory of a 1990s title.
Matchmakers’ choice: Tennessee
Why you hit it off: Exciting builds in Knoxville after six consecutive wins to close out the 2019 season, so it’s a great time to hop on board and exchange sailing tips.
Washington State
About me: Looking to move on to the lifestyle of Air Raid after eight years and find something more stable.
Matchmakers’ choice: Mississippi State
Why you hit it off: Some things are hard to stop. Does anyone really want to look at a team that is coached by a man who punting on fourth down finds an acceptable decision?
BERGEN WEST BONUS PICK
Boise State
About me: Hate let out. Like taking over the system. When you are invited to a Fiesta (Bowl), it turns out to be the life of the party.
Matchmakers’ choice: UCF
Why you hit it off: It’s the best shot in years for an outsider to crash the College Football Playoff, with ESPN’s Playoff Predictor giving UCF a 27.2% press season chance to make it. We know you’d rather be the one doing the crashing, but the predecessor will go a long way.
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