Opinion: The last day of the Big Ten as we know it

The Big Ten was long known as a stodgy conference, reliant on its methods, its style of play, immersed in an older, more traditional way of doing things. So even when the first monumental change in the modern era happened — the addition of Nebraska in 2011 — it was a shift, but one that wasn’t exactly seismic.

Adding the Huskers was similar to adding Penn State in 1990, it was a move that made sense for both the team and the conference. They were programs that were near-perfect fits within the collective they newly found themselves in.

Though 2014 saw the additions of Rutgers and Maryland — two programs that weren’t quite of the same cloth as the Big Ten, but close enough — July 1, 2024 will mark a brand new day in the Big Ten.

On Monday, it will be official. USC, UCLA, Washington, and Oregon will join the Big Ten and it will do so at a time when everything in college football is changing. The College Football Playoff expands from four teams to 12 this year, marking a departure from the 10-year status quo. But now, there’s a whole country between conference opponents, a 2,000-mile difference between much of the extant Big Ten teams and their new rivals. And even so, with the playoff expanding, losing the conference isn’t a dealbreaker when it comes to the national championship picture.

Though the Big Ten and former Pac-12 were kindred conferences, with a marriage consummated with the year’s end Rose Bowl Game, the new four teams are markedly different in the way they operate, the way they exist. The Iowas, Nebraskas, Minnesotas, and Michigans all thrive in a more hard-nosed system, emblematic with their run games and stout defenses. Even though Ohio State is trending more toward a basketball-on-grass style of play, it still has many of those tenets, even if it differs on a yearly basis. But the West…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/opinion-last-day-big-ten-193202153.html

Author : Wolverines Wire

Publish date : 2024-06-30 19:32:02

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