Why Big Ten is protecting rivalries, ditching divisions when USC, UCLA arrive

Michael Cohen

College Football and College Basketball Writer

The Big Ten revealed on Thursday its scheduling format and school-by-school opponents for the 2024 and 2025 football seasons as anticipation for the league’s expansion continues to swell. Never had the impending arrivals of USC and UCLA felt more real than when their names and colors were officially added to the conference calendar for the first time.

To ensure the Trojans and Bruins enjoy a more equitable welcome, league executives and school administrators revealed what they are calling the Flex Protect Plus model that takes effect next summer. Divisions will be erased, rivalries will be protected, and every program will face every other conference opponent at least twice in a four-year span. The two teams with the best records will advance to the Big Ten Championship and earn the right to play for an automatic berth in the expanded College Football Playoff.

[Big Ten announces new football scheduling model for 2024, 2025 seasons]

Here’s what you need to know:

Protected rivalries

For a league that dates to 1896, maintaining some of the regional and historical rivalries that have become the backbone of the Big Ten was of chief importance to many of the key decision–makers in this process — a group that includes conference officials, athletic directors and the television networks that agreed to a multi-billion dollar deal last August.

Each school was given the chance to request as many as three protected opponents that it wished to face each season. The final list includes 11 matchups guaranteed to be played every year, alternating home and away:

Illinois vs. Northwestern
Illinois vs. Purdue
Indiana vs. Purdue
Iowa vs. Minnesota
Iowa vs. Nebraska
Iowa vs. Wisconsin
Maryland vs. Rutgers
Michigan vs. Michigan State
Michigan vs. Ohio State
Minnesota vs. Wisconsin
USC vs. UCLA

It’s important to note the uneven distribution of rivalry games and how that will affect the Big Ten schedule. Teams with higher numbers of protected matchups have a greater portion of their conference slate locked into place each season, while schools with fewer protected matchups will experience greater variance on a yearly basis.

Six of the league’s 16 programs will play at least two rivalry games each year, but Iowa is the only program with a full docket of three protected matchups. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Penn State is the lone school without a guaranteed opponent. The Nittany Lions’ annual battles with Big Ten East foes Michigan and Ohio State will no longer take place every year as the league moves away from divisions.

Meritocratic road to Indianapolis

Ever since the Big Ten split into East and West divisions in 2014, a competitive imbalance has dulled the excitement of its championship game. Each of the last nine titles has been won by the school representing the Big Ten East — Ohio State in 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020; Michigan State in 2015; Penn State in 2016; Michigan in 2021 and 2022 — by an average margin of 20.1 points per game.

By removing divisions, the Flex Protect Plus format ensures the league’s two best teams are competing in the Big Ten Championship every year. Whichever schools finish in first and second place after a nine-game conference schedule will advance to the title game, which is slated to be played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis through the 2024 season. The winner will receive both an automatic berth and a first-round bye in the expanded College Football Playoff.

Tiebreaking procedures will be announced at a later date.

Notably, this transition introduces the possibility of more than one showdown between Michigan and Ohio State in the same season, a scenario that would have unfolded in 2022 had the Big Ten already eliminated its divisions. With the new format, the Wolverines and Buckeyes could potentially face each other three times in a season — once in the regular season, once in the Big Ten title game, once in the playoff. They could even do so in three consecutive games if the rivalry continues to be played as the regular season finale for both teams.

Frequent flyer miles

One of the biggest hurdles for Big Ten executives to clear during their scheduling meetings was finding a way to balance the travel for a league that stretches from New Jersey to California, dotting three of four time zones along the way.

The format they landed on ensures each school will face every other conference opponent at least twice in a four-year span — once at home and once on the road. In doing so, Big Ten officials created a schedule in which the non-West Coast teams will only make one trip to California in a given season, and every school is slated to visit either USC, UCLA or both within the first two years of the new model.

But there was no avoiding an increase in travel for the league’s newest members, who will be forced to make several cross-country trips each year. The Trojans will play at Maryland, at Northwestern, at Purdue and at Penn State in 2024 before venturing to Minnesota, Ohio State, Rutgers and Wisconsin in 2025. The Bruins will trek to Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Rutgers in 2024 before sojourning to Illinois, Michigan State, Nebraska and Penn State in 2025.

Both programs will travel more than 18,000 miles roundtrip during their debut seasons in the Big Ten.

Other scheduling nuggets

— After consecutive seasons in which Michigan was criticized for playing remarkably weak schedules, the Wolverines will face one of their most difficult slates in years during the 2024 campaign. A non-conference date with Texas in early September gives way to a league schedule that includes trips to Ohio State and USC, in addition to home dates against UCLA and Wisconsin, among others. Welcome to the new Big Ten.

— New Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell will have one season under his belt before the schedule turns into a gauntlet. The Badgers’ 2024 road slate of Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska and USC includes three of the toughest venues in the traditional Big Ten, plus a cross-country trip to face one of the most talented teams in the country. It doesn’t get much harder than that.

— Wisconsin (4x), Iowa (2x) and Northwestern (2x) are the only Big Ten West schools that made multiple appearances in the league’s championship game since 2014. And while all of those programs enjoyed some stellar seasons over the last decade, they certainly benefited from playing in the weaker half of the conference. Life could be much different for them in 2024 when the Badgers face Michigan, USC and Penn State; the Hawkeyes play Ohio State, USC and UCLA; and the Wildcats take on Ohio State, Penn State, UCLA and USC.

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter at @Michael_Cohen13.