(04-24-2015 05:47 AM)Thomas J. Crumpecker Wrote: VT by 2030 around 50,000 students.....If so that has BIG 10 feel to it. So many games those Turkeys have playing against BIG in future. Still my peeps say VT is ALL ACC. What is the BIG feeling on this matter? Surely ACC cannot afford to lose a football school.
If the Big Ten could wait out at least a decade then it is possible that some truly quality candidates would be available. However, if the Big Ten intends to add before five years are up then I could only see safer choices as possible. A Mizzou-Kansas pairing is an example. This would obviously mean the Big 12 getting parceled out. If the ACC is truly safe then through the B12 is the only direction the Big Ten can go. UConn has issues that would hold them back. They're a better fit for the ACC (if several schools there can get over themselves and realize this).
This is just an example of how it would work out (you might move a piece here and there but the gist of it is this way):
Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Arkansas
LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Alabama
Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, West Virginia
Auburn, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina
Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State
California, Stanford, USC, UCLA
Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, Colorado
Texas Tech, TCU, Kansas State, Iowa State
Boston College, Connecticut, Syracuse, Miami
Louisville, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh
North Carolina, North Carolina State, Duke, Virginia
Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Baylor
Texas and Notre Dame football independent
Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Northwestern
Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois
Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue
Ohio State, Penn State, Maryland, Rutgers
For the Big Ten, I changed a couple of pieces from what I had on the main realignment board, due to respecting the traditional rivalries Iowa has, like the Floyd of Rosedale. Mizzou and Illinois have had intensity when they played in basketball. This could translate well into football. I think Mizzou-Illinois would be a better match-up than Illinois-Ohio State. To make it up to Nebraska I have them playing Penn State for the last game of the season as a protected cross-division game. They've had a fascinating history before joining the Big Ten and both would get up for this game. Neither has had a true rivalry game for the final week of the season. The rest of the protected cross-division games are pretty much straight forward:
Wisconsin-Michigan State
Kansas-Minnesota
Iowa-Missouri
Nebraska-Penn State
Michigan-Ohio State
Illinois-Northwestern
Indiana-Maryland
Rutgers-Purdue
FYI, I've also made up a list of protected cross-division games for the SEC and ACC, respectively, just to give you an idea what I'm thinking:
Alabama-Auburn
West Virginia-South Carolina
Florida-Tennessee
Vanderbilt-Mississippi
Arkansas-LSU
Georgia-Oklahoma
Kentucky-Oklahoma State
Texas A&M-Mississippi State
BC-Wake Forest
Miami-FSU
VT-UVA
Duke-GT
Clemson-NC State
Louisville-UNC
Pitt-Syracuse
Baylor-UConn