Any Michigan man will tell you there is nothing quite like beating Ohio State. Every Buckeye agrees a win over that team “from up north” is priority No. 1.
Well, now Michigan and Ohio State could get two chances in a season to beat their fiercest rival.
What would Woody and Bo have thought of that? A rematch!
The Big Ten announced its divisional breakdown for football Wednesday night, and Ohio State and Michigan will be in different six-team divisions when the league expands to 12 members in 2011.
Neither division has been named, but they break down like this: Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota and Northwestern in one; Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue and Indiana in the other.
Commissioner Jim Delany said creating football divisions with competitive balance was the top priority, and No. 2 was maintaining a cross-division rivalry game for each team.
“We felt like we could do equal competition and tradition with this move,” Delany said.
Michigan and Ohio State will be a cross-divisional rivalry and continue to play each other each year in the Big Ten regular-season finale, as they have since 1943. That means they could meet again for the conference championship a week or two later.
Footnotes.
Penn State coach Joe Paterno named true freshman Robert Bolden the starter for the Nittany Lions’ opener Saturday against Youngstown State.
• Notre Dame backup tight end Mike Ragone is suffering from an inner ear infection and his status for Saturday’s opener against Purdue is uncertain.
• UTEP running back Donald Buckram was carted off the practice field after injuring his left knee.
• Iowa junior offensive lineman Cody Hundertmark has left the team to focus on his schoolwork.
• Drake University plans to face an all-star team from Mexico in Tanzania next year in what the school said will be the first American football game ever played in Africa.
The Associated Press
