Report: Big Ten Football Schedule Around the Corner

The Big Ten Conference will reportedly release their conference-only schedule as early as tomorrow.

Earlier this month, the Big Ten released a plan for the upcoming season, saying college football and other fall sports will move to conference-only schedules.

"This decision was made following many thoughtful conversations over several months between the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors, Directors of Athletics, Conference Office staff, and medical experts including the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee," said the Big Ten in a statement on July 9, 2020.

Until now, there hasn't been a lot of details following their initial statement.

Teddy Greenstein from the Chicago Tribune reported that the conference still wants a season featuring nine or ten games, according to an unidentified source.

Greenstein added the plan is to start the season on Sept. 5 as previously scheduled, "with three to five open dates to allow for the possibility of teams having to quarantine for ten days or more."

He spoke with another unidentified source who said they are expecting a tentative schedule by next week and possibly even tomorrow, July 31.

Unless something unforeseen happens between now and then, Greenstein expects the schedule to be "front-loaded" with divisional opponents (East vs. East & West vs. West).

"The conference could either add a fourth cross-division game to each team's schedule or tear up the current slate and start over, favoring geography. For example, Illinois is slated to host Ohio State and travel to Indiana and Rutgers for its crossover games. The Michigan schools are obviously closer to Champaign than the one in New Jersey," Greenstein writes.

A front-loaded schedule means rivalry games such as Michigan vs. Ohio State, a contest dubbed 'The Game' and one usually taking place during the last week of the regular season would be played much earlier.

There's always the possibility Michigan State vs. Michigan could take place in the first two months of the year as well.

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