Ohio State Football: Surprise teams the Big Ten should target

There has been a lot of speculation about conference realignment. While these talks seem to come up every few years, the Big Ten should start the action and bring schools in first instead of picking up the scraps and hurting teams like the Ohio State football program.

The news that Texas and Oklahoma are looking into joining the SEC is getting plenty of circulation, and for good reason.  The Longhorns and Sooners are two huge programs with plenty of tradition that would instantly elevate any conference.

The last time the conferences expanded the Big Ten waited too long and decided to take Maryland and Rutgers. While you can argue all day that this put the Big Ten into valuable TV markets, on the field neither of these teams contribute much. Both are at the bottom of the table in football, as the Ohio State football program buries both on a regular basis, and find periodic success in basketball.

Rather than wait for the dust to fall after Texas and Oklahoma move on to the SEC the Big Ten should be the instigators. If they wait the conference will most likely add West Virginia and Iowa State. I get the reason for both those programs, but there isn’t any splash or excitement that comes from either of those schools.

Here are the top schools the Big Ten should try to lure away to elevate the conference.