Ohio State Football: Big Ten might do away with divisions

The Ohio State football team has dominated the Big Ten East since the formation of the division. Heck, even when it was Leaders and Legends Ohio State dominated. It looks like they might not be able to dominate a division for much longer though if some rumors are true.

According to Iowa AD Gary Barta, the Big Ten is looking at doing away with divisions. They are also looking at just having 8 conference games played and leaving one open for an ACC or Pac-12 foe in non-conference to help with the alliance that they made earlier this year.

Personally, I was never a fan of going to a 9-game conference schedule. It only hurt the Ohio State football team’s chances of making the College Football Playoff because it adds another hard opponent for them to face instead of an easier foe.

The divisions have been mismatched for years. The East has been the dominant division by far. In fact, since the divisions were changed to East vs. West back in 2014, a representative from the East has won the Big Ten every time. It hasn’t really been close.

This would help balance out a clearly unbalanced conference. It would also help the Buckeyes make a slightly easier schedule because they can have three easier non-conference games with just one hard one. That helps the team gain confidence and helps them win games.

It’s unclear whether or not the Big Ten is actually going to take these measures or not. It’s just something they are looking into at the moment. Barta seems to think that these changes could go into effect in 2023 when the Big Ten’s media rights deal is up.

We’ll have to see if this is something that the conference is truly looking at or if it’s just something flippant. We’ll certainly keep you posted!