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Slightly off topic, but worth discussing...

Was perusing though another fan board (texags.com) earlier and it was noted that A&M has not played a Big Ten team since 1975 at home.  We've had home/away with current B1G teams, but none that were actually in the B1G at the time we played.  We beat Penn St at their house in '80, and they returned the favor in '81 or thereabouts.  Apparently we've had home/home games scheduled but they either backed out, got cancelled, or for whatever reason never occurred.  Mich St and Indiana are mentioned as games that were scheduled but never occurred. 

Obviously we've played Big 10 teams in Bowl games over the years, but only once since 1975 has a current Big 10 team come to College Station to play.  It was posted that the 1975 Illinois game is the only Big 10 team ever to visit College Station.  If true, then Wow !

They said that the Penn St vs Auburn game is the first time Penn State has ever played at Auburn.  I know these games don't happen very often, but it sure would seem like there would be a few here and there.  Is this normal that the B1G teams just don't hardly venture south for non-conference games, and vice versa for SEC teams going north?  I remember Tx/OSU playing a home/home game in the mid 2000's, but I really don't recall if the SEC/XII/B1G ever mixing it up much? 

Throughout my time as a fan we've played the PAC multiple times, ACC, no B1G teams, not many SEC that I can remember, ND, as well as a bunch of Ball State/Kent State types.  

Just thought it was interesting. 

Cool site in case you're interested. 

http://mcubed.net/ncaaf/tvc/txam/big10.shtml#games

So we've played in Ann Arbor twice, Columbus twice, and I think Purdue played at Kyle Field in the 60's.  Not sure why those were all away games, but possibly because A&M was really such a small school back in those days we probably didn't have the swag to get a return game. 

Not a lot of B1G/A&M history. 

(N) 2011/12/31  Texas A&M       33 - Northwestern    22 W    !! Meineke Car Care Bowl !!
     (N) 2007/12/29  Texas A&M       17 - Penn State      24 L    !! Alamo Bowl !!           
     (N) 1999/12/28  Texas A&M        0 - Penn State      24 L    !! Alamo Bowl !!           
     (N) 1999/01/01  Texas A&M       14 - Ohio State      24 L    !! Sugar Bowl !!           
     (N) 1995/12/28  Texas A&M       22 - Michigan        20 W    !! Alamo Bowl !!           
     (N) 1987/01/01  Texas A&M       12 - Ohio State      28 L    !! Cotton Bowl !!          
     (A) 1977/10/01  Texas A&M        3 - Michigan        41 L                               
     (A) 1976/10/02  Texas A&M       14 - Illinois         7 W                               
     (H) 1975/09/27  Texas A&M       43 - Illinois        13 W                               
     (A) 1970/10/03  Texas A&M       10 - Michigan        14 L                               
     (A) 1970/09/26  Texas A&M       13 - Ohio State      56 L                               
     (H) 1967/09/23  Texas A&M       20 - Purdue          24 L                               
     (A) 1963/09/28  Texas A&M        0 - Ohio State      17 L                               
     (A) 1959/09/26  Texas A&M        9 - Michigan State   7 W                               
     (H) 1931/10/10  Texas A&M       29 - Iowa             0 W              

So in over 100 years of football we've had Purdue and Illinois play at Kyle Field, and obviously the only other games were at Ann Arbor and Columbus.  

I stand corrected, I left out Iowa in 1931.  

SEC teams played other P5 teams a lot more often (including B1G) before expansion in 1992.  That seems to have limited the practice a lot.

Not Florida, as we play FSU every year and up to 1987, Miami as well.  When those are 2 of your OOC foes, you don't go looking for home-and-homes with Michigan and Ohio State.  But the Gators did play @ Syracuse in '91 and hosted Oklahoma State in '90.  

But it was a different world back then, with at least a dozen big-name programs being independent back then.  

The SEC teams with OOC rivals tended to host 1-offs post 1992.  Especially the programs with a secondary OOC rival (like Florida....and Georgia with GT and Clemson).  Another reason UGA and UF didn't partake was their annual neutral site game.  In doing some research, it looks like UGA hosted Texas Tech a few times in the 90s, but didn't return the favor.  Once you have an OOC rival, a secondary one you want to play as often as possible, and forfeit half a home game every season, you're not signing up to go to Iowa City.  

As for other SEC schools, I'd have to do some more research.

This made me think of a go-to regional OOC opponent teams tended to utilize more often than their fair share.  In the SEC, through the 80s and 90s, it was Southern Miss. 
Everyone played Southern Miss, every few years, it seemed.  They were a decent program - wouldn't usually threaten to beat you, but would always put up a good fight.  They even beat a highly-ranked FSU team in one season-opener. 
.
Was there a program like that for B1G teams?  A particular independent or G5 midwestern school that everyone seemed to schedule a little more often than one would assume?

Notre Dame.

since 2011 when the Huskers joined the 10

Washington, Oregon, UCLA, So. Miss, Miami, Colorado, Oklahoma

As I said on another thread - probably won't see the Sooners again, unfortunately

We played Southern Miss a few times in the 90’s. I think we even played them when Favre was there. 

Nebraska has historically wedded itself to a H&H w Pac 12 team.  They've played a Pac12 team about 40 times over the past 40 years.  I think Stanford is only Pac 12 team they have not played in that time.

Last SEC reg season games were Bama late 70s and Auburn early 80s.  A couple ACC sets w VT and Wake this century.

otherwise Nebraska loved playing all those old Independents, especially FSU and Penn St and So Car.  They have played USM a bunch too, even once at Hattiesburg.

and a bunch of Big Ten programs