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Michigan 27, Michigan State 20

We were at a Halloween party, and I didn't see a snap, but it appears to be pretty much exactly what I figured

That makes sense for Michigan, but not for Michigan State. Michigan measures itself by Ohio State, but Michigan State measures itself by Michigan. Who else would be Michigan State's protected rival? I'm not a Michigan State fan, but from the outside I can't think of any team other than Michigan that MSU pines away to play. And when you factor in who the other teams have as natural rivals, who would lose their protected rivalry? The problem is that MSU fits into the middle stratum of the B1G teams, so it makes more sense to have a natural rival in that same range, but does MSU care about Illinois? Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa already have their triumverate--can't plug MSU in there. Purdue and Indiana seems straightforward. And Penn State is too good a team (and without a long-term rivalry) to pair with MSU. So who else for MSU?

I don't get why there have to be protected rivals at all anymore.  Penn State was protected, until Maryland and Rutgers insisted on protecting Penn State I guess

I don't think we need to worry about it. After all, 18 teams will become 20 or more soon enough, right?

That said, 18 makes perfect sense mathematically for each team to have two protected rivals. Except that (as usual) the West Coast teams effed it up. Okay, and maybe Northwestern.

Here's the best I can come up with:

• Maryland / Rutgers / PSU - Obvious geographically
• OSU / UM / MSU - These three have natural rivalries, and when MSU is good they challenge OSU. Of course MSU is getting screwed here, but what can you do?
• Purdue / IU / Illinois - Geographical consistency and Purdue already has a natural rivalry with both other schools, and IU sucks (except this year) so they don't have any rival other than Purdue.
• UW / MN / IA - Already have their three-way rivalry
• USC / UCLA / Oregon - USC looks at both of these schools as rivals already. Yeah, UCLA gets screwed like MSU did above, but what can you do?
• NW / UNL / WAS - This is the problem. You break the NW/Illinois rivalry. You break the potentially budding UNL/Iowa rivalry. Washington probably should be Oregon's rival for geographic purposes but Oregon makes the most sense with USC and USC isn't dropping UCLA.

But I don't see how else you can really do it.

I do.

I don't think we need to worry about it. After all, 18 teams will become 20 or more soon enough, right?

it’ll be 24 probably and within a couple years imo. 

SEC & B1G already been having closed door meetings about how they are going to swallow everyone else up and ditch the NCAA.

That said, 18 makes perfect sense mathematically for each team to have two protected rivals. 

But I don't see how else you can really do it.

18 makes perfect sense for 2 divisions
play each team in your division annually, with one protected rival from the other division or not

9 conference games

northwestern, Illinois, Purdue, Nebraska, Iowa or Minnesooota

don't worry, it wouldn't be Ohio St or Michigan

hell, send Rutgers and Maryland