I really just don't get the theory here. With ten games each team has four scheduled cross-overs. In the 12 week season those cross-overs are in weeks:
- Illinois: 1, 3, 10, 12
- Iowa: 1, 8, 9, 12
- Minnesota: 1, 2, 6, 12
- Nebraska: 1, 6, 9, 12
- Northwestern: 1, 3, 4, 12
- Purdue: 1, 3, 7, 12
- Wisconsin: 1, 5, 9, 12
Ignore the West division because obviously their cross-overs are the other half of the East Division's cross-overs.
- There are seven cross-over games in week 1 (all 14 teams)
- There is one cross-over game in week 2 (2 teams)
- There are three cross-over games in week 3 (6 teams)
- There is one cross-over game in week 4 (2 teams)
- There is one cross-over game in week 5 (2 teams and another 4 off)
- There are two cross-over games in week 6 (4 teams and another 6 off)
- There is one cross-over game in week 7 (2 teams and another 4 off)
- There is one cross-over game in week 8 (2 teams, nobody off)
- There are three cross-over games in week 9 (6 teams, nobody off)
- There is one cross-over game in week 10 (2 teams and another 6 off)
- There are zero cross-over games in week 11 (8 teams off)
- There are seven cross-over games in week 12 (all 14 teams)
Twenty-eight total cross-over games (that math works, four per team times seven teams in each division is 28).
In the weeks when everybody plays (weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 12) they need an odd number of cross-overs to balance the schedule but why put so many cross-overs early in the season. Also, why take games like tOSU/M, UW/MN, etc off of their usual season-ending spot but not moving them all the way to first?
As I see it there is a good chance that the season will be cancelled or curtailed part-way through so my preference would be to put the most important games first. My week #1 would be:
- Illinois/Northwestern
- Iowa/Nebraska
- Minnesota/Wisconsin
- Purdue/Indiana
- Maryland/Rutgers
- Michigan/Ohio State
- Michigan State/Penn State
That is one cross-over (IU/PU) and if that ends up being the entirety of the 2020 season everybody except MSU/PSU has played their biggest rival. So I'd do that then continue on that trajectory (I would include tOSU/PSU and MSU/M in week two because those are the most important rivalries for PSU and MSU). My schedule would have been:
- One cross-over in week 1 (IU/PU and no off weeks), 6 teams in each division playing divisional games.
- One cross-over in week 2 (2 teams and nobody off), 6 teams in each division playing divisional games.
- One cross-over in week 3 (2 teams and 6 off), 1 E Divisional Game and 2 W Divisional Games.
- One cross-over in week 4 (2 teams and another 2 off), 3 E Divisional Games and 2 W Divisional Games.
- One cross-over in week 5 (2 teams and another 4 off), 2 E Divisional Games and 2 W Divisional Games.
- Two cross-overs in week 6 (4 teams and another 2 off), 2 E Divisional Games and 2 W Divisional Games.
- One cross-over in week 7 (2 teams and 6 off), 2 E Divisional Game and and 1 W Divisional Game.
- One cross-over in week 8 (2 teams and another 2 off), 2 E Divisional Games and 3 W Divisional Games.
- Two cross-overs in week 9 (4 teams and another 2 off), 2 E Divisional Games and 2 W Divisional Games.
- Three cross-overs in week 10 (6 teams and another 4 off), 2 E Divisional Games and 2 W Divisional Games.
- Seven cross-overs in week 11 (all 14 teams and nobody off)
- Seven cross-overs in week 12 (all 14 teams and nobody off)
Advantages of my way:
- The most important games to each fanbase are front-loaded in the first few weeks such that if we only end up playing one or two games, at least you will get to see those.
- The cross-divisional games are back-loaded. Half of them (14 of 28) are in the last two weeks, 60% (17 of 28) are in the last three weeks, two-thirds (19 of 28) are in the last four weeks, and three-quarters (21 of 28) are in the last half of the season. That way if we only end up able to play a partial season most of the lost games will be cross-divisional.
