THE 2013 ROAD TRIP - BIG 10

August 23, 2013

As the season approaches, you still have time to plan your 2013 college football road trip. For the second year in a row, I will lay out the ultimate road trip for the SEC, Big 10, ACC, Big 12, Pac 12, AAC and the Independents.  

The inspiration comes from one of my favorite books, “Dixieland Delight - A Football Season on the Road in the Southeastern Conference” by Clay Travis. In the book, Travis spends one football season attending one game at every SEC stadium. (I dream of doing that one year in the Big Ten.)

I already gave you the SEC road trip. Time now for the Big 10. Enjoy.

8/31 - Northern Illinois @ Iowa - Both of these teams have competed in the Orange Bowl in the last four years. It’s true. UNI became the 1st MAC team to reach the BCS when they did just a year ago. Iowa has gone 19-19 since defeating Georgia Tech in the 2010 Orange Bowl. Last year, a late Hawkeye rally saved the day in an 18-17 victory. 

9/7 - Cincinnati @ Illinois - Year number one under Tim Beckman did not go very well as the Illini finished 2-10. Cincy is now led by Tommy Tuberville. This is a solid non-conference test for Illinois and the Big Ten. 

9/14 - Notre Dame @ Purdue - There’s no question, I would rather attend the ND-Michigan game on 9/7 but not at the expense of the Ohio State-Michigan game. We still get to see the Irish face a Big Ten team. These old rivals played a classic last year, with the Boilers rallying to tie late, before ND won on a FG in the closing seconds. This is a big time trap game for the Irish.

9/21 - Missouri @ Indiana - The Big Ten gets an SEC team on their home field! Okay, okay. It’s not exactly Florida @ Ohio State, but it will have to do.

9/28 - Wisconsin @ Ohio State - This one is easily the best match-up at the Horseshoe this season. We may as well call it the Leaders division championship game. With Penn State being ineligible again, the Buckeyes are a lock to play for the league title with a win here. The last two meetings have been classics. 

10/5 - Ohio State @ Northwestern - Coming off the night game with Wisconsin, the Buckeyes play another primetime game. This one is in Evanston against a pesky Wildcat team that seems to play everyone tough, but they have struggled to hold leads against the better teams. I think OSU has too much firepower for them, but it should be a great atmosphere.

10/12 - Northwestern @ Wisconsin - Our three week round robin concludes at Camp Randall. Since 1999, the Badgers are just 4-4 against NW. When Wisconsin wins, they win big with the average margin of victory coming by 27 points per game. Get ready to Jump Around before the road trip goes on hiatus.

10/19 - Bonus Week - You can take this particular Saturday off, or enjoy an extra stop for one of these games... Iowa @ OSU, Purdue @ MSU, Wisconsin @ Illinois or Indiana @ Michigan.

10/26 - Bonus Week #2 - Here are the choices for this bonus week before a great home stretch... PSU @ OSU, MSU @ Illinois, NW @ Iowa or Nebraska @ Minnesota.

11/2 - Michigan @ Michigan State - Last year, big brother (UM) got the better of little brother (MSU) for the first time since 2007. Sparty returns 15 starters and will likely be 4-0 in the Big Ten entering this game. If they get by Notre Dame, they could be 8-0 for this one. Michigan is high on talent but not experience.

11/9 - Penn State @ Minnesota -How has the college football world managed to survive the last three years without the battle for the Governor’s Victory Bell? If you can make it to town the night before the game, stop by “the Barn” and say hi. I’ll be there calling the Lehigh basketball game against the Gophers.

11/16 - Michigan State @ Nebraska - A year ago, Nebraska stunned the Spartans scoring the go-ahead TD with a mere :06 left. MSU has a week off after the Michigan game on 11/2. Meanwhile, the Huskers will be in the midst of a four game stretch against NW, UM, MSU and PSU.

11/23 - Nebraska @ Penn State -Two years ago, in the Huskers inaugural Big Ten season, fans of both teams were excited to hear this would be an annual match-up. Those were the good ole days. A few days before that 2011 contest, all hell broke loose in State College. The Huskers will play in front of a Beaver Stadium crowd that is very different from the one they saw two years ago.

11/30 - Ohio State @ Michigan - It may be a preview of the Big Ten Championship game the following week. It may determine if OSU plays for the BCS Championship. It’s Ohio State-Michigan. It’s a must on a Big Ten road trip.

The Buckeyes are a slam dunk to win the Leaders division. Penn State (likely a 7-8 win team) is still not eligible for the post-season. Indiana, Purdue and Illinois just don’t have the horses to keep up over a conference season, and Wisconsin must play OSU in Columbus. 

In the Legends division, NW’s schedule is just too tough. Michigan’s defense needs to be better. I see it coming down to the Nebraska-MSU game on 11/16, and that game is in Lincoln. 

Ohio State will not be perfect, but they will win the Big Ten Championship Game over Nebraska and play in the Rose Bowl.