Ad Disclosure
Pat Fitzgerald says he’s in favor of every Power Five school playing 10 conference games
Published:
Pat Fitzgerald has been one of the biggest critics of the B1G’s decision to push to a nine-game conference schedule. It’s not that the Northwestern head coach is against playing that many games, he just wishes it was consistent across the board.
Some conferences still play eight conference games while others have adopted the nine-game model. The push is to create more league competition and better football games for the viewers and season-ticket holders. During an interview on XM Radio Thursday, Fitzgerald reiterated his point, saying he’d be all in favor of a 10-game conference schedule for every Power Five school.
Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald said on SiriusXM he would favor all Power 5 teams playing 10 conference games
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) September 28, 2017
Fitzgerald has also stated in the past that he’s not a huge fan of the nine-game approach because it eliminates a home game for a conference team every other year. Adopting a 10-game approach would allow conference teams to schedule five home and five away games against league opponents.
With the growing push to improve the quality of football games, each team scheduling two non-conference bouts and 10 league games doesn’t seem like a huge stretch. Before too long, it’ll likely happen.
Fitzgerald just wants it to be a level playing ground across college football. An even number of home and away games would be beneficial, as well.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB