If you’ve already given up on your team’s season, good news arrived Wednesday as the Big Ten released the complete 2023 football schedule.

It will be the conference’s final season before the arrival of USC and UCLA. As such, it’s also expected to be the final season with the current East/West divisional alignment, though no formal plan has been announced for 2024 and beyond.

For some programs, that means this could be the last shot at playing in the Big Ten championship game for quite some time. And it’s also the final time that the 3 crossover games on the schedule will also shape which teams compete for the title and bowl appearances.

If you’ve not yet glanced at the schedule, here it is:

As is the current rotation, West Division teams have 5 conference home games, and all East Division teams play 5 conference road games.

In a transfer portal world, it’s difficult to make judgements about where each program will be a year from now. But for the most part, we have a good idea about who is expected to leave and expected to return.

These are the things that stand out about the 2023 Big Ten schedule.

1. A busy Week 1

It’s straight into the fire for 6 B1G programs with conference games in Week 1.

Minnesota hosts Nebraska on a Thursday night to officially kick off the 2023 Big Ten football season. It’s also the debut for Nebraska’s new head coach, unless he should happen to be Mickey Joseph.

Ohio State — perhaps coming off a conference title, perhaps coming off a national championship — opens at Indiana. Adding the “2022 national champions” sign in Ohio Stadium could be kind of awkward if it’s after a loss to the Hoosiers.

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Finally, Northwestern opens at Rutgers, guaranteeing one of those teams will open the year 1-0 in the Big Ten.

2. Good luck, Gophers

2023 doesn’t seem like a good year for Minnesota to be replacing a 6th-year quarterback and the best running back in program history.

The Gophers jump into the deep end against Nebraska, though fortunately it’s at home. But things don’t get easier as the season progresses.

Minnesota hits the road at North Carolina and Northwestern in Weeks 3 and 4. After that it’s a quality Group of 5 opponent in Louisiana-Lafayette. And then Michigan comes to town to battle for the Little Brown Jug.

The Gophers also visit Ohio State in Week 12. Between the Buckeyes, Wolverines and Michigan State, there is no question Minnesota has the most challenging crossover opponents in the entire Big Ten next season.

And, again, all of that is happening with what will be a new-look offense. PJ Fleck will earn his keep next season.

3. Purdue could be boiled

Purdue is rowing the same boat as Minnesota — replacing its quarterback and top offensive playmaker while drawing both Ohio State and Michigan.

There’s no refuge in the non-conference schedule, either. The Boilers open with a top-tier Group of 5 program in Fresno State. Then they have back-to-back ACC games against Virginia Tech and Syracuse. (Long live The Alliance.)

Once that potential gauntlet is complete, Purdue opens conference play by trying to beat Wisconsin at Ross-Ade Stadium for the first time since 1997.

I don’t feel particularly great about Purdue’s bowl prospects next season.

4. On the road again

At this point, I hope the league office is actually trolling Penn State. Because it’s much funnier that way.

For the 8th straight season, the Nittany Lions open Big Ten play with a road game. Penn State visits Illinois in Week 3. Ideally, the game will take fewer than 9 overtimes to settle.

Also, James Franklin should save his complaints, because the conference is actually doing Penn State a favor in this case.

Penn State and Maryland are the only programs in the East that will avoid playing road games back-to-back weeks, and that’s only possible because both teams open conference play away from home. Thus, their rotation of home-and-away alternates perfectly.

5. Michigan should be ashamed of itself

Ohio State and Michigan are the vanguard programs of the Big Ten, but only one of them schedules accordingly.

The Buckeyes go to Indiana to start the season, then head back to the state to play Notre Dame in Week 4. Michigan, on the other hand, is one of just two Big Ten teams to open with 4 straight home games.

Michigan State is the other team that won’t hit the road in September. But the Spartans have a return visit from this year’s game at Washington before opening league play against Maryland.

The Wolverines face East Carolina, UNLV and Bowling Green before getting a gift-basket Big Ten opener against Rutgers.

This schedule is friggin’ pathetic, and Michigan AD Warde Manuel should be embarrassed to have his name associated with it. Michigan is the only team in the Big Ten to not schedule a Power 5 opponent in non-conference play.

If the Wolverines are in CFP contention next year, this should absolutely be held against them. Especially given that it’s the second straight year this will happen. Have some self-respect, buy out one of your crappy opponents and play a real game.