Ad Disclosure
Raise your hand if you’ve already looked through the 2019 college football schedule, circled the best matchups and wrote down key dates. For those of you with your hands down, I know you’re lying.
It’s only February and I’ve already scoured through the B1G schedule a dozen times. Yes, I know it’s still six months away. No, I don’t have a problem.
While flipping through the upcoming season, I’ve made a few observations about the B1G in 2019. Here are some quick, general notes I’ve made about next season’s schedule:
1. Week 1 in an absolute dud
The opening week of the college football season is somewhat of a religious experience. After seven long months without watching a game, the football gods provide the fans with a smorgasbord of coverage from the noon kickoff until #Pac12AfterDark. But there’s a bit of a problem for the B1G — there just aren’t many good matchups on that first weekend.
Northwestern is the only team to take on a Power Five opponent that weekend, traveling to Stanford. Two other B1G teams are on the road against Group of Five teams — Purdue vs. Nevada; Wisconsin vs. USF. Indiana plays Ball State in Indianapolis for a neutral site opener.
We’re all so thankful to just have football back in our lives that we usually don’t care too much about those opening week matchups. Still, Week 1 in the B1G is a bit of a disappointing weekend.
2. The Friday games aren’t really that bad
Let’s exclude the Friday games in Week 1, as all of those are non-conference matchups anyway. Instead, we can focus on the three Friday night B1G matchups throughout the season. And, to be honest, it could be a lot worse. Here are the three games that’ll be played on Fridays:
- Sept. 27: Penn State vs. Maryland
- Oct. 18: Ohio State vs. Northwestern
- Nov. 29: Iowa vs. Nebraska
One Friday night game per month is manageable, and the B1G actually did a good job of providing us with some decent matchups. The Penn State-Maryland game could be a bit lopsided, but at least it’s somewhat of a rivalry game. And we get a B1G Championship Game rematch in mid-October with Ohio State traveling to Northwestern. The Iowa-Nebraska game — while it has been on Friday traditionally — is still a great game for the day after Thanksgiving.
For some of us football purists, Fridays should be reserved for high school games. But, if we have to accept this scheduling change, at least there are some interesting matchups.
3. It’s OK if your friend is having a fall wedding on November 2
Confession: I had a fall wedding on a college football Saturday and it was spectacular, so you won’t find me complaining about this topic. However, if you’re one of those people who curses people for proclaiming their love for each other on your weekly holiday, you might be in luck.
Nov. 2 is the least-eventful week in the B1G, with six teams having an off week, including Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. Here’s a look at the schedule for that week:
- Nebraska vs. Purdue
- Rutgers vs. Illinois
- Northwestern vs. Indiana
- Michigan vs. Maryland
The Nebraska-Purdue matchup could have some B1G West implications, but that might be about it. College GameDay probably isn’t rolling through the Midwest that weekend.
So if your friend is looking for some input on when to have their fall wedding, Nov. 2 might be a good Saturday to push.
4. Having two off weeks is going to be extremely beneficial
Working two off weeks into the schedule seems like a no-brainer, considering the grueling nature of the college football season. It will be interesting to see if the number of injuries are reduced because of the additional off week for teams, or if the recovery process is at least sped up.
Sure, it might be a bit of a bummer to have two weekends when your favorite team is idle, but it should provide us with better football, especially down the stretch.
Hopefully this is a scheduling change that sticks around.
5. October 26 is the best Saturday on the schedule
Move over rivalry weekend, the Saturday before Halloween is going to be the best weekend in the B1G in 2019. There are several marquee matchups scheduled for the final weekend in October, which should provide a plethora of entertainment all day long.
Here’s a look at the bigger matchups scheduled for Oct. 26:
- Iowa vs. Northwestern
- Penn State vs. Michigan State
- Notre Dame vs. Michigan
- Wisconsin vs. Ohio State
There will likely be major implications on the line, both in the East and West races on that one Saturday. And, just from a glimpse, College GameDay has some really good options if it wants to visit B1G country that weekend.
Circle Oct. 26 on your calendar. It’s the one weekend of the season you won’t want to miss.
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