3. The non-conference games
Give the Big Ten credit – it really is stepping up its non-conference game.
Not everyone faces an FCS team, and just about everyone has one monster date among the three outside of the Big Ten. Nine teams’ best non-conference games are away from home including all of them in the West.
So how do all of the Big Ten non-conference slates look, ranking all three games for each team from best to worst?
Big Ten East
Indiana
1) Cincinnati, 2) at WKU, 3) Idaho
Maryland
1) West Virginia, 2) Kent State, 3) Howard
Michigan
1) Washington, 2) Western Michigan, 3) Northern Illinois
Michigan State
1) at Miami, 2) WKU, 3) Youngstown State
Ohio State
1) Oregon, 2) Tulsa, 3) Akron
Penn State
1) Auburn, 2) Ball State, 3) Villanova
Rutgers
1) at Syracuse, 2) Temple, 3) Delaware
Big Ten West
Illinois
1) at Virginia, 2) UTSA, 3) Charlotte
Iowa
1) at Iowa State, 2) Colorado State, 3) Kent State
Minnesota
1) at Colorado, 2) Miami University, 3) Bowling Green
Nebraska
1) at Oklahoma, 2) Buffalo, 3) SE Louisiana
Northwestern
1) at Duke, 2) Ohio, 3) Indiana State
Purdue
1) at Notre Dame, 2) Oregon State, 3) at UConn
Wisconsin
1) Notre Dame (in Chicago), 2) Army, 3) Eastern Michigan
– The biggest thing that matters about the 2021 Big Ten schedule is …