Category: Illinois

Big Ten football schedule 2021 – what are the five things you need to know? What are the five things that matter?

Big Ten Football Schedule 2021: 5 Things You Need To Know

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Big Ten Schedules, Analysis, Best/Worst Scenarios
East Indiana | Maryland | Michigan
Michigan St | Ohio St | Penn St | Rutgers
West Illinois | Iowa | Minnesota | Nebraska
Northwestern | Purdue | Wisconsin

Here are five things about the 2021 Big Ten football schedule that matter including who misses the big teams from the other division, the non-conference analysis, the one big difference in this year’s slate, the winners and losers, and starting out with …

5.  Who gets the rested teams?

The Big Ten does a terrific job of not letting any one team’s schedule get loaded up with games against teams that get a break. If possible, everyone would love to have an extra week to rest and prepare for Ohio State, Wisconsin, or Penn State, but that doesn’t happen.

Ask Alabama over in the SEC what it’s been like over the years to seemingly get everyone with fresh legs.

Every team gets at least one week off, and every team has at least one total layup against an FCS team or against a lightweight FBSer. What teams then get hit with the relaxed opponents?

Again, the Big Ten does a good job of this. It’s relatively fair.

Big Ten East

Indiana
The open date comes before: Michigan State, Oct. 16
The FCS scrimmage: Idaho, Sept. 11 before Cincinnati

Maryland
The open date comes before: at Minnesota, Oct. 23
The FCS scrimmage: Howard, Sept. 11 before at Illinois

Michigan
The open date comes before: Northwestern, Oct. 23
The FCS scrimmage: (none, so easiest game …)  Northern Illinois, Sept. 18 before Rutgers

Michigan State
The open date comes before: Michigan, Oct. 30
The FCS scrimmage:  Youngstown State, Sept. 11 before at Miami

Ohio State
The open date comes before: at Indiana, Oct. 23
The FCS scrimmage: (none, so easiest game …)  Akron, Sept. 25 before at Rutgers

 Penn State
The open date comes before: Illinois, Oct. 23
The FCS scrimmage: Villanova, Sept. 25 before Indiana

Rutgers
The open date comes before: at Illinois, Oct. 30
The FCS scrimmage: Delaware, Sept. 18 before at Michigan

Big Ten West

Illinois
The open date comes before: at Penn State, Oct. 23; at Iowa, Nov. 20
The FCS scrimmage: (none, so easiest game …)  Charlotte before Wisconsin

Iowa
The open date comes before: at Wisconsin, Oct. 30
The FCS scrimmage: (none, so easiest game …) Kent State before at Colorado State

Minnesota
The open date comes before: Nebraska, Oct. 16
The FCS scrimmage: (none, so easiest game …) Bowling Green before at Purdue

Nebraska
The open date comes before: Buffalo, Sept. 11; Purdue, Oct. 23
The FCS scrimmage: SE Louisiana, Nov. 13 before at Wisconsin

Northwestern
The open date comes before: Rutgers, Oct. 16
The FCS scrimmage: Indiana State, Sept. 11 before at Duke

Purdue
The open date comes before: at Iowa, Oct. 16
The FCS scrimmage: (none, so easiest game …) at UConn, Sept. 11 before at Notre Dame

Wisconsin
The open date comes before: Notre Dame (in Chicago), Sept. 25
The FCS scrimmage: (none, so easiest game …) Eastern Michigan, Sept. 11 before Notre Dame two weeks later

– The games against the teams from the other division

NEXT: Who misses the big boys from the other division?

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