Linkbacker U. is Representin' McWestside

What do you expect? I don't have
my computer with Photoshop
right now, so MS Paint
is all we get today.

Who knew Scranton turf wars were this intense? Matt McGloin, that's who.

"Whenever he says where he's from, he says West Scranton, not Scranton," Mr. Meyers said of Mr. McGloin.

For Mr. McGloin's father, Paul, there's a pretty simple explanation for that.

"He loves West Scranton," Mr. McGloin said of his son. "It's a part of town where people care about each other and take care of each other."

Can't you just picture the amber waves of grain and purple mountains' majesty in the background?

This yellow journalism is not worth a link. Mark Madden wrote Madden: Sandusky a State secret for the Beaver County Times last night. The whole thing is just rancid garbage, but this particular passage caught my eye as truly unethical:

LBU Reaction to Big Ten Divisions

Those who are about to become
Penn State's biggest rivals, salute you!

It's been a crazy 24 hours, but a fun 24 hours. Big Ten Divisions are here, and we have something to say about it...

Revamped 2011, 2012 Penn State Football Schedules

Along with the Big Ten Divisions announcement, we get the new schedules for 2011 and 2012. Not the earth-shattering home slates we were all hoping for, but Nebraska, Alabama and Iowa come to town. The only team really missing from next season is Ohio State, but remember that PSU hosted the Buckeyes in both 1994 and 1995. Also to note about 2011, the away game in Madison as the season finale.

(GoPSUSports.com)

Penn State-Nebraska annual rivalry likely guaranteed

On the Big Ten divisions announcement special on the BTN tonight, it was announced that Penn State and Nebraska will be a protected annual protected inter-divisional rivalry game.

This significantly boosts Penn State's annual strength of schedule, and is a fantastic, though somewhat expected development. I haven't heard anything about the Penn State/Michigan State rivalry, but will update this post when I do.

The divisions are as prognosticated throughout the day...

(NOT the official names)
Div 1: Indiana, Illinois, Purdue, Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin
Div 2: Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Nebraska

Commish Jim Delaney said this would only affect football, for obvious reasons. Basketball will be up to the athletic directors and stuff. Over the next few weeks, we'll hear names for these divisions, and new logos, etc.

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Big Ten Divisions Announcement Coming at 7 p.m.

Give Jim Delany and the Big Ten credit. The conference has managed to stay front and center in the news cycle for nine straight months, and will continue to be there until Nebraska plays its first Big Ten conference game.

LBU Video: David Kimball: He'll Flip Ya.

To nobody's surprise, our latest "10 Minutes or Less" video featuring the 2002 primetime massacre of Nebraska garnered quite a few hits and had the operators on our contents board working overtime...What's that? You mean you haven't watched it yet? What the hell's the matter with you?

Anywho, the majority of the comments seemed to revolve around two things:

1. The fact that the video includes a clip of former defensive end and more recently convicted murderer LaVon Chisley intercepting a pass late in the 3rd quarter. This prompted me to edit the YouTube annotations with an appropriate murder joke. As somebody who grew up watching Norm MacDonald make such jokes about OJ Simpson every weekend on SNL's "Weekend Update" segments, I'm rather de-sensitized to such things.
2. The fact that the video failed to include a clip of kicker David Kimball laying a good hit on Nebraska running back Josh Davis on a kickoff, flipping him like Fenster in "The Usual Suspects." In my defense: The hit took place late in the game with the outcome long since decided and it wasn't exactly a Paul Posluszny stuffing Laurence Maroney caliber of hit that everyone remembers to this day. I didn't even know about it until I got several comments whining about its abscence.

So, with that being said, we decided for once to listen to the commenters and are pleased to present to you a 'deleted scene' extra because let's face it: Watching PSU pummel Nebraska never gets old.


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10 Minutes Or Less: 2002 Penn State vs. Nebraska

Ah, my freshman year of college: It's a time that I fondly look back upon as it invokes memories such as meeting people that I still call 'friends' to this very day, discovering the joys of beer, and 'Wal-Mart runs' which consisted of a few friends and I getting dropped off at a local Wal-Mart that was several miles away from campus, buying a whole bunch of cheap DVD's, and then walking back to campus in the dark through these creepy backwoods while debating about which one of us would die first if we were in a horror film.

What really causes me to look back fondly on my freshman year though, was the fact that it was during the same season where on a muggy September night, Penn State annihilated a 7th-ranked Nebraska squad 40-7 on national television, sparking a (what nobody thought at the time) brief return to PSU's winning ways after suffering back-to-back losing seasons. It's one of the few memories from the Dark Years that I haven't tried like hell to erase from my mind and remains my favorite non-2005 Ohio State Beaver Stadium memory.

While the players merely saw this game as an opportunity to prove their worth to a national TV audience in primetime, the fans took things a little more personally. You see, this was the first time Penn State and Nebraska met after that controversial 1994 season where the Huskers were handed both the AP and Coaches Poll national titles instead of having them rightfully split between the two schools. "Fuck Nebraska"chants were highly audible from the student section and while I don't flinch at college kids cursing an opposing team, I was rather appalled by their behavior post-game. Everywhere I walked there was some jackass getting in the faces of Nebraska fans and yelling Go back to Lincoln! and other incendiary comments that were more expletive-laced. It was a moment where I began to realize that PSU's fan base (at least, the students) were no classier than any other school's, especially considering they were doing this to arguably the nicest group of opposing fans in the country.

I could go into a barrage of details on the game itself but that would take away focus from the video. Instead, here's some things to look for in the video:

• "Operation Visine." Still a few years away from the advent of White-Outs, the athletic department encouraged PSU fans to wear blue in order to combat the well-traveled Nebraska fans' "Sea of Red." Certainly, images of Nebraska's trip to Notre Dame in 2000 had to have been haunting Tim Curley in his sleep.

• Zack Mills back when he could throw the ball well. He was still a month away from suffering a shoulder injury at Wisconsin where he would never be the same passer ever again.


• Larry Johnson starting to show flashes of what would turn out to become a record-setting year for him (i.e. the first and only Penn Stater to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season)


• America being introduced to Michael Robinson, followed by Bob Griese claiming the kid will never play quarterback. Griese was right, as usual...


• Karma biting Nebraska in the ass, two plays after the refs nullified a fumble recovery TD by Michael Haynes from Nebraska QB Jamaal Lord by ruling it an 'incomplete pass,' Rich Gardner turned an overthrown pass by Lord into a pick-six that blew the game wide open. It was easily one of the most electric moments I've personally experienced in all my years attending games at the Beav. This also occurred before the stadium security began cracking down on people in the student section who created a hailstorm of nachos and water/soda after every touchdown. I was fortunate enough to be sitting only seven rows away from the field, so I only took a few drops of water to my shirt. Others probably weren't as lucky...
  


• 110,753 fans setting a Beaver Stadium record for attendance and probably breaking several fire codes in the process. It's a record that I should add, still stands to this very day.
  
  
  
  
  
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The 1994 Big Ten Championship Game: Penn State vs Nebraska

What if Penn State and Nebraska had duked it out, on the field, for the 1994 national championship? These two programs would never have been printed, that's for sure.

1992... that's two years before 1994, folks.

Nebraska was apparently ready and willing to join the Big Ten, had it offered the Cornhuskers membership after Penn State joined the league in 1990.

"A dig through World-Herald files shows that Devaney spoke with Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany in 1992 about that league adding another team in light of the addition of Penn State in 1990 as the 11th member."

Well ain't that swell. All this crap could have been taken care of 18 years ago. Two things to note about the 1992 timeframe...

1. It could have created a Big Ten title game (12 teams), just as the SEC was beginning its own two-division alignment. The first SEC Championship Game was played in 1992.

2. Nebraska surely would have entered into conference football play by 1994. In either the same, or separate divisions, Penn State and Nebraska would have naturally met in the regular season at some point. Not only would this have allowed for the biggest game of the season, but just imagine if both 11-0 teams faced off as No. 1 vs No. 2 in the Big Ten title game. Surely that would have been in the "Game of the Century" annals.

But oh, it gets much better than that. You know who was chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the early 1990s? Our very own Penn State prez, Graham Spanier. Even way back when, Nebraska was still the head honcho when it came to moving and shaking the college football landscape.

A three-month chain of events in late 1993 and early 1994 — all involving football TV rights deals — “put the Big Eight in a vulnerable position," then-NU Chancellor Graham Spanier said, “and the Southwest Conference in even a more vulnerable spot."

So what if Nebraska moved to the Big Ten in 1992, when Devaney spoke with Delany (who's names sounds uncannily alike, I might add)? Would the 1994 college football season even have the reputation it does today? Who would have actually won the game? Would Spanier be Penn State's current president? Would the Big Ten move to instant replay much sooner? Would Anthony Morelli not throw three pick-sixes against Ohio State?

One may never know. But it's fun to pretend.

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Linkbacker-U could see Big Ten divisions by August

Let's talk Big Ten stuff today. Well, mostly.

You thought last year's Big Ten kickoff luncheon was good? Wait till this year, when the Big Ten staffers begin their proposals for the new divisional alignment of the conference in 2011. It's going to be a media circus no matter what happens, but if there's some--any--controversial proposals, watch the heads explode from Ann Arbor to Iowa City.

This is all, of course, following a report that the divisions talk will come quicker than we thought.

The Big Ten athletic directors received a memo this week from league commissioner Jim Delany, outlining the priorities and the process for determining divisions. Big Ten associate commissioner Mark Rudner and others are spearheading the project, and will present data to the athletic directors when they gather in Chicago for the Big Ten's media days and kickoff luncheon Aug. 2-3.

So that's the nuts and bolts of the story, but Adam Rittenberg asks the question I'm wondering, and you too are probably wondering: how will the Big Ten screw this one up? You know it's possible, especially with all the talk out there of "competitive balance" between the divisions. Unfortunately, some of the Big Ten AD's are already spouting that talking point.

"You have to look with a wide lens," [Purdue AD] Burke said. "You have to look over a 50-year period and look at who’s been consistent. If you take a snapshot of a five-year period or a 10-year period, you may miss it. Clearly, Michigan and Ohio State and Penn State and Nebraska, if you look at a 50-year history, are your four biggest brands. It doesn’t mean they win all the time, but they’re your biggest brands. I don’t think there’ll be any disagreement among all the Big Ten ADs about that. You’re not going to stack all four of them in one division. You’re going to try to create some level of parity."

What? No one, ever, has seriously suggested placing Nebraska in the same division as Penn State, Michigan, and Ohio State. But I guess this is how you skew public perception, before the public even knows it has perception on the matter. I can't argue, though. I don't think the Big Ten would even entertain the notion of that kind of alignment. But I can totally see the ADs or presidents using this as ammo for keeping certain rivalries intact (Michigan-Ohio State, anyone?), while breaking up others. Ok, done with that crap for today.

Ok, not totally done with divisions crap. One of our newest friend/foe sites kind of tears apart the parity argument we just went over in the above section. So here's a little sanity out of Lincoln, of all places.

The numbers may not agree with [the competitive balance argument].

No question Ohio State has been the class of the Big Ten this past decade, posting a record of 102-25.

But the winning percentages of Wisconsin (66.7) and Iowa (64.0) the past 10 years stack up just fine with those of Michigan (65.3) and Penn State (62.6).

So if you align Nebraska, with a winning percentage of 65.6 this past decade, alongside Iowa and Wisconsin, recent numbers suggest that’d be a pretty even split among the conference’s power programs.

So chew on that for a while. Looking at it that way, the basic east-west divisional alignment should be a forgone conclusion, right? We can only be so lucky.

Huskers-Lions rivalry. Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota are some of the early suitors for an annual, highly-marketed rivalry game with Nebraska. But when it comes to Penn State, there's a bit of a lost-twin syndrome for Nebraska fans.

In fact, BRN publisher Jason Siffring and I both went to a Penn State game as neutral observers one time. We were both living relatively in the area and drove over to watch Drew Brees and Purdue come play in Beaver Stadium. It was my first PSU experience. At the time, I said to Jason..."Wow, this place is like Bizzaro Nebraska." Comic book references aside (yay for Superman!), it felt very much like going to a Nebraska game except everyone was in blue instead of red.

Considering that Nebraska fans are widely regarded as the most courteous, loyal, welcoming fans in all of sports, that's a serious comparison from Big Red. I would love to see an annual Penn State vs Nebraska inter-divisional game. It would completely crush any of the past ratings for Penn State vs Minnesota, Penn State vs Iowa, or even Penn State vs Wisconsin--all those teams would end up being in the west division, should that alignment happen. If there's an opportunity for five divisional games, and three inter-divisional games in the Big Ten season, Penn State vs Nebraska is a necessity.

Ok, we'll cut it off there for the day.

In Scores of Other Games...

BSD has a great look back at one of the legends of Penn State football, Dick Harlow. Check it out... Penn State basketball players are profiled by VBR, one at a time. It's probably more info on most of them than you ever expected would exist... Michigan comes in at No. 71 in TSN's countdown. Not sure the Wolves will be quite that bad, but whatever... Big Ten quarterback breakdowns come at us from the Rivalry, Esq... Another massive recruiting update from MGoBlog.

Extra Point...

Penn State wide receiver Tariq Tongue posted a video featuring the team's senior class of 2013. Recognized those photos of Stephon Morris and Shawney Kersey? Oh yeah, baby, those are mine!

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Linkbacker U is talking Wide Receivers, Rivalries, and the Offensive Line.

Former Lion Wideouts Trying to Make it in NFL

Was there a single Penn State fan who didn't like Jordan Norwood? One third of perhaps the greatest wide receiving corps in school history, who could forget this circus catch against Northwestern? After serving primarily on the Eagles practice squad so far, Norwood's trying to make the jump to the big leagues. Norwood's not the only former PSU wide receiver who needs to step up his game, as Derrick Williams isn't quite doing as well as he did (or at least was supposed to do) in college either.

Can Nebraska be Penn State's Actual Rivalry?

Quick, name Penn State's biggest rival. You may say Ohio State due to the close competitions in recent years for the Big Ten title, or Iowa for simply ruining ALL of Nittany Nation's hopes and dreams. Maybe even Michigan for their dominance over Penn State prior to the past two seasons. But as you know, it is Michigan State that shows up on the schedule during rivalry week, and Nittany White Out ponders if perhaps Nebraska can replace Michigan State on the schedule and give Penn State a mutual rival it is so severely lacking.

Stefen Wisniewski Named to Outland Trophy Watch List

New quarterback, and two new inexperienced members of the offensive line. Smells like trouble? Not with guard Stefen Wisniewski, who is once again a member of the Outland Trophy Watch List. The award is given to the nation's best defensive tackle or offensive lineman, and Penn State is going to need Wisniewski to be just that if the team is going to have any chance of a BCS bowl.

While you were working (or sleeping) TUCKER HAAS!

We told you to tune into Fox News yesterday to watch nine year old cancer survivor Tucker Haas perform Boom Boom Pow, but just in case you missed it, we've got it right here.

Linkbacker U is talking Big Ten Divisions

The first phase of Big Ten expansion is done (we assume), meaning it's time to start looking at the Big Ten's new 12-team future. We've been quiet around here because life tends to come slamming down at the most inopportune times, particularly when it happens to all of us at once. But I'll have a quick update for you all, following the link digest.

Big Ten Expansion, Divisions:

Brad Wolverton - Al Grivetti was a graduate student at Northern Illinois University in 1990 when he got a dream assignment: Design a new logo for the Big Ten Conference, whose membership was about to increase to 11 institutions. With two brilliant strokes—spelling out the "Ten" to play down the numeral, and adding a subliminal "11"—he created a logo that has lasted 20 years.

Rusty Miller (AP) - No matter how the schedules are drawn up, some schools likely will grumble quietly. The conference will try to preserve old rivalries, but there are no guarantees that all will be played annually. There's no question that new ones will be created.

Adam Rittenberg - But the Big Ten says it will continue to examine expansion for the next year or so, and Delany could "act and act again," he said earlier this month. So here's some advice to the league: If Phase 2 of expansion becomes a reality, make recruiting a top priority.

Brian Cook - Unfortunately, there's no obvious winner. Geography is going to be hewed to fairly closely if only because the serious rivalries in the league are based on it. So the Big Ten faces a choice between throwing three of its four-ish (three and a half, really) glamor teams in the same division, creating an unbalanced split of the top six programs, or disrupting some of the leagues most treasured rivalries.

Bruce Cisky - Outside of the uncertain future for Michigan (powerhouse, consistent contender or something worse), there aren't a lot of issues with putting divisions together. Delany and his cohorts have plenty of favorable options here, and it shouldn't be that hard to satisfy both those looking for geographic sense or tradition in divisions and those who want the divisions to be drawn with a sense of competitive balance in mind.

Pac-10 Expansion, Divisions:

Ivan Maisel - Instead of the unknown, college football awakened Wednesday in a slightly different known. In most pre-Scott expansion landscapes, the schools that best fit a move to the Pac-10 were Colorado and Utah. After all the negotiations, after all the rumors and discussions of a 16-team Pac-10, the league ended up with Colorado. Speculation is rampant that Utah is soon to follow.

Pete Fiutak - The Pac-10 Conference has extened an invitation to Utah to become the 12th member. It's a move that became necessary, and relatively obvious, once the Big Ten and the Big 12 all decided to stay together, and now Utah, assuming its higher-ups accept, has its BCS shot.

Pete Alfano - Order has been restored to college football, but for how long? "The only constant is change," Scott said, "so I wouldn’t rule out the super conference idea. I think that it’s been proven in this process that it is a compelling concept for the TV networks and schools."

Ralph Russo (AP) - Scott said he never felt he had an agreement in place with Texas that would have led to the Longhorns, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M joining the Pac-10. And he said he holds no animosity toward Texas for essentially killing the deal.

John Taylor - Based on geography, it would make sense for the conference to split into sort of a North and South division. Whether that's exactly how the Pac-10 decides to divide remains to be seen as the ink's not even dry on Utah's acceptance to an invite, but here goes nothing anyway.

Big 12 Expansion/Contraction:

The Trenches (TSN) - Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World sports editor Tom Keegan, citing an unidentified source familiar with Jones' thinking, blogs that Jones is the "driving force" behind the idea of the Fighting Irish and Razorbacks replacing Nebraska and Colorado.

Big East Expansion:

Sporting News (wire) - Orlando, Fla., television station WKMG reported Wednesday that the Big East Conference will issue invitations to Central Florida and Memphis as early as next week. The station cited multiple college football sources. Under that scenario, the Big East would become a 10-team football league and an 18-team basketball behemoth.

LBU Update:

As I pointed out at the top of this article, it's been slow this week at LBU. We are truly sorry about that. I guess after all the expansion stuff last week, there was a burn-out factor going into this week. However, I can assure you all that there will be plenty of stuff going on this summer, probably starting as early as this weekend. Tim is working on a special edition 10 Minutes or Less (we're not telling which team it features, but you can probably guess), while I will dive back into the recruiting world. Plus, our weekly features like the team profiles by Galen and the blogger Q&As by Tim will settle into their schedules, especially since we will be getting into the Big Ten teams soon.

And don't forget, if you ever have any questions or suggests, you can email us at WeAre.LBU[at]gmail[dot]com, or find us on Twitter and Facebook.

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Big Ten Expansion Doomsday Clock STRIKES MIDNIGHT; Nebraska is Joining

Check back later for any updates to this story...

Update: The Big Ten released its official announcement that Nebraska will be its 12th member school.

Signed, sealed, delivered:

Two sources from conference offices said that Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany contacted BIg 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe on Friday morning to inform Beebe that Delany had officially invited Nebraska to join.

A source with direct knowledge of the situation said Nebraska accepted.

Some quotes from the board of regents meeting, which is still going on as of this posting...

Tom Osborne: "We take academics seriously and Big Ten is a big fit in that regard." ... "The stability of the Big Ten is something that we cannot ignore at this time." ... "We take academics seriously and Big Ten is a big fit in that regard."

UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman: "The Big Ten Network will be carrying our games across the landscape of Nebraska." ... "I think we are, as an institution, more aligned with Big 10, especially academically." ... "We want to begin competition in Big 10 in 2012."

Ladies and gentlemen, the time is now:

12:00:00

◊ ◊ ◊ ◊

Clock History

Day	Change	Time	'Till Midnight	Reason
May 10	0:00	11:45	15 min.	Initial setting of Big Ten Expansion “Doomsday” clock
May 10	+11:00	11:56	4 min.	Sports Radio 810 WHB reports Big Ten has extended initial invitations to Nebraska, Missouri, Rutgers, and Notre Dame
May 11	-3:00	11:53	7 min.	Jim Delany enters full-scale denial mode about Sports Radio 810 WHB report
May 19	-3:00	11:50	10 min.	Jim Delany, says expansion plans are still 12-18 months away
June 3	+4:00	11:54	6 min.	Rivals reports the Pac 10 will invite six Big XII teams
June 6	+4:30	11:58:30	1 min 30 sec	Nebraska, Mizzou given ultimatum by Big 12; Pac-10 continues with plans to get Big 12 South teams to join.
June 9	+1:00	11:59:30	30 sec	Omaha World-Herald reports that Nebraska will leave the Big 12 for the Big Ten on June 11.
June 11	+0:30	12:00:00	00:00:00	At a Nebraska University Board of Regents meeting, it is decided--on the record--to accept a formal invitation to join the Big Ten.

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Expansion like this might not happen again, so enjoy it

What we are seeing right now with the expansion and realignment of conferences, it will rival the biggest moments in college football history. (photo: BuckNuts.com)

It's not often that you get to really enjoy history as it's being made. Luckily for us, it's happening right now.

This is kind of a big deal. Today in Lincoln the board of regents for the University of Nebraska will conduct what just a few weeks earlier would have been considered a standard meeting to discuss university issues. That is, it was a standard meeting until one resolution was added a few days ago to Section VI:

Resolution regarding UNL athletic conference alignment.

Once that hit the board's official Web page, everyone assumed it would be just a formality; that the board wasn't really meeting to weigh the options, but rather, go over just how fast they can get this deal sealed.

After all, the past few days have been full of mere formalities, such as the fact that Nebraska still has to "apply" for an invitation to the Big Ten. Right, like the Big Ten, after nearly failing to hold it in its pants when Nebraska AD Tom Osborne supposedly told staff that the realignment was happening, would say "eh, maybe you're not for us after all."

This is going to happen. There's no going back. The media has been building up this day for a week now. So there's a lot to live up to.

We are witnessing history. But it's not just history like national championships, or big controversial plays, or fantastic epic games. This could possibly be the biggest single shift in college football... ever. We need to enjoy every second of it. And quite honestly, we're the fortunate ones who can do so.

Penn State is in the unique situation of being on the safe side. Expansion can only help Penn State and the Big Ten. Those saying otherwise, well, are full of crap, or animosity, or simply jealous that their teams are either not involved or going to get screwed.

So enjoy today. Take it all in. We may not see anything like this for a long time after the dust settles. Will there be more conference shifting in the next few decades? Of course. But I'm willing to type this on the internet, where words never die, right now: nothing of this magnitude will happen again for at least 30 or 40 years.

Have fun with this. That's all I'm saying.

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Nebraska will join the Big Ten; Four more schools to follow?

The Cornhuskers will bring all those "National Championships" with them to the Big Ten. (photo: HuskersGameday.com)

It looks like this will be it, folks. Between Rivals' Chip Brown, Chicago Tribune's Teddy Greenstein, and ESPN it's become 99 percent certain (Is it possible to be "almost certain?") that the University of Nebraska will officially join the Big Ten expansion party. The problem is, no one is going on the record to confirm it.

We do know that Nebraska's board of regents will meet tomorrow. And now we know that their official agenda will include a "Resolution regarding UNL athletic conference alignment."

And a little while ago, Twitter erupted with the rumor that WFNI Indianapolis was reporting that Notre Dame, Syracuse, Rutgers & Maryland are Big Ten bound along with Nebraska. But there isn't a hard link to the story, probably because it was reported on-air. So that's something to watch.

Rutgers is growing as a serious contender for the third spot in this first wave of new additions to the Big Ten. But should Notre Dame get swayed towards the conference, we could see all five (as the radio report supposedly claimed) of those named schools jump in tow with Big Red.

This is a moving story. What you're reading right now is probably out-dated. Check back later tonight, as we may have even more movement (two in one day!) on the Big Ten Expansion Doomsday Clock!

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Big Ten Expansion Doomsday Clock is 30 SECONDS TO MIDNIGHT; Nebraska jumping on Friday?

Check back later for any updates to this story...

The last 24 hours has given us more fuel for the Big Ten expansion fire, as Notre Dame is reportedly back in talks with the Big Ten, and just this morning the Omaha World-Herald is reporting that Nebraska could leave the Big 12 as early as this Friday.

Remember, the Big 12 gave its now infamous ultimatum to Nebraska and Missouri last week, telling both schools to lay out their conference intentions no later than this Friday. It's looking more and more as if the Cornhuskers will call the bluff.

If this Nebraska news is valid, then we have a shitstorm of epic proportions heading right towards college football. Now, that may not be a bad thing, but it will cause more than one or two heads to explode this weekend. All this is supplemented by the report that Colorado is preparing itself for realignment, even though its still unsure of its own destination.

But the real key here is Nebraska. If the Irish were hoping to take control of the storyline this week, they may be in for a rude awakening should Big Red pull the trigger first.

The time is now:

11:59:30

◊ ◊ ◊ ◊

Clock History

Day	Change	Time	'Till Midnight	Reason
May 10	0:00	11:45	15 min.	Initial setting of Big Ten Expansion “Doomsday” clock
May 10	+11:00	11:56	4 min.	Sports Radio 810 WHB reports Big Ten has extended initial invitations to Nebraska, Missouri, Rutgers, and Notre Dame
May 11	-3:00	11:53	7 min.	Jim Delany enters full-scale denial mode about Sports Radio 810 WHB report
May 19	-3:00	11:50	10 min.	Jim Delany, says expansion plans are still 12-18 months away
June 3	+4:00	11:54	6 min.	Rivals reports the Pac 10 will invite six Big XII teams
June 6	+4:30	11:58:30	1 min 30 sec	Nebraska, Mizzou given ultimatum by Big 12; Pac-10 continues with plans to get Big 12 South teams to join.
June 9	+1:00	11:59:30	30 sec	Omaha World-Herald reports that Nebraska will leave the Big 12 for the Big Ten on June 11.

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Poll: Who should get the Big Ten expansion invite?

With a newly "accelerated" timetable for expanding the Big Ten, let's dip back into the waters of prognostication. Tell us who you think should get an invitation to join the Big Ten? (note: if you choose "other" be sure to give us your thoughts in the comments)

When the Big Ten sends out expansion invitations, which schools would you most like to see on the list?

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Big Ten Expansion Doomsday Clock is banking on Notre Dame

Who would have thought the Pac-10 would be the catalyst for Big Ten expansion, while the Big 12 would actually destroy itself in the process?

But that's exactly what we got today.

The Big 12 issued an ultimatum to Nebraska and Missouri--both have been very receptive to Big Ten overtures--demanding the two schools let conference officials know their plans for the future (i.e. Are they going, or not?).

Farther west, the Pac-10 took the mediasphere (Just made up that term. Like it?) by storm, with its leaked intentions to invite six Big 12 programs: Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and either Colorado or Baylor.

Chip Brown of OrangeBloods.com has been "the guy" today when it comes to scooping the world. He's been on top of everything before it even happens, including the most recent word that the Big Ten will work on Notre Dame first, even before dealing with Nebraska and Missouri.

Chicago-based Teddy Greenstein of the Tribune also tweeted earlier today that the Big Ten expansion schedule, according to Jim Delany, "could be affected."

So we've heard from the Pac-10, the Big 12, aaand the Big Ten, all in one 24-hour span. This is no longer rumor. It's suddenly shifted to serious discussion, and action, by conference officials. College football appears to be heading for a seismic shift. But the biggest question remains: When?

No one knows. We could see it happen tomorrow. It could be another two weeks. But it will happen, soon.

The time is now:

11:58:30

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Clock History

Day	Change	Time	'Till Midnight	Reason
May 10	0	11:45	15 min.	Initial setting of Big Ten Expansion “Doomsday” clock
May 10	+11	11:56	4 min.	Sports Radio 810 WHB reports Big Ten has extended initial invitations to Nebraska, Missouri, Rutgers, and Notre Dame
May 11	-3	11:53	7 min.	Jim Delany enters full-scale denial mode about Sports Radio 810 WHB report
May 19	-3	11:50	10 min.	Jim Delany, says expansion plans are still 12-18 months away
June 3	+4	11:54	6 min.	Rivals reports the Pac 10 will invite six Big XII teams
June 6	+4:30	11:58:30	1 min 30 sec	Nebraska, Mizzou given ultimatum by Big 12; Pac-10 continues with plans to get Big 12 South teams to join.

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Big XII continues march to self-destruction; Nebraska, Mizzou given Ultimatum

Will Nebraska jump ship? The Pac-10 and Big XII are now in an all-out war over expansion. And the Big Ten is, surprising, not directly in the middle of it. (photo: Huskers.com)

Just as we all started to recover from the Pac-10/Big XII expansion news, another salvo was fired by the Big XII, which is quickly growing into the most dysfunctional conference in college football.

Bitter, much?

"Nebraska and Missouri have been given an ultimatum by the Big 12 and told they have until this Friday to decide if they want to remain in the conference or entertain the possibility of joining the Big Ten, two highly placed officials of two Big 12 schools have told the Statesman."

Lately, the Big XII has been squirming like a three year old at church, so it's not surprising that this kind of story is developing. However, I have to believe that this could in fact hasten the demise of the Big XII.

“I’ve talked to the Pac-10,” said the Big 12 school administrator, who expected the speculation involving the Big 12 to be resolved within two weeks. “There is an invitation. When it comes, it’ll come fast.” One Pac-10 athletic director told the Statesman on Saturday, “There’s still a lot that has to happen. It’s nowhere near done. At this point, we have not been presented any definite plans. Said another political figure heavily connected to Texas, “I know the war drums are beating. This is way beyond gossip.”

Not so fast, my friend. Chip Brown, now approaching legendary status for his reporting on this story for Orangebloods.com, tweeted today that "Pac-10 commish Larry Scott today will recommend six-team, Big 12 expansion to league presidents and chancellors."

But that's not all, folks. The Pac-10 won't only go for six Big XII teams, but it's also going for a knock out punch. A follow-up tweet from Brown indicated "Pac-10 commish Larry Scott will also recommend a 16-team conference network that projects to pay $20 million per school."

That's basically a big'ole "suck it" to the Big Ten and Big XII. For the Big Ten, this takes all the air out of our home conference's sails. Jim Delaney & Co. was in the biggest spotlight for months now. To the Big XII, this move suggests the Pac-10 is not about to be left behind in this march toward expansion. And if that means the Big XII gets destroyed, well, that's just a casualty of war.

I'll be very interested to see what the Big Ten "officials" have to say to the media this week, if anything at all. You would think they will say something, particularly since Nebraska and Missouri were the earliest speculated invitees to the Big Ten.

What if Nebraska and/or Missouri say "good riddance" to the Big XII? Would they be left without a conference, if the Big Ten doesn't jump on them? Does this open up a chance for the Big Ten to have two teams basically locked in, with the momentum to grab a Rutgers, Pitt, or (dum-dum-dum!) Notre Dame?

Hang on, folks!

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Big Ten extends 'initial offers' to four teams; Delany denies it's true (updated)

Will Penn State renew an old rivalry with Nebraska? If the latest news is true, the Huskers are just one of four teams invited to join the Big Ten. (Photo: GoPSUSports.com)

No sooner do we break out our Big Ten Expansion Doomsday Clock, that a weeks-long dry spell in the conference expansion storyline comes crashing to an end. Get ready, folks, this one sounds serious.

Sports Radio 810 WHB in Kansas City is reporting today that the Big Ten has extended initial invitations to Nebraska, Missouri, Rutgers, and Notre Dame to join the conference.

"While nothing can be approved until the Big Ten presidents and chancellors meet the first week of June in Chicago, the league has informed the two Big 12 schools, Notre Dame and Rutgers that it would like to have them join. It is not yet clear whether the Big Ten will expand to 14 or 16 teams but sources indicated Missouri and Nebraska are invited in either scenario."

Update: Teddy Greenstein at the Chicago Tribune reported a few minutes ago that Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany is denying the validity of 810 WHB's story.
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As this story develops and gets vetted by a few more news outlets, we'll keep a close eye on the situation. And stay tuned later tonight for the first movement on our Doomsday Clock!

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Thursday Question: Big Ten realignment

It feels like every day there's a new favorite to join the Big Ten. We've heard the pundits roll out their own Big Ten solutions, from a 16-team superconference, to a simple 12-team adjustment. Of course, what else would we cover in this week's Thursday/Almost-Friday Question?

Up this week...
What should the Big Ten look like after expansion?

Galen

Since this is a totally hypothetical situation and I’m in total control here I’m going to add Texas into the Big Ten since they are already talking about it (yeah, yeah I know it’s not going to happen but play along anyway, mmmkay?). Here’s how I would stack the two divisions:

Div I: Ohio State, Penn State, Texas, Purdue, Minnesota, Illinois

Div II: Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Michigan State, Indiana