[NU Sports] The protected rivalries ...

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

The cross divisional rivalries protected in Mr. Delaney's high-on-who-knows-what mad scramble to force divisions ...

Michigan - Ohio State (duh!)
Northwestern - Illinois (an easy call for the Stovepipe Hat)

Minnesota - Wisconsin (for the Axe ... good call, though I miss Iowa/Wisky in their battle of "80-year-old grannies who yell profanities at visiting fans" bowl)
MSU - Indiana (a basketball protection??? did the 1987 Rose Bowl race make these two rivals forever???)
UNL - Penn State (no idea why? New Kids rivalry?)
Iowa - Purdue (black and gold rivals? the bumblebee game?)

Of course, if Delaney hadn't tinkered with geography, we'd have ...

- Pretty much the same inside track title game teams (MSU/Wisky)
- Pretty much the same competitive balance
- No need for protected rivalries

And we'd probably play the Illini at the end of the year instead of the first league game ...

Go Cats!
-SjT
 

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STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!! GEAUX SAINTS!!!
Super Bowl XLIV Champions!