As we reported Saturday, Bret Bielema is already petitioning the Big Ten for a yearly trophy game with Nebraska that would be played on the last week of the season.
At least one person doesn't think that's a good idea.
Madison.com's Andy Baggot thinks Wisconsin should be playing Minnesota, not Nebraska, on the last day of the regular season. I couldn't disagree more.
Baggot says the history of the Border Battle should take precedence, but to me, the prospect of an extremely competitive annual battle between two of the Big Ten's best teams on the last day of the regular season is much more attractive than the beating UW has put on Minnesota for the last six years.
Sure, rivalries are cyclical and I'm sure the Gophers will get their wins over UW at some point, but we're talking about national exposure here. The reason why Wisconsin has only been on the verge of the national spotlight for the last decade is because they hardly play any sexy games and they have a bad habit of finishing second, third or fourth in the Big Ten and missing out on the BCS party.
Nebraska is in the national spotlight whether the Cornhuskers are good or bad. That's why their coaching searches and rebuilding under Bo Pelini have been in the headlines for years. Wisconsin has a chance to book an annual battle with Nebraska that will be featured in ESPN's "Rivalry Week" every single season. And if the Big Ten is split into West and East divisions, it will be Nebraska -- not Minnesota -- that the Badgers will be battling with for a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game.
Wisconsin-Nebraska gives you a chance to be relevant at the end of every regular season. Wisconsin-Minnesota does not.
Here's another guy I don't agree with: Don Cunningham of the Fremont Tribune. Cunningham doesn't like Nebraska's move to the Big Ten, which is okay (the other day I pointed out several reasons why Nebraskans might not like the move), but his reasons don't make a whole lot of sense. Instead of making an argument, he pretty much sounds like an angry fan. What the hell is the Fremont Tribune anyway?
I'll allow Boiled Sports to make the counterargument against Cunningham because I'm pretty sure no one else could do a better job than they did.
I will, however, bring up Cunningham's one mention of Wisconsin because it's a huge stretch:
"A road trip to Madison just isn't the same as one to Columbia."
Yes, he's talking about the town you think he is talking about -- Columbia, Missouri -- and yes, he really did just compare it to Madison, Wis. which has repeatedly been named as one of the best college towns in the country.
I have a unique perspective with this crazy statement because I turned down a scholarship to attend the University of Missouri's Journalism School and instead went to Wisconsin because Madison had one of the most unbelievable football atmospheres I had ever seen while Columbia had... well, it had a good journalism school.
What's the new logo going to look like? It's a good question. There has to be a new logo because if the name "Big Ten" doesn't make any sense for a team with 12 teams, then a logo that says "Big Ten" with a No. 11 in it really doesn't make any sense.
Anyway, this guy is already working on it.