The wait, anxiousness, and constant analysis have finally been put to an end.

The divisions for the 2011 Big Ten college football season were announced this evening via the Big Ten Network.

Much speculation has been put into which teams will go into which division, how the rivalries will be maintained, and how evenly the divisions could be split up.

But all of that speculation was ended tonight.

And without further adieu, here is a look at the new divisions (for now they are just called division X and O):

Division X:

Ohio State

Penn State

Wisconsin

Illinois

Indiana

Purdue

Division O:

Michigan

Nebraska

Minnesota

Northwestern

Michigan State

Iowa

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Illinois Fighting Illini 

There have been so many plans suggested, but here is the one that I think makes the most sense.  Call it "Ketch's Divisions Plus One Rival Plan."

Div 1                   Div 2  

(each team's rival is listed opposite it)

Michigan              Ohio State
Nebraska             Penn State
Iowa                     Wisconsin
Indiana                 Purdue
Michigan State     Minnesota
Illinois                  Northwestern

Teams play each team in their division (five games) plus one designated rival annually (one game), while rotating games against the remaining teams (two games). That’s a total of eight league contests per year (you could also play nine and add one more interdivisional game). 

Division winners play in the title game.

One advantage of this plan is the competitive balance of the divisions: Each have two of the traditional superpowers (Ohio State, Nebraska, Michigan, and Penn State) and one of the very competitive teams (Iowa and Wisconsin).  The other outstanding teams are fairly evenly distributed.

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Well, all signs are pointing to Nebraska joining the Big Ten.  I can't think of a better fit for the conference, they stick with the option and power running game more than Ohio State.  This evens the conference at 12 teams and allows for two divisions and a conference title game.  Nebraska gets more money and wider national coverage.  Personally, I find myself torn about this.  I think the addition will be good for the Big Ten ultimately.  However, being an avid Illini fan, I find myself troubled because my first duty station was at Offutt AFB, just outside of Omaha.  Big Red football got under my skin and so when the Illini weren't going so hot (just about every year lately), I always had the Huskers to fall back on.  Oh well, more practically, I think Missouri would have been a better choice.  I think because Missouri recruits Texas so well, they would have opened up a nice recruiting area for us.  Also, it would have not only preserved the Braggin' Rights games, but ensured we continued having them for football.  This would have been a huge money monster for both schools.  However, they would have scared Jim Tressel with their modern, high speed offense.  Well, with this done, start looking for the Big 12 to disintegrate and cease to be an athletic conference as we know it in short order.  Any thoughts?

Source

I'm particularly glad to hear that Zook and company decided to go with red shirt freshman Nathan Scheelhaase as the opening game starter. Scheelhaase has a lot of the good qualities that we liked in Juice, and perhaps is a better passer accuracy wise (though that remains to be seen). He certainly will be able to create with his feet and could be an interesting and dangerous player in the new offense. What are your expectations for Scheelhaase and the offense this year?

So it seems that Juice has finally realized what we've known for weeks (if not months) now: he will never make it in the NFL as a quarterback. It seems he had a rough first day at the Bears' rookie mini-camp (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-0501-bits-bears-chicago--20100430,0,4188324.story), and may have changed his tune on playing QB in the NFL:

"Quarterback has always been my desire growing up, but if a position change comes around that's best for the team, I'm all for it,'' he said. "I'd play anything … receiver, running back, anything.''

I think he has potential as a 3rd-down option type QB, where he can use his speed and size to his advantage. The article mentions that he has a strong enough arm for the NFL, but I don't think any QB coach could get him to throw accurately (Maybe I just have had too many bad memories of him overthrowing Benn and Uh-Oh). But it's not like the Bears have a great deal of depth at QB. I would give Juice a shot at one of the backup positions over Caleb Hanie. If nothing else, he could probably be a solid special teams performer.

Hey guys my name is Tomahawk44 and I come to you from Arrowhead Pride. I would just like to get a perspective from the guys who have watched Asamoah play and see what they think he can do at the pro level? What are his stenghts and weaknesses? Better run or pass blocker? Does he have Pro Bowl potential?

I will be posting a link to this over at Arrowhead Pride so be sure to come over and chat with us!

Thanks for any information and it will be greatly appreciated!

So I decided about a week ago that I was going to write something about the Illini who could possibly go in this year's NFL draft. But then real life got in the way, and it kept getting put off... until today. The day AFTER the first round. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), no Illini got drafted yesterday, so it appears that I'm off the hook. Here's a look at the Illini who could get drafted this year, and where they could end up.

Just a quick disclaimer, that I've based most of my research from cbssports.com, because it's free, and it's also pretty good analysis. On to the (possible) draftees...

Arrelious Benn – By far the Illini's best offering to the draft this year, despite having a rough 2009 season due to injuries and an incredibly disappointing showing by the Illini offense as a whole. Any team that picks him will look for him to return to his 2008 form. He is currently ranked as the 4th best receiver in the draft (2nd best of those that are left). He had a very mediocre combine, dropping a few passes a posting a (relatively) slow 40, which probably hurt his draft stock a little. He projects to go in the mid-to-late 2nd round to a team with a need at WR. New England could take him with one of their three picks in the 2nd round (#44, #47, and #53). Also look for Carolina at #48, who need a complement to Steve Smith. A very intriguing possibility is Pittsburgh at #52, who need a WR to offset the loss of Santonio Holmes, and there is the Mendenhall Rose Bowl connection there. (Wouldn't it be fun to see them on the field together again? Ah, memories...)

Jon Asamoah – Rated as the #2 OG in this year's draft, this Academic All-American and three-year starter is a solid choice for any team with a need at that position. With the #1-rated player at that position already picked (Mike Iupati from Idaho to San Francisco with the 17th pick), look for Asamoah to go early in the second round. Possible teams include Denver (#45), who will look to protect new quaterback Tim Tebow (lolerz!). Dallas (#59) also needs more protection for Romo, and Seattle (#60) has needs there, also. An intriguing option (at least in my incredibly biased opinion), is that he falls to the Bears (#75) in the third round, who have glaring O-line problems.

Uh-Oh! – No, I'm not going to type out his name, you know who I mean. After Rejus and Asamoah, there is a large drop for the Illini in the draft. Uh-Oh! ranks as the 13th best TE in the draft, so there is a strong possibility that he may not get drafted. Teams with a need at TE include St. Louis (but what don't they need?), New England, Baltimore to replace Todd Heap, and Cincinatti. 

Jeff Cumberland – He is listed as TE on cbssports.com, but many scouts feel he could be a large receiver in the NFL. He put up some impressive numbers and Illinois' Pro Day, which is probably the only reason why he's being mentioned for the draft, as he still needs to work a lot on catching the ball (kind of important for a WR, don't you think?). I look for him to be an undrafted free agent and be invited to training camp for a team that likes to take on project WR's (Chicago Bears anyone?).

Isiah “Juice” Williams – Juice, Juice, Juice, what are we going to do with you? Inconsistent QB play, but an athletic freak, Juice has been an enigma his entire college career. He doesn't seem to have much going for him among NFL teams as a QB, but there is some interest in moving him to HB or WR (kinda like Tebow, only not nearly as good). Look for him to be an undrafted free agent trying to find his way onto an NFL roster. Perhaps he'll find new life on a CFL or European team. He could be a friggin' star in those leagues.

So there's my analysis. What do you guys think? Where will Benn end up? Could he be a star? And will Juice have a future in the NFL?

I noticed a familiar name when watching the San Diego State vs. Tennessee matchup the other day: Brian Carlwell. Yes, the very same Brian Carlwell who was severely injured in the ill-fated car accident with teammate Jamar Smith in 2007. He is a strong bench player for the Aztecs, averaging about 5 points and 3 rebounds in 15 minutes per game. It was just gratifying to see a guy with a rocky past, injury, and all of the emotional baggage that came along with it overcome it and play on a tourney team. I think I speak for all Illini when I say best of luck to him.

Since I'm probably the closest thing SB Nation has to a legitimate Seawolf fan, I figured I'd answer any questions you have, both about the town, getting in and out (to any Illini in NYC or LI interested in attending), and about the team, which was thisclose to making it to the Big Dance for the first time ever.

A few quick points on Stony Brook--it's a young, guard-heavy team that doesn't shoot all that well...I know, what a contradiction, right?  But aside from Bryan Dougher, the Seawolves really don't have a single good option from beyond the arc. Swingman Muhammad El-Amin is our top scorer, but he's a slasher and a scorer more than a shooter.  He's very prone to making mistakes, in the AEC semifinal against BU he killed us, turning the ball over 9 times including on a ton of crucial possessions down the stretch, but he can also go off for 30 if he gets hot, something nobody else on the team can really accomplish.

In another anomaly, despite having a starting lineup comprised almost entirely of undersized players, nobody on Stony Brook is really a true point. Chris Martin will usually handle the ball, but this isn't a team that runs a lot of set offense, it's a lot of one-on-one, which works in the AEC but probably not against a Big Ten team.  Martin is a pretty good defender, though, so Demetri McCamey won't go unpressured.

Tommy Brenton and Dallis Joyner are the frontcourt guys--Joyner was the best prospect Stony Brook ever pulled in, and is a pretty big body to muscle around, though at just 6'7. Tisdale will have his way with him.  Tommy Brenton is one of those typical mid-major hard working white guys who far outplays his athleticism--there's no reason a 6'5, 215 pounder should be averaging nearly 10 rebounds a game, but Brenton crashes the boards with dexterity, and also leads the team with a meager 2.7 assists per game.

Stony Brook didn't play too many marquee opponents on which to judge the merits going against an opponent like Illinois--against St. John's early in the year they got behind early and never caught up, though they never let St. John's really run away with the game and lost by just 8. Similarly, against URI, the Rams got up big early, but Stony Brook hung on to keep the score respectable.

Looking back to some of the biggest games of the year within the conference, Stony Brook played Vermont for what was, essentially, the conference title, and though the Seawolves got up huge midway through the second, the Catamounts came roaring back and nearly pulled off the win--Stony Brook went into a major rut and couldn't hit free throws or even get shots off before turning the ball over and a 20-point lead dissolved to 3. It was a similar situation in the semifinal against BU--down by 15 early the Seawolves came out of the second half on a 13-0 run and took a 5 point lead with a few minutes left, but down the stretch were burdened by turnover after turnover and more terrible foul shooting--10-21 bad--and collapsed like a lawn chair.  Because they're such a small team, teams get a ton of second chances against Stony Brook, so crashing the offensive boards would be a good strategy.

Stony Brook isn't going to shock you and win this one, even if it is a home game, because they're incredibly prone to the turnover, and you've got a legitimate post presence which will diminish the drive-and-dish possibilities.  The only chance we've got is if you really don't come to play, we start hitting shots like we haven't all year, and Tisdale inexplicably picks up a double-technical in the first five minutes.  They're not at all a deep team, and if you get any of the starters into foul trouble, we're fucked.  Though Stony Brook prides itself on their defensive intensity and disrupting passing and driving lanes, they lack a post presence and will largely try to stay in it by keeping the pace way down.

Any questions you have, feel free to ask.

This is classic Illini. Start the comeback too late. I just don't get it. I love this team. Probably too much. It was a tightly called game. But that bad choice foul out by Bill Cole and the poorly chosen foul out by D-Mac (though Mike Davis tried to take credit for it) was what did it in for the Illini. Is this an MJ curse? Jeff, I love your dad. But you need to take the ball down the court with some urgency. DJ should not have to heave the last shot towards the basket with nothing but a prayer. We should have had an easy pull up or an easier layup with maybe a plus one (God forbid we get the ball in the paint). That being said, I still think Illinois will have no problem making the tournament. We have two regular season games left. Ohio St. away and Wisconsin at home. I think we could possibly take either one of these. Though I think if we take Wisconsin in the reg. season we will have a difficult time taking them in the tournament.

As a sort of disclaimer I guess: I am in the basketball band and I am going to attend the Men's Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis and I am set up to go to rounds 1 and 2 in the NCAA tournament (which we are projected to go to Buffalo). So don't fuck this up for me (This is to you Illinois and to you the rest of the Big Ten and the rest of the bubble teams. Fuck you bubble teams...).