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The college football season is just days away, and before the season can even get started, Big Peacock comes away with an early win. On Thursday it was announced that NBC entered into a multi-year partnership with the Big Ten for media rights beginning July 1, 2023. It means the creation of Big Ten Saturday Night Football, with one primetime game each week airing across NBC and Peacock.
So what’s that mean for us?
A whole lot of (primetime) Big Ten football! Next season -- of course.
Until that time comes, all we can do is get excited about the games that are coming our way starting next season.
Fortunately, everything we need to look into our Big Ten crystal ball has been made available to us, with the Big Ten’s conference schedule having already been announced through the 2025 season. The ’24 and ’25 projections will require some editing thanks to the inclusion of USC and UCLA in the conference, but the 2023 games are laid out as follows:
Knowing what we do, let’s have some fun and pick some games we’d love to see next season under the lights in primetime.
Michigan at Minnesota (September 23)
Ah yes, the battle for the Little Brown Jug -- one that has been going between teams since 1899.
Michigan holds a dominant 76-25-3 record in this rivalry, but you never know what to expect out of the Wolverines under Jim Harbaugh.
The Wolverines made an unprecedented run to the CFB Playoffs after a Big Ten championship win over Iowa -- which looks like a mere footnote compared to their win over Ohio State -- their first under Harbaugh. Nevertheless, Michigan is chock full of veterans heading into this season, and could be ushering in several new starters come 2023. An early-season matchup against rival Minnesota on the road could prove too much for Harbaugh and company, or at the very least, make for an exciting matchup.
Iowa at Wisconsin (September 30)
Iowa and Wisconsin will battle things out in 2023 for the Heartland Trophy in a rivalry game that dates back to 1894 -- although the trophy wasn’t introduced until 2004. Those who were at that inaugural game in 1894 recall that Wisconsin trounced Iowa that day by a score of 44-0, as the Badgers celebrated their victory with ice cold Coca-Colas, which was first been released in bottles just months prior to their win -- as we all know!
What we don’t quite know is what this game could look like a year from now, but these two programs are known for their defensive grit and ability to pound the rock -- something that would be fun to see with Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen, who rushed for 186-1268-12 as a freshman in 2021 and should be on the field for this game next season. Allen is one of the rising stars in the nation and could be in line for a run at the Heisman Trophy in 2023.
Wisconsin holds a slight lead over Iowa in this rivalry with a record of 49-44-2. If the Hawkeyes finally find a quarterback in 2023, they may be able to turn the tide in their favor, in primetime, next season. And if it happens on NBC, we’d love to see it!
Maryland at Ohio State (October 7)
There’s a chance this game turns into an absolute bloodbath, leaving Maryland and its fans disappointed that this one ever made its way to primetime.
But what if that isn’t the case?
Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa showed tremendous growth during the 2021 season, throwing for 3860-26-11 while completing 69.2% of his passes. A redshirt junior heading into 2022, Tagovailoa doesn’t have to leave school after this season, nor does junior wide receiver Rakim Jarrett.
A few returning players for Maryland, and the opportunity to catch Ohio State following the departure of C.J. Stroud for the 2023 NFL Draft (we assume), could be enough to turn this into an exciting matchup. The Buckeyes should have an explosive receiving corps, led by Marvin Harrison Jr. in 2023, along with running back TreVeyon Henderson, who rushed for 182-1248-15 in 2021, on his way to Freshman All-American honors.
Ohio State won’t be bowing down to Maryland any time soon, but we’ve seen head coach Mike Locksley and his Terps push the Buckeyes before.
Indiana at Michigan State (November 4)
Indiana had a true “down bad” season in 2021. A banged-up quarterback room saw four quarterbacks attempt 50+ passes, with the team totaling just nine passing touchdowns on the season. We’d expect a bounce back in 2022 for the Hoosiers, in hopes that this 2023 matchup for the Old Brass Spittoon could be one worth watching.
Michigan State soared high in 2021 under head coach Mel Tucker -- high enough to earn Tucker a 10-year, $95 million extension last November, and should be an exciting team for years to come.
A classic Big Ten rivalry that’s renewed one year after another, Michigan State leads this series with a record of 49-17-2, but Tom Allen has pulled off a win in East Lansing before (2020). Don’t overlook the possibility of him doing it again.
Penn State at Maryland (November 25)
Both teams hanging around to make this an exciting finale could mean a lot of things.
- It would mean that Maryland is at least fighting for bowl eligibility -- if they hadn’t already qualified.
- It would mean we’ve seen a fun season from redshirt freshman quarterback Drew Allar -- the No. 4 ranked quarterback of the 2022 class per 247Sports’ composite rankings.
Of course, Allar could start as a true freshman at some point, but regardless, he’ll likely be playing in this game one way or another in 2023.
Despite Maryland’s struggles since joining the Big Ten in 2014, the Terps have had some success against Penn State, winning two of their eight matchups, with both wins surprisingly coming on the road. Maryland giving their home crowd a win over the Nittany Lions for the first time since 1961 would put a nice bow on the 2023 season right before conference championship week.
