Some thoughts we wrote a while back, before all this hubbub about adding another team.
In addition to our warming to the idea of an actual playoff in Div IA football, we are also now warming to the idea of another team in the Big11, to get a Big11 championship game. Looking at all the possibilties, this is what we have as the best chance of success:
Independents:
Army, Navy, Notre Dame. No chance of any, nor does the Big11 want any of them. Maybe ND, but they have absolutely no reason to join this, or any other conference with their sweet BCS deal.
So, look to either the Big12 or the Big East. In the Big East, the best cases are Syracuse, Pitt, or Louisville. We think Syracuse is set with some good rivalries over there, Pitt would NEVER join a conference with JoPa, but Louisville would be a possibilty. Big 12, the only options are Mizzou and Iowa State. ISU I dont think is big enough, but Mizzou would be viable.
The Big East has only 8 teams, and were just recently poached by the ACC, so to poach them would be difficult at best. But what about Mizzou? The Big 12 could turn around and snag Utah or TCU from the Mountain west (Utah would LOVE the oppotunity to join a BCS conference I would assume) and then you could have Wiscy, Iowa, Mizzou, Minny, NW, and Illiniois in the Big 10 west, UM, MSU, Oohi, Penn State, Indiana and Purdue in the East. Yeah, the East would have all three big boys, but Wiscy, Iowa and Mizzou would make the west pretty good.
