Big Ten Spring Football: Jeff Brohm has a Plan

I will go on record as saying there is about a 2% change we actually see Big Ten football in the spring. The main reason I am pessimistic is, of course, the complete lack of leadership that led to where we are. The second reason is that it cuts into the 2021 season.

Jeff Brohm isn’t giving up though. Like {REDACTED BECAUSE WE CANNOT MAKE A COMPARISON TO SOMEONE FAMOUS FOR SAYING “I HAVE A PLAN FOR THAT”}, he has a plan. Instead of trying to run off to the Big 12 like Nebraska, coach Brohm released a detailed plan on how we can at least get a football-like substance per Adam Rittenberg:

Let’s look at the details:

Training Camp Buildup January 16-29

We’re gonna get on it early. He proposes a camp lasting from January 16-29. To my knowledge most if not all of the Big Ten has an indoor practice facility gilded in gold leaf thanks to more than a decade of Rotel and Barbasol money, so this can be the easy part in terms of weather. The buildup is a 16-hour week, and if we actually get our shit together we can maybe advance this a few weeks to around January 1, buying everything else two more weeks to slide back.

Training Camp Itself January 30-February 26

He proposes a four week camp with two days off each week. There is a maximum of full practices in pads, and as a bonus, we might have a vaccine for this crap by then. The question is, will it be effective?

Eight Game Season - February 27-April 17

Here is where it gets interesting. You have the entire season lasting right through he heart of March Madness. Is it really a bad thing to have so much to watch, however? The tough part is no bye week. He proposes that each team plays its six divisional opponents, with two crossovers to the East (rivalries have preferred spots). That means the Bucket game with Indiana is safe, and I propose we get Rutgers as promised.

He actually proposes what many high schools here in Indiana for the final crossover game: the last week of the season is reserved for determining the conference title games. The top West team plays the top East team, #2 faces #2, and so on. I think to make it fair the other crossover game becomes a de facto non-conference game that doesn’t count in the standings and we go with the divisional games to determine placement.

As far as where you play them with the potential for bad weather (especially if you can move things back a couple weeks), I saw another idea where US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Ford Field in Detroit, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and Miller Park in Milwaukee could be used as indoor facilities. There is also the old, empty dome in St. Louis.

Postseason May 1-15

It is later than I expected to be sure, but after two weeks off we go to the postseason. He has it going two different ways: a six team playoff with the Power 5 champions and a wild card (meaning some teams could play as many as four extra games assuming conference championships happen), or the Big Ten title game plus a four-team playoff/Rose Bowl. I am not sure how any other bowl games would apply here.

Offseason April 18 (or end of season)-July 18

No mandatory workouts. This is the recovery time. Basically, we lose traditional spring football, but we already lost it this year anyway.

Summer Period July 19-August 27

Here is where workouts begin again. You get eight hours per week, then he proposes August 28-September 3rd off entirely.

Training Camps Part Deux September 4-October 1

If there is spring football there will almost certainly be a delay in the 2021 season. The four week training camp here to ramp back up replaces the first week of the traditional season.

2021 Season October 2-December 11

He proposes 10 games with a bye week. I don’t know if this means a nine game conference scheduler or the original 10 game conference only schedule that was proposed and nixed here this week. If we do get a non-conference game Purdue likely must choose one of its three slated 2021 non-conference opponents: at Notre Dame, at UConn, or home for Oregon State. Right now the 2021 season is supposed to begin Labor Day weekend at home vs. Oregon State. My proposal, if everything for everyone is cancelled outright this year, including the spring, is that we just move everything back a year and play the 2020 schedule in 2021, the 2021 in 2022, and so on. As far as picking one non-conference game, let’s gain some confidence and go to UConn.

2021 Postseason

Who wants another playoff like the one above? His A and B plans remain the same. Perhaps we still get a Big Ten title game at Lucas Oil on December 18 as a modification to this plan. We can have a Purdue doubleheader that day with the Crossroads Classic followed by the B1G title game in downtown Indy!

I have to say, at least it is an idea. After five months of the Big Ten basically doing a shrug emoji this is a detailed plan that can actually work. Sure, it is not perfect. You will inevitably lose some guys to injury for the rest of the “2020” season and 2021 down the road, but perhaps we can come up with an emergency medical redshirt for scholarship purposes to save some eligibility for those guys. I also like that he limits practices in pads in order to save wear and tear. It works out to 18 games in the span of about 10 months (playoff teams will have more), but it probably the best of a series of bad options.

Why not give it a shot?