The Big Ten Conference has released it's Flex Protect XVIII Football Schedule for the next 5 years complete with a dozen "protected " games. What is Flex Protect Plus scheduling you might ask?
Flex Protect Plus is a model devised by the Big Ten to transition away from the soon to be eliminated East and West divisions in the Big Ten. The goal is for teams to play each other more frequently, and the schedule is essentially being made two years at a time. There are 12 protected rivalries with each team having at least one, except for Penn State. These are games that will be annual home and home games. Indiana has one such game with Purdue, of course. Penn State is the only team that does not have any protected games.
Iowa doubled down and has 3 protected games, with Nebraska, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Does this give Iowa a scheduling advantage? It looks like it on paper and I think it's pretty smart. And I really have to question the logic of the Big Ten Conference allowing a team to lock down 1/3 of its conference slate. One of Iowa's "protected" games is with Nebraska, which has only featured 53 meetings over the course of 131 years. Iowa has also won 8 of the last 10 meetings with the Cornhuskers.
The Hawkeyes series with Minnesota runs deep, all the way back to 1891. And Minnesota actually leads the all-time series 67-47-2. But it's very similar to Purdue leading the basketball series with Indiana. They were both "good" around the turn of the 19th century and built a big series lead. Minnesota won the first 18 meetings and 34 of the first 38 games between the two teams. In the 21st century Iowa has beaten the Gophers for the last 8 years straight and have won 30 of the last 41 contests. Woof.
The Wisconsin series is for real. Even though the Hawkeyes did not lose to the Badgers for an 18 year period, Wisconsin leads that series 49-45-2. Iowa should have to either alternate the Minnesota and Nebraska series, or choose one and go with it. If I were Indiana I would have tried to add either Northwestern or Rutgers as a 2nd "protected rival?" Both of those programs also only have one "protected rival" game. The Big Ten should have a maximum of 2 games you can protect.
The 12 protected games in Flex Protect Plus scheduling are currently:
Indiana vs. Purdue
Illinois vs. Northwestern, Illinois vs. Purdue
Iowa vs. Nebraska, Iowa vs Minnesota, and Iowa vs. Wisconsin
Maryland vs. Rutgers
Minnesota vs. Wisconsin
Michigan vs. Ohio State and Michigan vs. Michigan State
USC vs. UCLA
Washington vs Oregon
The 2024 schedule offers plenty of intrigue to talk about. The thing that immediately jumps off of the page for me is a home matchup with former Indiana OC Kalen DeBoer and his Washington Huskies. Nebraska and Purdue will play in Bloomington as well. The Big Ten made reducing travel a high priority and teams will only have to make one trip out West each season. And Indiana get's a special one right out of the gate. The Hoosiers will return to Pasadena for the first time since 1968 to play in the Rose Bowl. This time it's against UCLA and it's a regular season game.
The 2025 season looks pretty rough for the Hoosiers on paper. Indiana will have 5 conference road games traveling to Iowa, Maryland, Oregon, Penn State and Purdue. Indiana's home games are with Illinois, Michigan State, UCLA, and Wisconsin.
In 2026 The Hoosiers only hit the road 4 times, but those stops include trips to Ann Arbor to face Michigan, Nebraska, Rutgers, and to Starbucks, USA - Seattle, WA for another game against Kalen DeBoer and the Huskies.
The Hoosiers home slate includes Minnesota and Northwestern, buy also visits from Purdue, Ohio State and the mighty USC Trojans.
The 2027 season seems to be a lighter one for Indiana on the road, but there is no way to know what to expect from teams that far out, and especially ones not named Iowa, Michigan, Penn State or USC. The Hoosiers will get all of those previously mentioned games at home, save for a trip to the LA Coliseum to face the Trojans. Indiana will have 5 Big Ten road games in all with Illinois, Michigan State, Minnesota, and Purdue rounding out their travels. Even if you count the three non-con games as W's, a win over Rutgers at home, Indiana will still most likely have to win 2 conference road games to achieve bowl eligibility.
Have you ever had a job interview and you get asked the "where do you see yourself in five years" question? That's pretty much what we have here in year 2028 of the Big Ten's football schedule. Indiana will definitely see themselves in Evanston, Ill, Happy Valley in State College, PA, Madison, WI, and Pasadena, California. Their home slate will include games with Illinois, Maryland, protected rival Purdue, and their third matchup with the Washington Huskies.
The 2024 conference season will conclude with the annual Big Ten Football Championship Game, which will feature the top two teams in the overall conference standings at the end of the regular season, with the winner earning the Big Ten Championship. Tiebreaking procedures will be announced later.
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