The Big 10 announced today that the league will start playing games on October 24th. The plan is to play eight conference games, and then on championship weekend, each Big 10 team will play the cross-divisional opponent in the same spot. So No. 1 Ohio State could play No. 1 Wisconsin, while No. 2 Michigan could play No. 2 Iowa.
This is a reverse for the league. Previously the Big 10 voted to play in the spring. The league claimed that increased testing capacity and reduced concerns about heart issues allowed them to start in late-October. Whether that’s a face-saving move to justify playing is another possibility.