Big Ten Football: New Legends and Leaders Division Alignment

Big Ten Football is a way of life for fans in the Midwest, and many of them have been talking about the new "B1G" Legends and Leaders Division alignments.

The league will also feature a brand new title game, joining in a tradition established by other big-time college football leagues such as the SEC and the Big 12.

The new Big Ten Title Game will be exciting, especially for those teams that happen to make it there in 2011, but the Dec. 3 matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis will serve another important purpose besides crowning the champion. The winner of the game will also be much more suited to battle another league champ or BCS foe after winning the title game because it will mean a much shorter layoff leading up to the bowl game.

Many have speculated that the long layoffs have hurt the champion of the league each year as it typically ends the season in late November.

The divisions for the league are another important topic, and here they are.

The Leaders division will include the Illinois Fighting Illini, Indiana Hoosiers, Ohio State Buckeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, Purdue Boilermakers, and Wisconsin Badgers.

The Buckeyes are of course reeling from revelations that star player and recently-departed QB Terrelle Pryor was involved in numerous potential violations. Other violations within the department also led to the resignation of Head Coach Jim Tressel, and Buckeye fans are just kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop now as Luke Fickell gets ready to take over. Ohio State will still be a factor, however. Other favorites include Wisconsin and Penn State in this division.

The Legends divsion on the other hand will include Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Northwestern. This division is pretty solid across the board but seems to lack a clear favorite in 2011. The Cornhuskers have a solid nucleus coming back but they have to get familiar with Big Ten play. Michigan has potential but must transition to new coach Brady Hoke and must find some semblance of defense. Iowa, MSU, and Nebraska are likely the co-favorites this time around.

The new Big Ten Legends and Leaders division alignments could be a boon for the league as it will bring more attention to its top teams and help them to compete better in BCS games. It all gets started in 2011 and many fans are excited for the change in a conference that has been resistant to change for a long time, for better or worse.