Ranking the 2010 Big Ten football non-conference schedules

Warning: This is for college football wonks. Whatever a wonk is. I just like the word "wonk."

I've been a critic of how major-college football teams are setting their non-conference schedules. Well, things only seem to be getting worse. Michigan and Ohio State used to have some pride. No more.

All of Ohio State's nonconference games are at home this year, and three are against teams from the Mid-American Conference or Conference USA. Ugh.

Michigan, which once would never thought of doing such a thing, is hosting Massachusetts. And the Wolverines have one of the better nonconference slates in the Big Ten.

Here are my rankings of the Big Ten's best-to-worst:

1. ILLINOIS: vs. Missouri in St. Louis, Southern Illinois, Northern Illinois, at Fresno State.

Combined 2009 record: 34-18. Bowl teams: 3. Road games: 1.5.

Playing at Fresno State is admirable. Playing Mizzou in St. Louis is always cool. Southern Illinois, while FCS, was at least one of the best FCS teams in the nation last year and sets Illinois up for the kind of embarrassment Iowa almost had against Northern Iowa a year ago.

Northern Illinois went to a bowl last year, though I'll bet you can't tell me which one. I wonder if the Huskies remember.

Ah yes, the International Bowl. NIU lost to South Florida in Toronto, 27-3. Which was probably enough to convince Canadians that the CFL plays a better brand of football than the NCAA.

Let's proceed.

2. MINNESOTA: at Middle Tennessee State, South Dakota, USC, Northern Illinois

Combined 2009 record: 31-18. Bowl teams: 3. Road games: 1.

Only one of these four games sounds all that appetizing. That's USC and we all know it. Even probation-racked USC is a good opponent.

However, I give the Gophers peculiar props for playing at Middle Tennessee State. MTSU won 10 games last year. South Dakota is FCS, but those Dakota teams always come to Minneapolis full of fire and with a lot of fans in tow.

3. PENN STATE: Youngstown State, at Alabama, Kent State, Temple

Combined 2009 record: 34-16. Bowl teams: 2. Road games: 1.

Two MAC teams and an FCS team, and this is the third-best schedule? Well, the other game is ... at Alabama! You have to get some serious credit for lining up a series with that outfit.

The rest of those games, though ... Hey, it's your money, Penn State fans.

4. IOWA: Eastern Illinois, Iowa State, at Arizona, Ball State

Combined 2009 record: 25-25. Bowl teams: 2. Road games: 1.

5. MICHIGAN: Connecticut, at Notre Dame, Massachusetts, Bowling Green.

Combined 2009 record: 26-23. Bowl teams: 2. Road games: 1.

Iowa nips Michigan here by the narrowest of margins. The schedules are very comparable. Michigan is at Notre Dame, Iowa at Arizona. Which is a harder game? I don't think you can say just yet.

The Hawkeyes and Wolverines both play a BCS conference team at home. Michigan has UConn (8-5 last year), Iowa has Iowa State (7-6). Both play an FCS team. Michigan has UMass (5-6), Iowa has Eastern Illinois (8-4 and a playoff team). Michigan has a MAC team, Bowling Green (7-6). Iowa plays Ball State (2-10).

The nod goes to Iowa for fourth because playing at Arizona in September should  be harder in 2010 than playing at Notre Dame with the Irish's coaching change. I think. Everything else adds up to a push.

6. WISCONSIN: at UNLV, San Jose State, Arizona State, Austin Peay

Combined 2009 record: 15-32. Bowl teams: 0. Road games: 1.

Austin Peay? Never mind. The trip to Las Vegas earns the Badgers points for being good to their fans. Arizona State, though not good last year, is at least a Pac-10 team.

7. NORTHWESTERN: at Vanderbilt, Illinois State, at Rice, Central Michigan

Combined 2009 record: 22-27. Bowl teams: 1. Road games: 2

The Wildcats are the only Big Ten team playing two true road games in the nonconference portion of their schedule. They're against teams that both went 2-10 last year, but they're road games.

Northwestern, you'll never be a true player until you get that seventh home game. Get Florida International's phone number, and pronto.

8. PURDUE: at Notre Dame, Western Illinois, Ball State, Toledo

Combined 2009 record: 14-33. Bowl teams: 0. Road games: 1

The trip to Notre Dame keeps this schedule out of last place. FCS Western Illinois was 1-10 last year.

9. OHIO STATE: Marshall, Miami (FL), Ohio, Eastern Michigan

Combined 2009 record: 25-27. Bowl teams: 3. Road games: 0

No road games. An 8-game home schedule for the Buckeyes. The rich get richer. Two games against MAC teams and one vs. Conference USA? Yecch. Miami is a nice game, but this isn't a schedule befitting a national power.

10. MICHIGAN STATE: Western Michigan, Florida Atlantic (in Detroit), Notre Dame, Northern Colorado

Combined 2009 record: 19-28. Bowl teams: 0. Road games: 0.1

Notre Dame is nice, obviously. Northern Colorado, a 3-8 FCS team last year, is not. Venturing all the way from East Lansing to Detroit to play Florida Atlantic is good for MSU fans near Motown, I guess. Plus, FAU is 1-0 at Ford Field, having won the Motor City Bowl against Central Michigan there in 2008.

11. INDIANA: Towson, at Western Kentucky, Akron, Arkansas State

Combined 2009 record: 9-38. Bowl teams: 0. Road games: 1.

At 4-8, Arkansas State had the best 2009 mark of any of these teams. Western Kentucky went 0-12.  Towson was a 2-9 FCS team. Incredibly bad schedule.

Now then, how do you see all this?