Hawkeyes’ best games are ones it won’t play

That the Southeastern and Atlantic Coast conferences will stay with 8-game football league schedules for the unforseeable future is no surprise.

It's a shame, but no surprise. You have 14-team leagues and you can only play eight out of your 12 games against conference teams? That makes for a joke of a league-championship race.

The Big Ten won't switch to a 9-game league schedule until 2016. This year and next, it's eight games in a 14-team league. That means you play everyone in your division, and just two of the six teams in the other division.

Iowa doesn't play Michigan or Ohio State. Nebraska doesn't play Michigan or Ohio State. Minnesota? Its two games against teams from the other division are with Michigan and Ohio State. Where's the fair in that?

The Hawkeyes also won't see Michigan State or Penn State this season. Or Rutgers, which may otherwise be known as the league's soft underbelly in football.

That's what happens when you expand and expand some more. Hey Nebraska, you didn't really think you were going to play Ohio State and Michigan every year when you joined the Big Ten, did you? And you thought playing Oklahoma just two out of every four years in the Big 12 wasn't often enough.

Here are some of the conference matchups that won't be held in college football's regular-season this year:

BIG TEN

Michigan vs. Iowa

Michigan vs. Nebraska

Michigan vs. Wisconsin

Michigan State vs. Iowa

Michigan State vs. Wisconsin

Ohio State vs Iowa

Ohio State vs Nebraska

Ohio State vs. Wisconsin

Penn State vs. Iowa

Penn State vs. Wisconsin

SEC

Alabama vs. South Carolina

Alabama vs. Missouri

Auburn vs. Florida

Georgia vs. Texas A&M

Florida vs. Texas A&M

LSU vs. Missouri

LSU vs. South Carolina

ACC

Clemson vs. Miami

Clemson vs. Virginia Tech

Florida State vs. Virginia Tech

Even though the PAC-12

plays a 9-game schedule and has 'just” 12 teams, it won't have these matchups in 2014:

Oregon-Arizona State

Oregon-USC

Stanford-Arizona

Washington-USC

The Big 12 has 10 teams and everyone faces everyone else. What a concept.