Don’t Watch This; Watch That: Your Week 12 College Football Schedule Guide

AlmaOtter’s excellent look at Michigan’s voluntary departure from the Big Ten in 1907 should serve as interesting introduction to the question that I’ve looked at in ways from redlining to racial covenants: what did the stadiums of the Big Ten look like a hundred years ago, especially mapped onto today’s landscape?

The reason this article is so late? Turns out doing that is a LOT of work.

Using JuxtaposeJS, a cool image comparison tool from the KnightLab at Northwestern, I put together some aerial views of each Big Ten stadium’s history:

Illinois: 1940

The addition of Assembly Hall is obviously arresting here, but the development of the suburban homes to the west is also jarring. What else do you notice, Illinois fans?
This was my test pancake, and the line-up was a little off horizontally. I’ll try and do better. Sorry!

Indiana: 1949

Memorial Stadium replaced Old Memorial Stadium in 1960, and it’s interesting for me to see how Indiana University consolidated in the years following 1949. At the link above you can also see some campus imagery from 1961, if that’s your thing—props to the Monroe County GIS team for a great tool here.

Iowa: 1930

Ah, when University Heights was just a racially-exclusive twinkle in the eye.

Maryland: 1952

Sorry, Terps—I did the best I could to resize and reformat a TIF on my Chromebook. But I think this shows the growth of the golf course and the Maryland athletics complexes well enough. Tell me what I should be noticing...

Michigan: 1949

Michigan State: 1938 slider

MSU already has a great sliding map that you should check out—it does a lot more than I can here, with stops every four years or so between 1938 and 2020.

Minnesota: 1938

Maybe one of my favorite juxtaposes, just because of how industrial the eastern end of the Minnesota campus was in the 1930s—you can really get a sense of the campus growth and sprawl.

Nebraska: 1937

As you can tell, this one’s a little off—the only good look I could get at Lincoln was through a Wikimedia composite of aerial photos of Lancaster County, and it kind of screwed up the alignment between the various photos. (I actually pasted two together to make the Minnesota one; hope you didn’t notice.)

Northwestern: 1938

This one is fun for a number of reasons (even if I’m biased as a graduate)—I love seeing the random docks stretching out into the lake where the Lakefill now is. Did random campus groups or fraternities or something just have their own random docks? It’s funny to see the gaping maw where McGaw Hall would eventually go.

And, of course, you just feel for all the people who, in 2023, suddenly realized this football stadium was there.

Ohio State: 1956

This one...yeah.

So the Ohio aerial imaging program is a lot more than I was willing to bite off on my limited computer—I was struggling with their KML file to get a good aerial shot.

Instead, I used an old Columbus Dispatch article and played with the 3D tilt and heading settings in Google Earth to get what actually turned out to be one of the cooler images here: a southward look at Ohio Stadium, St. Johns Arena, and downtown Columbus (such that it is).

Penn State: 1938

I’ll be honest: through every fault of my own, I could not make heads or tails of this cornfield. The sizing is all wrong here.

Purdue: 1929

That penis courtyard in West Lafayette was looking extra penisy in 1929.

Rutgers: 1930

The 1892 Rutgers Field can be found just up and left of the U in “Rutgers University-New Brunswick”. It was eventually leveled to make way for the College Avenue Gymnasium. You can see the cornfields that eventually became SHI Stadium north of the river.

Wisconsin: 1937

Really the only thing confusing me is that foreign sport appearing just to the northeast of the Ol’ POW Camp.

Mostly, I'm just curious to hear what you all notice. I'm only acquainted with a few of these campuses, but I hope the trip down memory lane was enjoyable.

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A programming note: Just football games this week unless there's something really notable in the world of sports. I barely got this done last night, and then I noticed that invitational basketball season really kicks off this morning, with LSU and North Texas playing in the Shriner Classic at 10:30am on ESPNU.

Rest assured that throughout the day today, you should turn on ESPN's family of channels and see if there is basketball going on. I absolutely love the college basketball invitational vibe, mostly featuring a couple hundred of the school's dumpiest alumni in ill-fitting polos or Hawaiian shirts, cheering on their favorite squad in a hotel ballroom or convention hall in a mid-sized city. It is truly one of the wonders of college sports, and I am sorry that I have not been able to give it more attention.

In a similar vein, please please give a few clicks to MaximumSam and BoilerUp89, who are fulfilling a dream I had when I took over control of the stupid website some five or six years ago (dear god): actually-good basketball coverage. Those two know their stuff and produce consistent, coherent, and genuinely engaging basketball analysis for completely goddamn free. Shout out, as well, to folks like Green Akers and Thump for helping me keep that dream alive. RIP to the Good Podcast.

Friday Evening
Don’t Watch This

Watch That

South Florida Bulls at UTSA Roadrunners

8pm | ESPN2 | UTSA -16 | O/U 67.5

Colorado Buffaloes at Washington State Cougars

9:30pm | FS1 | Wazzu -4.5 | O/U 63.5

The beauty of this night is that all you missed last night was Boston College and Pitt playing what can only be described as a Boston College-Pitt football game. It featured the long sought-after definition of targeting:

And for as much as we can laugh at Deion Sanders's non-denial that he is interested in the Texas A&M job and is, in fact, currently there in Boulder, the dude does know how to spin a phrase:

Anyhow, Watch USF-UTSA until it gets out of hand, then switch to the fireworks in Pullman.

Saturday Morning
Don’t Watch This

#3 Michigan Wolverines (-19, O/U 50.5) at Maryland Terrapins [11am, FOX]
Chattanooga Mocs at #8 Alabama Crimson Tide [11am, SECN+]
UL Monroe Warhawks at #13 Ole Miss Rebels (-37, O/U 61.5) [11am, SECN]
Rutgers Scarlet Knights at #12 Penn State Nittany Lions (-20.5, O/U 41.5)
#10 Louisville Cardinals at Miami Hurricanes (PICK, O/U 46.5) [11am, ABC]
#14 Oklahoma Sooners (-24.5, O/U 57.5) at BYU Cougars [11am, ESPN]
#24 Tulane Green Wave (-9, O/U 47.5) at FAU Owls [11am, ESPN+]
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (-4, O/U 43.5) at Army Black Knights [11am, CBSSN]
Michigan State Spartans at Indiana Hoosiers (-4, O/U 47.5) [11am, BTN]
Southern Mississippi Golden Iggles at Mississippi State Bulldogs (-14, O/U 46.5) [11am, SECN+]
Abilene Christian Wildcats at Texas A&M Aggies [11am, SECN+]
Sacred Heart Pioneers at UConn Huskies [11am]
East Carolina Pirates at Navy Midshipmen (-2.5, O/U 32.5) [11am, ESPNN]
#15 Villanova Wildcats at #6 Delaware Blue Hens [12pm, Flo]

Watch That

Purdue Boilermakers at Northwestern Wildcats

11am | BTN | Purdue -3 | O/U 46.5

SMU Cocaineponies at Memphis Tigers

11am | ESPN2 | SMU -8.5 | O/U 66.5

Harvard Crimson at Yale Bulldogs

11am | ESPNU

A few years ago when I talked out east for a semester, I grabbed an E-ZPass for the Massachusetts toll roads I would occasionally have to drive. Shortly after I did that, Minnesota made its toll lanes E-ZPass compatible.

The difference in Minnesota is that there is no actual need to use those toll lanes 95% of the time. The other 5%, however, is when you are driving into or through Minneapolis and need to use 394. It could be 4:00 in the morning and I will still use that E-ZPass toll lane, because I am not getting stuck at the 394 to 94 merge. I am an absolute crank, and it is costing me a dollar a day at minimum.

Saturday Afternoon
Don’t Watch This

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at Jacksonville State Gamecocks (-8, O/U 54.5) [1pm, ESPN+]
UTEP Miners at MTSU Blue Raiders (-7.5, O/U 47.5) [1pm, ESPN+]
Rice Owls (-2.5, O/U 46.5) at Charlotte 49ers [1pm, ESPN+]
Appalachian State Mountaineers at James Madison Dukes (-9, O/U 55.5) [1pm, ESPN+]
Kent State Golden Flashes at Ball State Cardinals (-12.5, O/U 41.5) [1pm, ESPN+]
Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors at Wyoming Cowboys (-13.5, O/U 45.5) [1pm, MWN]
#20 Central Arkansas Bears at #12 Go Peay! [1pm, ESPN+]
#22 Utah Utes at #17 Arizona Wildcats (-1, O/U 44.5) [1:30pm, Pac-12]
Cincinnati Bearcats at West Virginia Mountaineers (-6.5, O/U 54.5) [1:30pm, ESPN+]
Duke Blue Devils (-3.5, O/U 47.5) at Virginia Cavaliers [2pm, The CW]
Temple Owls at UAB Blazers (-7.5, O/U 64.5) [2pm, ESPN+]
Texas State Bobcats (-3.5, O/U 59.5) at Arkansas State Red Wolves [2pm, ESPN+]
Nevada Wolf Pack at Colorado State Rams (-11.5, O/U 47.5) [2pm, MWN]
#1 Georgia Bulldogs (-10, O/U 58.5) at #18 Tennessee Volunteers [2:30pm, CBS]
Wake Forest Demon Deacons at #19 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-24.5, O/U 46.5) [2:30pm, NBC]
Illinois Fighting Illini at #16 Iowa Hawkeyes (-3, O/U 30.5) [2:30pm, FS1]
#24 North Carolina Tar Heels at Clemson Tigers (-6.5, O/U 58.5) [2:30pm, ESPN]
Sam Houston Bearkats at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (-12.5, O/U 52.5) [2:30pm, ESPN+]
NC State Wolfpack at Virginia Tech Hokies (-2.5, O/U 43.5) [2:30pm, ACCN]
Baylor Bears at TCU Horned Frogs (-13, O/U 58.5) [2:30pm, ESPN+]
Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns at Troy Trojans (-16.5, O/U 47.5) [2:30pm, NFLN]
Minnesota Golden Gophers at #2 Ohio State Buckeyes (-27.5, O/U 48.5) [3pm, BTN]
#6 Oregon Ducks (-23.5, O/U 53.5) at Arizona State Sun Devils [3pm, FOX]
#23 Oklahoma State Sooners (-7, O/U 59.5) at Houston Cougars [3pm, ESPN2]
UCF Knights at Texas Tech Red Raiders (-3, O/U 60.5) [4pm, FS2]
Marshall Thundering Herd at South Alabama Jaguars (-10.5, O/U 48.5) [4pm, ESPN+]
#9 NDSU of Luke Bryan Appreciation Bizon at [RV] Northern Iowa Panthers [4pm, ESPN+]

Watch That

#4 Montana State Bobcats at #3 Montana Grizzlies

1pm | ESPN+ | BRAWL OF THE WILD

North Texas Mean Green at Tulsa Golden Hurricane

2pm | ESPN+ | UNT -2.5 | O/U 66.5

UCLA Bruins at USC Trojans

2:30pm | ABC | USC -6.5 | O/U 65.5

UNLV Rebels at Air Force Falcons

2:30pm | CBSSN | AFA -3 | O/U 47.5

Wait, so UCLA and USC play for a rivalry trophy? And neither one of them is ranked? They’ve gone Full B1G West already.

There are some good FCS games on today, including maybe the best rivalry in all of college football's second division. BRAWL OF THE WILD is well worth your time -- put really passionate common knowledgeable fans in a high stakes setting with a trophy on the line, and you can't go wrong.

There's a longer essay to be written on that if I were to think more about it. It's interesting to think about how college football or, really, college sports in general has given me access to conversations in parts of the world where I would normally stand out. I do historical research in a number of cities and settings where there is only an FCS school or a Division II program, and on top of that I am a pretty typical suburban white dude who's also a college professor. I stand out, is what I'm saying, though I don't have the circular thick framed glasses, because my eyes are immaculate.

But doing research in Brookings or Carbondale, I've had the good fortune to make contact with folks just based on knowing how the Jackrabbits or Salukis were doing that given season, maybe knowing the name of a player or a famous alumnus or coach who moved on to greener pastures. These are folks who do not share my politics or are distrustful of my profession once they learn what I do or why I am there, but having the bare semblance of interest in something important to them as sparked a lot of interesting conversations in my brief career. (And they're genuinely interesting conversations! I miss those days learning about hunting at the brewery in Aberdeen or shelling peanuts and talking town baseball at the VFW in Pierre.)

I think there's probably something to be learned from it, but let's not pretend I have the time or the perspective to know what that is.

Saturday Evening
Don’t Watch This

Old Dominion Monarchs at Georgia Southern Eagles (-6, O/U 60.5) [5pm, ESPN+]
North Alabama Lions at #4 Florida State Seminoles [5:30pm, The CW]
California Golden Bears (-6.5, O/U 55.5) at Stanford Cardinal [5:30pm, Pac-12]
Boise State Broncos (-3.5, O/U 64.5) at Utah State Aggies [6pm, CBSSN]
Florida Gators at #9 Missouri Tigers (-11.5, O/U 58.5) [6:30pm, ESPN]
FIU Sunblazers at Arkansas Razorbacks (-29.5, O/U 50.5) [6:30pm, ESPNU]
Kentucky Wildcats (-2, O/U 54.5) at South Carolina Gamecocks [6:30pm, SECN]
Nebraska Cornhuskers at wisconsin badgers (-4.5, O/U 36.5) [6:30pm, NBC]
#7 Texas Longhorns (-7.5, O/U 47.5) at Iowa State Cyclones [7pm, FOX]
Georgia State Panthers at #15 LSU Tigers (-31, O/U 71.5) [7pm, ESPN2]
Syracuse Orange at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (-6.5, O/U 53.5) [7pm, ACCN]

Watch That

#21 Kansas State Wildcats at #25 Kansas Jayhawks

6pm | FS1 | K-State -8 | O/U 56.5 | THE SUNFLOWER STATE SHOWDOWN

#5 Washington Huskies at #11 Oregon State Beavers

6:30pm | ABC | Oregon State -2.5 | O/U 63.5

ALL HAIL THE PAC-2:

Even more excitingly, it looks like the Cougars and Beavs are going to take that money and play some interesting football the next couple years:

But I'm sure Cal and Stanford athletes will enjoy those regular annual rivalry matchups with the Cocaineponies.

It’s late and I’m drunk...
Don’t Watch This

New Mexico Lobos at Fresno State Bulldogs (-23.5, O/U 56.5) [9:30pm, FS1]

Watch That

San Diego State Aztecs at San Jose State Spartans

9:30pm | CBSSN | SJSU -14.5 | O/U 49.5

Boise State is still in the title hunt for the Mountain West despite having just fired their coach. San Jose State is coached by what I'm pretty sure is an accountant. Both are 4-2 in conference play and the winner of this will be in at worst a three-way tie for second, since one of UNLV or Air Force will pick up a second loss.

This conference is gonna whip ass when it gets folded into the PAC-2. I cannot wait.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the games, friends.