At the beginning of this month, Big Ten conference realignment again took center stage in college football, with the conference grabbing another duo of PAC-12 teams. Next year, the Big Ten will move from 14 to 18 teams, adding USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington to its ranks. Earlier today, at Schembechler Hall, Michigan football coaches Sherrone Moore and Jesse Minter (offensive and defensive coordinators, respectively) had a chance to give their thoughts.
Big Ten conference realignment takes the world of college football by storm
If you liked how college football was played 10 years ago, you’re out of luck because everything has changed. Over the past decade, the College Football Playoff (4 teams) was introduced and will expand to 12 teams starting next year. Additionally, NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) allows players to make money, the transfer portal is essentially a free agency for student-athletes, and now, conference realignment is changing the traditional geography of the Power 5.
Next year, significant moves will be made — Oklahoma and Texas are SEC-bound, and the top four schools from the PAC-12 are headed to the Big Ten. Additionally, several medium-sized schools are en route to the Big 12, the ACC feels close to imploding, and the PAC-12 only has four remaining teams and appears ready to die any minute now.
Michigan football coaches Jesse Minter and Sherrone Moore give their thoughts
Today, Michigan football coaches Sherrone Moore (first-year solo offensive play-caller) and Jesse Minter (second-year defensive play-caller) had a chance to comment on Big Ten conference realignment and the direction of college football in that regard.
MINTER
“That’s probably way above my pay grade,” Jesse Minter said. “But I think it’s driven by money, driven by TV, and those decisions are being made by the people that want to keep that flowing, so more power to them.”
MOORE
“It’s so crazy because people start talking about it and I’m like, ‘who? what? they’re joining?‘ I’m just so focused on the team and what we’re doing now I can’t be bothered with all that,” said Sherrone Moore.
“I’m not worrying about it. I’m really just worried about this team and worry about this day, how we can prepare. We got to go against our defense — I think it’s gonna be best in the country — dealing with all the things that they could throw at us. I got no time to think about conference realignment right now because when I go home, I’ll probably just wanna watch TV, watch a show and feel normal for a little bit. I’ll probably turn on Hard Knocks tonight and try to watch that. There’s not really much I can give you from that point.”
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