Looking forward to 2015: B1G

Tony and I collaborated to bring you this look at the 2015 season for the B1G.  Since VT plays two teams from this conference, I thought I had a decent enough head start.  I tried to just look down each's teams schedules and find a game that popped out, but for some teams, it was harder with limited knowledge of their standing in the conference.

East
Indiana - It could be a battle for the bottom of the division against Rutgers, as both teams figure to contend for bowl eligibility.  This mid-season matchup could be the one that makes or breaks that goal. The Hoosiers have been lauded for their offense, and it will take winning the mid-tier games like this in order to truly grow as a program. 

Rutgers at Indiana, October 17.

Maryland - The Big Ten team formerly of the ACC will go to play a Big 12 team, formerly of the Big East.  It looks like it'll be two middle of the road teams in either conference, but it's a decent out of conference scheduling attempt.

Maryland at West Virginia, September 26.

Michigan - Big Blue has a decent nonconference schedule, and a brand new head coach.  But there's too much uncertainty to know if we'll be getting a Michigan team that returns to form.  So, we'll take the cop-out and say Ohio State.  Harbaugh vs Meyer, Round 1.  And with the Buckeyes coming off a potentially huge matchup against the Spartans, this edition of "The Game" could become a classic in the making.

Michigan at Ohio State, November 28.

Michigan State - They get a rematch in week 2 against the team that knocked them out of national title contention.  A battle of all green!

Oregon at Michigan State, September 12.

Ohio State - As a Hokie fan, this one's easy.

Ohio State at Virginia Tech, September 7.

Penn State - While Ohio State could be a huge game nationally, it'll be the game against Rutgers that shows just how far Penn State has come since their squeaker of a win last year.  Winning's one thing; can the Nittany Lions win impressively?

Penn State at Rutgers, September 19.

Rutgers - Ditto.  This should be a great revenge game, after coming oh-so-close last year.  It's early, too, which could help Rutgers in pulling the upset. Another close game could really help fuel this border state series into the makings of a rivalry.

Penn State at Rutgers, September 19.

West
Illinois - The Illini made strides last year, until ultimately falling in their bowl game to Louisiana Tech from C-USA.  This matchup with UNC is the nonconference game that will tell Illinois just where they stand in 2015, and should go a long way in determining the "ACC-Big Ten Football Challenge" winner.

Illinois at UNC, September 19.

Iowa - The last 2 times Iowa and Pitt have played, Iowa overcame multi-score defecits to pull off the win.  I would love to see Pitt turn it around, especially with Pat Narduzzi around (who had done briliantly on defense against Iowa the last couple times as Michigan State's DC) .

Pitt at Iowa, September 19.

Minnesota - The Gophers are usually the forgotten team of the B1G.  But they do manage to cause a bit of a splash by hosting TCU on the first Thursday of the season.

TCU at Minnesota, September 3.

Nebraska - The Cornhuskers have a nice week three non-conference matchup against the U.  While it might lack the luster that such a meeting would have provided even ten years ago, it is nice to see a home and home series between two Power 5 teams.

Nebraska at Miami, September 19.

Northwestern - It was a toss up between Stanford and Duke, but Tony thinks that Duke and NW are more evenly matched, and will need a win more from this game.

Northwestern at Duke, September 19.

Purdue - The only reason this team has any bright spot on this schedule is that they're playing our home team.  Go Hokies.

Virginia Tech at Purdue, September 19.

Wisconsin - The team that Ohio State beat to get to the CFP faces off against the team that lost to them in the first round.  This will be the prime primetime game on the first Saturday.

Wisconsin vs. Alabama at AT&T Stadium, September 5.