OK, so Joe Paterno's got a stiffy for Rutgers, Pitt, Syracuse, Missouri, Cal-Poly, and Virgin Island Prep. Basically, anyone but Notre Dame.
Who cares, right?
(Note: I can't get the poll to appear after the jump, so please keep reading. Do it.)
If the Big 10 chooses to expand, there is almost nothing we can do about it. I say almost nothing, because maybe the Big East has nuclear weapons that I'm not aware of -- but short of that, we're screwed. Any of those schools would most likely jump at the chance to join the Big 10. Oh well. Goodbye and good luck is our best response.
If that happens -- and it's a big, big if -- any school in the Big East neighborhood (and we're talking one of three schools: ECU, Memphis, and UCF), would leap over their proverbial mothers to join our conference. There's no doubting that. Personally, I think any of those schools would be a worthy addition. They wouldn't replace the school that's leaving, but they all bring their own strong suits to the table. But, we don't need to worry about it, because it's all out of our hands.
If the Big 10 expands, we can't stop it, then we move on with one of those schools. It's silly to talk expanding to twelve teams, because that would just dilute the conference beyond recognition, and we can't get to nine because we have sixteen basketball schools.
So, why waste the time? Just let Paterno keep listening to himself talk and relax.
But, of course, that's probably not going to happen, so how about this: who do you want to see if the Big East were to add a team (whether through Rutgers, etc. leaving or going to nine teams)?