The quintessential Big Ten smoking room.
Reivers and Blue Dragons and Brahman Bulls and—OH MY! [/swoon] It’s GASTON! StaffDNA Cure Bowl Old Dominion Monarchs vs. South Florida Brahman Bulls4pm | ESPN | USF -3.5 | O/U 52.5at Camping World Stadium (Orlando, FL) Did you know I previewed ALL these games with former managing editor Jesse Collins? It’s worth a read as […]
about 2 months ago | 3 reads
So…uh…basketball! Best Win #23 Nebraska Cornhuskers 83, #13 Illinois Fighting Illini 80 Nebraska has now won 11 straight this season. Something like 30 straight dating back to last season—don’t bother looking that up. The Netherlands-Turkiye axis turns out to be stronger than the combined firepower of the Balkans and Baltics. WHO KNEW. Worst Loss Seton […]
about 2 months ago | 3 reads
Whether you want word association, half-assed attempts at understanding what it is a Kennesaw State is, or an overwhelming sense of ennui toward college football, this preview has it all. First, Jesse, good afternoon. Long time, no talk. Jesse: Wait, do I still work here? Am… am I a real person? IS THIS ALL A […]
about 2 months ago | 4 reads
Oh, right! Basketball! Well I sure picked a good time to drop off the face of the world, huh? Turns out Northwestern isn’t that good at basketball, Michigan is, and we watched as Iowa State both laid waste to Purdue and gave Iowa some hope. Ick. At least Nebrasketball is…actually doing the damn thing? We’ll […]
about 2 months ago | 5 reads
Did YOU know Washington was in the Bucked Up LA Bowl? Did you know they were in the Big Ten? Hooboy look at that, it’s bowl game day. Does anyone have questions about bowl game day? Celebration Bowl South Carolina State Bulldogs vs. Prairie View A&M Panthers11am | ABC | PVAMU -1.5 | O/U 53 […]
about 2 months ago | 3 reads
Remember when this week was fun and lighthearted and just disappointing because Indiana isn’t shit at football anymore? Yeah, things have changed just a little bit. Now the ND is shitposting the ACC, if you were the B1G commish, would you make a run at adding the Irish to the conference? – JayMPSU RockyMtnBlue: Of […]
2 months ago | 3 reads
I had all kinds of good intentions to write this for you on Saturday! Instead, I went to the ER. I will be fine, but it has not been the ideal way to end the semester. Thankfully, I’ve had some quality volleyball to soothe the travails. Overall, the Big Ten acquitted itself well in the […]
2 months ago | 4 reads
It appears that the College Football Coaching Carousel isn’t done spinning yet. On Wednesday, Sherrone Moore unceremoniously ended his tenure at Michigan, with the University announcing that he was done, “with cause, effective immediately.” Though verified details remain scant, the statement said that the firing was a result of credible evidence of an inappropriate relationship […]
2 months ago | 3 reads
This is a column to check in on the rest of the football world, but since it’s 2025 in America I will beat you over the head with The Agenda, which in case you’ve forgotten is “Big Ten Superiority Unless It’s Funny.” THE AGENDA MVP: ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI The winner of Indiana-Ohio State was going […]
2 months ago | 5 reads
It’s Monday, and I’m still trying to reconcile the fact that fucking Indiana won the B1G. The NIL era is awful. Anyway, fire away with questions. We’ll answer a bunch of them and then post the responses on Friday. And the results will be better than a Ryan Day that once-a-year bed shitting Ryan Day […]
2 months ago | 3 reads
…y’know, as we get them. Where will Ohio State and Oregon fall? Who’s going somewhere warm, and who’s going to somewhere Detroit? Indiana is your new AP #1 for the first time. Ever. Congratulations to the Hoosiers. This is the space where we’ll update the College Football Playoff rankings and bowl pairings as they come […]
2 months ago | 4 reads
Ten Fourteen Eighteen B1G Things The Rundown Those crazy sonsofbitches did it! They actually did it! Indiana played like a team that wanted to win, and the aggressiveness paid off. They held Ohio State to its fewest points all season, harassing Julian Sayin all night. The win basically locks the No. 1 seed for the […]
2 months ago | 6 reads
I decided, apparently, that we’d had enough fun with Don’t Watch This; Watch That for 2025. It is officially CLOSED—you have been told What to Watch and What Not to Watch enough—so now, in honor of Championship Saturday, I expect that you will know to make the right decisions. Choose wisely, because there are a […]
2 months ago | 3 reads
We did it! Here are the responses to some questions! What New Year’s resolution do you want your school’s coaching staff to make for 2026? – LandOfSkyBlueWatersGophers HWAHSQB: Take the triple flea flicker reverse whatever it was that they tried to run IN THE SNOW and drown it in the Boneyard Creek. Also, I hope […]
2 months ago | 2 reads
Indiana. Ohio State. The Big Ten Championship and the #1 overall CFP seed on the line. Each week, the incomparable RockyMtnBlue messages me at some point around 8pm CT on Thursday, hallucinating that he somehow owes me an apology for finishing all this work to bring y’all the weekly picks. Each week, I am nowhere […]
2 months ago | 6 reads
Here we are, the final game of the B1G season. The fans of 16 teams have had their hopes crushed, but hope remains for the fans of the final two, unbeaten teams. In this edition of WWBWWBD, the OTE “writers” will let you know their plans for the B1G Conference Championship Game. BRT: In Lincoln, […]
2 months ago | 3 reads
This is a column to check in on the rest of the football world, but since it’s 2025 in America I will beat you over the head with The Agenda, which in case you’ve forgotten is “Big Ten Superiority Unless It’s Funny.” Call me the SEC, because I took Week 13 off. THE AGENDA MVP: […]
2 months ago | 4 reads
Michigan’s bid for five in a row against Ohio State came up short, as Ryan Day and the Buckeyes got the monkey off their back with a dominant victory in Ann Arbor. Ohio State came into Saturday’s season-ending showdown against Michigan undefeated, but also somewhat untested. Aside from an early season win over Texas and […]
2 months ago | 4 reads
Happy Monday! It usually takes something weird to get me to pay attention these days, and the good thing is that there has been a ton of weird. And weird would be the perfect way to describe everything that everyone’s 2nd-favorite Bloomington Jefferson graduate (after Nick Checco, of course) has done over the past week […]
2 months ago | 4 reads
Lamenting the death of the truly-enjoyable MTE. I hadn’t planned on much basketball coverage here for a couple reasons: for one, the internet is a dying place, and, for two, that’s exacerbating the steady death of Off Tackle Empire dot blogspot dot biz. BUT! Looking over the (limited) options for basketball on this last snowy […]
2 months ago | 3 reads
Michigan State officially announced Jonathan Smith was to be relieved of his duties effective Sunday. Not long after, the rumor mill started churning Pat Fitzgerald as the candidate to replace Smith as the Spartans head coach. Because we’re a serious operation here at Off Tackle Empire, we come with instant reactions to the news! LincolnParkWildcat: […]
2 months ago | 4 reads
Ten Fourteen Eighteen B1G Things The Rundown It’s Iowa They do it again. It’s now the 7th time they’ve beaten Nebraska in Memorial Stadium, which puts Ferentz at second in Big Ten wins at Memorial Stadium, behind Bo Pelini and ahead of Scott Frost, Mike Riley, and Matt Rhule, who all have six. At least […]
2 months ago | 2 reads
HAT! AXE! GAME! and so much more. Come join the conversation. The Morning Shows This is a deeply silly sport. Big Ten Football Schedule (1) Ohio State Buckeyes @ (15) Michigan Wolverines 11AM | FOX | Ohio State -9.5 | O/U 44.5 (5) Oregon Ducks @ Washington Huskies 2:30PM | CBS | Oregon -6.5 | O/U 51.5 wisconsin badgers @ Minnesota […]
2 months ago | 3 reads
Plus, basketball—if you so choose. Big Ten Football on Today Iowa Hawkeyes @ Nebraska Cornhuskers 11AM | CBS | Iowa -6.5 | O/U 38.5 (2) Indiana Hoosiers @ Purdue Boilermakers 6:30PM | NBC / Peacock | Indiana -28.5 | O/U 54.5 What else is on? Well, for one, I’ve told you everything you should and shouldn’t watch: But if […]
2 months ago | 8 reads
RIVLARY! RIVALRY! RIVALRY! Now that MNWildkit is three, we’ve started to expand out our limited TV programming allowances into the educational classics—Mrs. MNW is champing at the bit for Wishbone, but for now, it’s all Magic School Bus, all the time. So shout-out to the Season 2 episode about butterflies, which is allowing me to […]
2 months ago | 3 reads