In light of the USC/UCLA moves and the ND speculation, I’ve found myself perplexed that a healthy majority of fans are in favor of conference expansion for the Big 10. 
 

Sure it’s cool that some historic schools could be a part of the conference, but the practical effect is that OSU would play more top 25 teams in conference play, and seldom get a “soft” matchup in the conference championship like we have had with Northwesterns/Wisconsins/Iowas/Spartys. This translates to more 1 and 2 loss seasons, more championship game Ls, and more playoff absences.

Even if this affects other schools equally and it becomes easier to get into the playoff with two losses, it still becomes more unlikely that any particular school can consistently win conference championships and reach the playoffs. This is wonderful for second tier programs, but a bad thing for juggernauts like OSU that expect to always be on top.

Even aside from playoff implications, conference culture matters and “Big 10 Football” had a brand and traditions and a lot of history. Maybe having 4-5 marquee matchups a year is good for tv ratings and revenue, but I actually think it makes for a worse entertainment product. May as well just put all the blueblood schools in one big 25-school conference and have them duke it out round-robin if all we care about is big matchups.

OSU will get its chance to play the USC’s and ND’s of the world if they make it to the playoffs. Why is everybody so ecstatic about playing them biannually and losing games to them more regularly?