1 p.m.: Mike Hlas, Cedar Rapids Gazette: "I was kind of surprised when they were picked. My initial opinion, is this it, is that what all the hype was about? Not to dismiss Nebraska at all. I just didn't see Nebraska as one of the foremost players in this. But as the weeks have gone by, it just seems like such a sensible addition, the geographics are good. It is a border state. Some of the schools that were mentioned were a little bit out there. I think it will be a lot of fun for Iowans and Nebraskans. It will sure be more interesting for us (media).''

Teddy Greenstein, Chicago Tribune: "I think it's outstanding. Personally, I'm just so excited to cover a game there. I cover Northwestern, so now they're going to sell out the stadium twice a year, except for when Ohio State comes to town. And if they were thinking about knocking out some seats to make it more intimate, now they aren't going to because they could probably sell 80,000 tickets. Very exciting. It's great to see Tom Osborne here yesterday. Now you have three of the all-time winning programs in history. That's a lot of glitz and glamour. I think it's really a great move.''

Greenstein is among several Big Ten writers who think the league should split the divisions down the middle, east to west, which is interesting for those of us outsiders who think Penn State should be in the west:

"I think this concept of moving Penn State to the west because you have the big four is kind of ridiculous,'' Greenstein said. "It's not fair to Penn State fans, telling them you have to go all the way out there. I think it falls very naturally, with Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin as your big three in the west and Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State in the east.''

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