Pat Forde does his usually excellent job summarizing the Rutgers dumpster fire and the mess this has created for Jim Delany and the Big Ten.

But he also throws in an interesting nugget that explains some of the motivation behind targeting Rutgers in the first place. Big Ten dictator Jim Delany IS FROM NEW JERSEY, and his obsession with getting the Big Ten exposure in the New York market led him to the mediocre program.

Ohio State has taken some lame shots for its schedule this year, but as a Big Ten there are some issues with the schedule that lend credence to some of the criticisms. The Buckeyes are stuck with Maryland and Rutgers every year now on its schedule, while this year there’s no Nebraska, Wisconsin or Iowa. Not even a resurgent Northwestern in on the schedule. Of course, this is a fluke this year, as next year the Buckeyes have both Wisconsin and Nebraska along with a nonconference road game versus Oklahoma.

The end result is that adding Maryland and Rutgers has dragged down a conference that already face some issues with the issues at Penn State and Michigan. Fortunately the dominance of the Buckeyes on the national stage coupled with a resurgent Michigan State has helped elevate the conference, but Rutgers in particular could be a drag for years.

As Forde pointed out, Delany has done some good things over the years, but his resistance to a playoff and his decision to bring in Rutgers will likely stain his legacy.