Shatel: Pair NU, Penn St. for finale

First downs and second guesses with one foot in the Big Ten and the other in the Big 12:

The Legends Cup. The TomPa Trophy. A bronze football field with one sideline jutting out in one spot near the end zone.

When the Big Ten Conference begins talking divisions Monday in Chicago, the athletic directors need to take a hard look at putting Nebraska and Penn State at the same table — the Thanksgiving weekend table.

Look, we salivate for Iowa-Nebraska. But that will be a high-intensity scrum no matter when it’s played.

Tom Osborne U. vs. Joe Paterno U. makes more sense on several levels. It’s the smart play by the Big Ten.

Nebraska and Penn State have a storied history. Good games. Controversy — including the big Penn State catch that looked out of bounds right before the Nittany Lions’ winning touchdown in 1982.

The schools are the last two in the Big Ten, the east and west bookends.

Putting Huskers and Lions in the same division satisfies the competitive balance angle, too. You put Michigan and Ohio State together, right? You could separate them, put NU with Michigan or OSU, but the four “brand names’’ must be split into two divisions. Why not keep Go Blue and Buckeyes together?

Mostly, you pair Nebraska and Penn State because it makes for killer TV ratings. Don’t kid yourself: NU and PSU ultimately were invited in to elevate the Big Ten’s football image. Why not use that?

Imagine a TV twin bill featuring Michigan vs. Ohio State and Nebraska vs. Penn State. Nobody — including the Southeastern Conference — can touch that star power.

The only thing we need is an idea for a trophy. How about the winner of NU-Penn State gets a replica of the 1994 Associated Press national title trophy?

Maybe not.

• One reader had a brilliant idea for a Nebraska-Iowa trophy: the Kinnick Cup, named after Nile, the late Iowa Heisman Trophy winner who starred for Omaha Benson. There are Kinnick Stadiums in both Omaha and Iowa City.

• The Big Ten media days are much more efficient than the Big 12’s: they get through 11 schools in less than two days. Interviews are finished by 10 a.m. Tuesday, when the coaches and players of each school do an hour autograph session — followed by a kickoff luncheon open to the public.

Husker fans will love that next year. Bo Pelini? Not so much.

• In fact, I fully expect to see some Nebraska fans in full red garb at Tuesday’s luncheon.

• Tom Osborne will attend the Big Ten athletic directors’ meeting. He won’t get a vote. But you can be sure he will be asked for his opinion — and it will be given a lot of consideration.

You have to like how hard the Big Ten is working to indoctrinate NU into the league. Commissioner Jim Delany spent last Tuesday visiting Lincoln.

• Expect a lot of positive energy at the Big Ten meetings and lots of Nebraska talk. The Big 12 meetings had all the emotion of a wake. It was surreal. People have asked if there was bitterness or angst shown toward Nebraska. No. There was a mood of indifference. A lot of schools don’t want to be part of it.

• But, yes, Texas A&M would still like its $20 million, please. Good for the Aggies. Somebody needs to call Dan Beebe’s bluff on that pledge.

• Part of that $20 million pledge by Beebe was based on the assumption the Big 12 would get full exit fees from Nebraska and Colorado. As our Big 12/Ten man Lee Barfknecht reported last week, that is expected to be settled without a court fight — meaning it will be a lower number.

• NU Chancellor Harvey Perlman should keep Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott’s number handy, just in case. Scott told cbssports.com’s Dennis Dodd that the Pac-10 and Texas had been talking privately about a merger for months — and Scott is convinced UT leaked it intentionally to cause a panic and keep the Big 12 together.

I’m totally buying. The leak of the Big 12 South-to-the-Pac-10 story spurred the ultimatum that spurred the Big Ten to offer to NU. Did Texas start the chaos so it could ride back to the Big 12’s rescue, secure even more power, and rid itself of antagonist Nebraska? That’s my theory and I’m sticking to it.

In any case, if Perlman needs proof that Texas was talking to the Pac-10, he could have willing testimony from Scott.

• As I said so long to a Colorado official last week in Dallas, we came up with this idea: turn the season-ending CU-Nebraska game into a Big Eight reunion. Invite former Big Eight head coaches to Memorial Stadium, including Bill McCartney. Have the Huskers and Buffs wear throwback uniforms from 1971. Put that old diamond-shaped Big Eight logo on the field. Call it the “Exit Bowl.’’

• Finally, a word of good advice from a reader named Ben: “Enjoy yourself this week at media days (Big 12). You’ve earned a nostalgic trip around the room, but don’t get stuck. There is a lot of history to be told still in front of us.’’

On that fitting note, I’ll see you in Chicago.

Contact the writer:

444-1025, tom.shatel@owh.com

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