The Weekly Rundown: A new-look Big Ten takes center stage in an ever-changing college football landscape

As Nebraska prepares to enter its 14th year as a member of the Big Ten Conference, the league will see drastic changes, as will college football as we head into 2024.

We hit on that and more as we start your Monday with The Weekly Rundown column.

RELATED – Steven Sipple: Why Knighton’s group arguably strongest on team; some Barthel quotes to ponder; and Rhule sings Shedeur’s praises

Sure bets

You have to feel good about these things right now:

A monumental Big Ten Media Days: I remember my first Big Ten Media Days in 2010. That was a historical day in its own right, as former Nebraska head coach and AD Tom Osborne was a part of the event even though the Huskers were still members of the Big 12.

They brought Osborne on stage for a picture with former commissioner Jim Delany and the late Penn State head coach Joe Paterno to capture the moment.

I envision we’ll have many moments like that this week in Indianapolis as new Big Ten members USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington are welcomed into the league. On top of that, college football is heading into unchartered waters with the future direction of the game. Buckle up. It should be a fun week in Indy.

Under the radar: I expect Nebraska to play a more under-the-radar role at Big Ten Media Days this week.

There is some national intrigue about quarterback Dylan Raiola . Still, I’m not expecting the Big Red to draw much of a national group of reporters around their interviews at Lucas Oil Stadium.

They’ll share the stage with USC, Penn State, UCLA, Michigan State, and Iowa. On Wednesday, Rhule will take the stage at Lucas Oil Stadium around 11:30 a.m. CT.

Surprises

These were my surprises of the week:

DL Kade Pietrzak’s commit: A week ago, I’m not sure anyone saw West Fargo (N.D.) four-star defensive lineman Kade Pietrzak committing to Nebraska. He was one of the most challenging recruits to read over the last few months, as he gave next to no in-depth interviews about his recruiting process.

That’s why when word got out Pietrzak was NU bound, this was a big win for Rhule in the Huskers. The Big Red now has the top-ranked prospects from both South and North Dakota for 2025, and both are line-of-scrimmage players – Pietrzak and offensive lineman Shawn Hammerbeck . Rhule really wanted this one, an the Husker beat out Oklahoma and Kansas State for his services.

Aug. 24 Fan Day: Props to Nebraska. Over the years, we’ve seen NU’s Fan Day move around like a dentist appointment you are trying to put off. (Sorry Sip, I had to go there.)

For years, the event was operated on a mid-to-late August Saturday before we began to see it move around to the start of Fall Camp. Former head coach Bo Pelini even moved the event to the middle of the afternoon on a weekday.

I’m not sure who gets the credit here, but props to Nebraska. Aug. 24, the Saturday before the start of the Husker Football season, the volleyball team will have Fan Day at Deavney from 9 to 11 a.m. and the football team will conduct theirs from 11 to 12:30 p.m. inside the Hawks Championship Center.

I can’t think of a better day to stage the events, as the day and time should draw massive crowds to Lincoln on Aug. 24. I also believe it will give the local downtown Lincoln businesses a nice boost before things kick off on Aug. 31.

The jury is still out

Questions still surround these things:

How much of the $22 million will be allotted to football?: We know the maximum amount schools can spend from their in-house revenue sharing towards NIL is $22 million. This past week, the SEC said they plan to use around $15 of that $22 million towards football – a monster number.

With the SEC putting that out there, how many Big Ten schools will be willing to put that same number out there, knowing the $22 million will also be used on other sports? Collectives will still play a significant role, but more as a NIL sweetener than the driver they are now.

Future roster sizes: Another hot topic is roster sizes. It appears the days of true walk-ons are gone. With revenue sharing now in place, roster sizes will be capped, and all players will be on scholarship.

This past week, the SEC released its desired number, 105. We’ve heard the Big Ten say 110. Nebraska currently carries around 145 players. I don’t believe the NCAA will make teams get to 105 or 110 by 2025, as one would think existing players will be grandfathered, almost like the COVID year and how that still exists.

I expect to see 105 or 110, but we don’t know whether you can have other players in your program who aren’t on that official roster operate as a practice or taxi squad.

Where Nebraska falls in the Big Ten preseason poll: The Cleveland.com unofficial Big Ten media poll will be released this week. I was once again a voter this year.

My guess is NU will be in the middle of the pack, probably between six and ten in the preseason poll. Ohio State and Oregon almost seem like unanimous picks at one and two. Iowa (outside of Nebraska) is my sleeper in the new-look Big Ten. They have a great schedule, and they should be night and day better at quarterback.

This has my attention

Moving forward, this has my attention :

Matt Rhule’s new-look coaching staff for 2024: What will Nebraska’s new-look coaching staff look like regarding potential new hires and duties?

My guess is we could learn more about this as early as today. I expect at least one more intriguing hire to be made in the secondary with John Butler .

Troy Dannen at Big Ten Media Days: We’ll hear from Nebraska AD Troy Dannen more than likely on Wednesday at Big Ten Media Days.

This will be Dannen’s first true live media press conference-type setting since he was hired in March. He did speak with a few reporters, though, regarding the future plans for Memorial Stadium. There is a lot of ground to cover with Dannen, including his recent comments to The Athletic about getting grass in Memorial Stadium by 2026.

LB Will Hawthorne: Pietrzak announced his commitment on Sunday. Is Gilbert (Iowa) linebacker Will Hawthorne the next to follow?

Sean Callahan can be reached at sean@huskeronline.com and is heard daily at 6:45 am and 5:05 pm on Big Red Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the football season. He can also be seen on KETV Channel 7 in Omaha during the fall, and each week, he appears on Nebraska Public Media’s Big Red Wrap-Up Tuesdays at 7 pm .

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