It’s that time of year again: college football season. It’s time for cool autumn days, marching bands and physical violence.

Some people may tell you, “It’s actually still summer and college football isn’t even a season, you dope!”

To that, I say that some people need to calm down and not be jerks. Whatever season you think it is, it’s inarguable that college football is here again.

Don’t get used to this version of college football, though, as it’s about to change. The Big Ten specifcally is going to increase in size.

Nebraska will join the conference next year. This is the first addition to the conference since Penn State joined in 1990.

The conference will now have 12 teams, which means that The Big Ten will continue to show that knowing how to count is beneath them. It has been two decades since 10 teams were actually in this conference.

Instead, they just carved a “hidden” 11 into the logo to recognize Penn State’s entrance. Oh, Big Ten -you’re so clever and artsy. I wonder how 12 will be “hidden” into the new logo. I’m sure they’ll think of something post-modern.

Anyway, this new conference will have two divisions in it. The Big Ten website shows that that one division will have Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern (Ill.), and Nebraska. The other will have Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue, Indiana, Penn State, and Ohio State.

I have a problem with this. They didn’t do it geographically.

There is something about playing close (distance-wise) teams that is kind of cool.

It’s almost like you know them well and it’s entertaining to play someone that you know a lot about. Proximity brings conflict.

If you look at the schedules for 2011 and 2012, you will see that the Badgers don’t play either Iowa or Northwestern. Those schools are the closest to Wisconsin and we have a prominent rivalry with Iowa.

Granted, Northwestern isn’t good. Those weirdos primarily focus on silly education. Despite that, they still are our neighbors and it’s odd to not play them.

The worst thing about this is that they could have grouped them via geography, too. All they had to do was pick the six teams west of Lake Michigan and the six teams to the east.

Some, like Commissioner Jim Delaney, say that the divisions are more equally competitive the current way.

Aargh! If done geographically, it would have been competitively equal. Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin would be in one division. Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State would be in the other.

These, with the exception of Michigan (who are a traditional power) are the ranked teams that will be in the conference next year. Rankings change each year, but the current ranked teams will not drop off that much.

In other words, it would have been equal.

It’s a shame, too. I actually like adding Nebraska because it creates a Championship Game. Now, other Conferences can’t complain that they have to play an extra game when it comes to who gets to play in the National Championship.

I just wish things could have been done geographically.

I guess the Big Ten will have to keep doing what they’re good at: carving “hidden” numbers into words.