By: Tim Bielik (BleacherReport.com) -

Nebraska appears to be on board with the Big Ten, pending an official vote and announcement Friday.

But the next domino to fall in the realignment of the Big Ten Conference could come from a team within its own geography: Notre Dame.

While we don’t know for sure whether or not the Irish are considering joining a conference, their reluctance to do so is very surprising.

The driving force behind the expansion craze is revenue sharing, and the Big Ten carries probably the most attractive bargaining chip in play: The Big Ten Network.

Schools in the Big Ten, with combined television contracts from the Big Ten Network and ESPN, make around $20 million annually in revenue.

The money makes declining an invite to the Big Ten a hard thing to do, especially with the popularity of the Nebraska football program all but in the fold. Yet that’s the road the Irish seem to be going down.

But what if there is more to the Irish dipping only one toe in the expansion pool, while Nebraska has jumped in?

The lack of success for Notre Dame in the past three seasons hasn’t been very reassuring to fans in South Bend, as the team went 6-6 in 2009 despite a weak schedule.

And when they look at the teams in the new Big Ten, it would give most teams cold feet.

In Dennis Dodd’s post-spring top 25 , five teams represent the future Big Ten: Penn State, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, and third-ranked Ohio State.

The Buckeyes are clearly the class of the Big Ten, and have been since 2006 when they have either tied for the conference title or won it outright.

And Jim Tressel is 1-0 against Notre Dame, defeating the Irish 34-20 in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl.

If the Irish do not feel they can compete with the Buckeyes in…….

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