By Adam Rittenberg (ESPN) -

For years, we heard that Michigan and Ohio State never would regularly play The Game after Thanksgiving. That will change this fall.

When the Big Ten added Nebraska in June and a divisional split seemed imminent, most folks (including me) thought there was little chance the Wolverines and the Buckeyes would end up on opposite sides of the league. This, too, has changed as we anxiously wait the division pairings to be announced.

If you’re paying attention to the words coming out of both Columbus and Ann Arbor, you shouldn’t be surprised if Michigan and Ohio State are placed in opposite divisions.

Athletic directors Gene Smith (Ohio State) and Dave Brandon (Michigan) both are preparing their respective fan bases for the Buckeyes and Wolverines to possibly move their rivalry game earlier in the season. The only reason this would happen is if the teams went in opposite divisions, creating the potential for a rematch in the Big Ten championship game. They would meet every year in a protected crossover game.

Brandon weighed in Friday morning on WTKA radio in Ann Arbor, and the blog MVictors has a good breakdown of theinterview

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• When asked if he were making the decision, would he put Michigan and Ohio State in the same conference division, Brandon paused and then answered, “No.” He continued: “We’re in a situation where one of the best things that could happen in my opinion in a given season would be the opportunity to play Ohio State twice, once during the regular season and once for the championship of the Big Ten.”
• On the Michigan-Ohio State game, Brandon said: “I think there’s a distinct possibility that that game will be a later game in the season, but not necessarily the last game of the season. And that’s simply because … I don’t think the coaches, or the players, or the fans, or the networks or anyone, would appreciate that matchup to happen twice within the same seven-day period.”
• More from Brandon: “What you’re really going to want is that last game of the regular season to really determine, often times, the championship — who’s going to be the champion of that division and go to the championship game and play for all the marbles. So from a scheduling/timing perspective, it’s a new ballgame, and although I love playing Ohio State in the last game of the year, I don’t think it’s necessarily a slam dunk that that’s going to continue.

Translation: Get ready for Michigan-Ohio State in late October. Probably.

Smith was a little less direct in his comments this week to…….

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE DIRECTLY FROM THE SOURCE PAGE AT ESPN BY CLICKING HERE.

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