This year, there are 12 football teams in the Big Ten Conference. There are also 12 weeks in the conference football schedule. It would stand to reason that every Big 10 team ought to play every other team in the conference. But, to the shame of the Big Ten and to college football generally, that is not the case. Many of the conference’s teams use up a third of their season playing patsies to earn television dollars.

Minnesota’s Gophers are a bit of an exception, opening against the University of Southern California, which is ranked 25th in the nation, and playing a fourth non-conference game against North Dakota State, a team that has bedeviled the Gophers. But consider powerhouses like Wisconsin, which opens against UNLV tonight and goes on to play teams like the South Dakota Coyotes before finally opening its conference schedule on Oct. 1. Big-time schools host smaller schools early in the season for one reason only, to grab a few bucks. It’s a slap in the face to fans whose support truly keeps the teams alive, and who deserve to see quality games.

Now that the Big 10 has a dozen teams and more than enough slots on its schedule, there’s no reason in the world each team shouldn’t play a full conference schedule. The fans deserve it.