The biggest winners from the release of the 2016 and 2017 Big Ten football schedules on Thursday are probably hotel owners in the conference's college towns who have plenty of advance notice to jack up their rates during weekends with home games.
The next biggest winners? Maryland fans who, for whatever reason, are salivating over the chance to play Penn State in a meaningful spot on the schedule. The season finale in 2017 in College Park should do.
(For those wondering if the 2017 Penn State game will be moved to Baltimore like the 2015 contest, don't count on it. Maryland is scheduled to open the season at Texas and has five conference road games. The school is required to have six home games to satisfy its Tyser Tower suite-holders. It would be a surprise if that game got moved).
Of course, even with a nine-game league schedule starting in 2016, the Terrapins won't see Illinois at all in their first four years in the conference. Through its four years in conference, Maryland will have a few teams it won't see both at home on the road.
WON'T HOST: Illinois, Nebraska
WON'T VISIT: Illinois, Northwestern, Purdue
It will also face a couple of particularly brutal stretches, assuming schools aren't operating in a severely suboptimal manner --- Michigan, Ohio State and Nebraska in three straight weeks in November 2016, and trips to Texas, Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin within the first seven games of 2017.
As for those schedules ...
2016
Oct. 1: Purdue
Oct. 8: at Penn State
Oct. 15: Minnesota
Oct. 22: Michigan State
Oct. 29: at Indiana
Nov. 5: at Michigan
Nov. 12: Ohio State
Nov. 19: at Nebraska
Nov. 26: Rutgers
2017
Sept. 30: at Minnesota
Oct. 7: at Ohio State
Oct. 14: Northwestern
Oct. 21: at Wisconsin
Oct. 28: Indiana
Nov. 4: at Rutgers
Nov. 11: Michigan
Nov. 18: at Michigan State
Nov. 25: Penn State
--- Patrick Stevens
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