July 26, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; A general view of the Big Ten conference tropy during the Big Ten media day at the McCormick Place Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Reid Compton-USA TODAY Sports

The 2014 Big Ten conference schedule was announced yesterday (click here for entire schedule). The 2014 season will be the first season of the newly expanded Big Ten which includes the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Maryland Terrapins. Here are some highlights for the Fighting Illini in 2014:

• Illinois will open conference play on the road against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. This will be only the second meeting between the Illini and Cornhuskers since Nebraska moved to the Big Ten in 2011. These teams will open conference play in Lincoln during 2013 as well.
• The Fighting Illini will see neither of the new Big Ten teams in 2014. Both Rutgers and Maryland will be in the East Division of the Big Ten. The only teams from the West Division that will see Rutgers or Maryland are Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin.
• The two East opponents for Illinois will be Ohio State and Penn State. The Buckeyes will host the Illini to open the month of November while the Nittany Lions will come to Champaign on November 22nd.
• The Illini will host the Iowa Hawkeyes for the first time since 2008 on November 15th. When these two teams last met, the quarterback for the Illini was Juice Williams. Illinois also won that 2008 meeting on a last second field goal.
• For the third year in a row, the Illini and the Wildcats will fight for the Land of Lincoln trophy. The 2014 meeting will be at Ryan Field in Evanston on November 29th.
• The Illini will also face Wisconsin on the road, along with home games against Purdue and Minnesota.
• It would be nice to see Illinois play either Rutgers or Maryland in 2015, but that is not likely (expect same as 2014 with locations flipped). The 2015 season will be the final 8-game season for the Big Ten. The conference intends to move to a 9-game season in 2016.

Dec 4, 2012; Champaign, IL, USA; The Big Ten logo displayed on the court before the game between the Western Carolina Catamounts and the Illinois Fighting Illini at Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Bradley Leeb-USA TODAY Sports

College football never seems to take a break, so why should we? With the season getting closer by the day, WI wanted to take a look at how every Big Ten teams out of conference (OOC) schedule stacked up against each other.

Upon further review, it appears Western Michigan might be attempting to take advantage of all the conference realignment going on and make a bid to join the Big Ten, appearing on 3 different teams OOC schedules.

All jokes aside, here’s how the Big Ten teams out of conference schedules look heading into the season, ranked by team, according to difficulty.

1. Purdue

Opponents: @Cincinnati, vs. Indiana St., vs. Notre Dame, vs. Northern Illinois

If you toss out the game against the Sycamores, this OOC has some serious bumps in the road. Cincinnati should contend for the Big East crown, Notre Dame is coming off a National Title appearance, and Northern Illinois returns it’s starting QB from a team that made a BCS bowl a year ago. One word: tough. Good luck Boilers!

2. Indiana

Opponents: vs. Indiana St., vs. Navy, vs. Bowling Green, vs. Missouri

The Hoosiers have a legitimate chance at going 1-3 with this schedule. Navy is a tough stylistic match-up with their triple option. Bowling Green returns 20 starters and should be tough in the MAC, which is known for teams running up the scoreboard. Missouri is an SEC opponent that brings definite trouble with them when they visit Bloomington.

3. Wisconsin

Opponents: vs. UMASS, vs. Tennessee Tech, @Arizona State, vs. BYU

The first two should be a cake walk for the Badgers as they get used to their new coach, but then it gets much more difficult as they head to the desert to tangle with the Sun Devils, a team that hopes to rep the PAC-12 in the Rose Bowl. Then, they polish off their OOC with a match-up against always tough BYU. Add in the fact that they lost their HC, and this schedule takes on an even tougher dimension.

4. Michigan

Opponents: vs. Central Michigan, vs. Notre Dame, vs. Akron, @UCONN

The Wolverines get the 4-spot here because they tangle with Notre Dame, and have to travel to UCONN to face off with the Huskies. They should fare just fine in the other two contests.

5. Michigan State

Opponents: vs. Western Michigan, vs. South Florida, vs. Youngstown State, @ Notre Dame

The toughest game on this schedule, by a wide margin, is the trip to Notre Dame. It also might be the most intriguing OOC match-up in the entire Big Ten. Sparty is in for a dog fight right before Big Ten play for sure.

6. Illinois

Opponents: vs. Southern Illinois (FCS), vs. Cincinnati, vs. Washington (Soldier Field), vs. Miami(OH)

All four games are going to be played on Illinois soil so there is an advantage there. Illinois would do very well to come out 3-1, but 2-2 seems much more possible. Mark me down for their two wins being against SIU and Miami (OH).

7. Iowa

Opponents: vs. Northern Illinois, vs. Missouri State, @ Iowa State, vs. Western Michigan

Iowa gets a tough draw right out of the chute, then an FCS opponent to dismantle. They follow that up with an in-state rivalry game and those never seem to be easy, and finish up with the Broncos. Not the toughest slate, but certainly not easy by any stretch either.

8. Nebraska

Opponents: vs. Wyoming, vs. Southern Miss, vs. UCLA, vs. South Dakota State

UCLA will be the toughest of this draw. Wyoming returns 16 starters from a team that went 4-8 last season which could mean they might be competitive, but I highly doubt they cause any major issues for the Huskers. Southern Miss has a new HC in Todd Monken, formerly Oklahoma State’s OC so there will be an adjustment period. SDSU is an FCS sacrificial lamb.

9. Northwestern

Opponents: @California, vs. Syracuse, vs. Western Michigan, vs. Maine

Cal was terrible last season. Ryan Nassib is gone, and so is Syracuse’s head coach. The Broncos and Bears round out this potential 4-0 start for the Wildcats.

10. Penn State

Opponents: vs. Syracuse, vs. Eastern Michigan, vs. UCF, vs. Kent State

See above with regards to the Orange. EMU was horrible a year ago. UCF has a brand new starting quarterback so there will be inexperience at the most key position for the Knights. Kent State lost their head coach after a very successful season a year ago. 4-0 is certainly not out of the question if they find a solid QB to man the helm of this potentially powerful offense.

11. Ohio State

Opponents: vs. Buffalo, vs. San Diego State, @ California, vs. Florida A&M

The Buckeyes would’ve had the easiest OOC of the Big Ten if Minnesota’s wasn’t so terrible. Ohio State should roll to an undefeated OOC portion of their schedule.

12. Minnesota

Opponents: vs. UNLV, vs. New Mexico State, vs. Western Illinois, vs. San Jose State

Minnesota should run directly through this OOC en route to a 4-0 start. They could be the talk of the conference because of their record, but don’t let this schedule fool you. It’s atrocious.

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Jackson currently has received offers from the Northwestern Wildcats, Boston College Eagles, Iowa Hawkeyes, Vanderbilt Commodores, Arizona State Sun Devils, California Golden Bears, Cincinnati Bearcats, Illinois Fighting Illini, Indiana Hoosiers, Kentucky Wildcats, Minnesota Golden Gophers, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Missouri Tigers, Purdue Boilermakers, Syracuse Orange, and Toledo Rockets.

Oct. 27, 2012; Champaign, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini cheerleaders after a touchdown by the Illini during the first half against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reid Compton-USA TODAY Sports

The teams that Jackson’s heavily interested in are Northwestern, Boston College, Iowa, and Vanderbilt. Although, the Wildcats seem to be at the head of the pack.

The 247 Sports Crystal Ball currently has Northwestern as a 100% predicted spot to land the 2014 recruit.

Also, according to 247 Sports skills ratings, Jackson is a solid running back with 7s and 8s across the board.

However, his greatest skill is his change of direction.

After reviewing his film from 2012, Jackson might be quick and strong, but he avoids danger. He can avoid defenders simply by changing direction and it fools them every time. His only red flag is that he seems too concerned about defenders once he gets close to the endzone. Defenders will be MILES behind him, but he still is looking back.

The four-star recruit is currently ranked 6th in the state of Illinois, 3rd among all purpose backs, and 172nd among 2014 high school recruits by 247Sports.

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For more recruiting news, check out Fansided150.com.