If I asked you a year ago at this time what the Legends Division impact game would be, you would have looked at me as if I were from Mars.

The Big Ten had yet to split into division play, and nobody would have guessed that one of its halves would be named "Legends." So a lot of this is new. As such, it's appropriate that my choice for the biggest impact game in the Legends Division is a matchup that doesn't have much history.

Michigan State and Nebraska have played only three times since 1920, the last time coming in the 2003 Alamo Bowl (won by the Cornhuskers, 17-3). When they meet on Oct. 29 in Lincoln, the outlook of the division race will likely be shaped.

Both the Spartans and Cornhuskers will enter the season among the favorites to make it to Indianapolis for the first-ever Big Ten title game. Nebraska is coming off a 10-win season and a second consecutive appearance in the Big 12 championship game. Michigan State enjoyed a breakthrough 11-win campaign and a share of the Big Ten title in 2010.

We should know a lot about both teams by the time they hook up. Michigan State will have already played at Ohio State and faced Michigan and Wisconsin prior to its trip to Memorial Stadium. That's a rugged opening four-game conference set for Mark Dantonio's team.

Nebraska will have gotten a taste of Big Ten life after its Oct. 1 opener against Wisconsin and its Oct. 8 home date with Ohio State. The Cornhuskers will still have road games remaining with Penn State and Michigan in November. Welcome to the league, guys.

Both schools will be lucky to survive those schedules without getting bloody and bruised. Which is why their Oct. 29 game is so important. The loser could find itself out of the title race.