ESPN College Football

The Big Ten lost one of its own today in New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. The Boss earned his Master's degree at Ohio State from 1954-55 and served as a grad assistant under Buckeyes legendary football coach Woody Hayes. Steinbrenner went on to serve as an assistant at both Northwestern (1955-56) and Purdue (1956-57) before entering the shipping business.

Although he made his name as a baseball owner, his roots in football were obvious with how he ran the Yankees. RIP.

• Purdue shocked no one by naming Robert Marve its starting quarterback for preseason camp, but plenty of questions remain elsewhere, Mike Carmin writes in The (Lafayette) Journal and Courier.
• Solider Field will put its name in the hat for a potential Big Ten championship game, Teddy Greenstein writes in the Chicago Tribune.
• Michigan is putting the finishing touches on the renovated Big House, annarbor.com's Jeff Arnold writes.
• When remembering the Penn State-Nebraska series, don't forget the 2002 matchup, Jared Shanker writes in The (Harrisburg) Patriot-News. Lions recruit Shawn Oakman also will hoop it up in Happy Valley, Philip Cmor writes in The Altoona Mirror.
• Michigan State linebacker Max Bullough has a family legacy with the Spartans, Joe Rexrode writes in the Lansing State Journal. The Spartans pick up two recruits from Wisconsin, Shannon Shelton writes in the Detroit Free Press.
• Illinois tackle Corey Lewis likely will redshirt this season with a torn ACL he suffered at the end of a stellar spring, Joe Miegoc writes in the Pocono Record.
• Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema shoots down a rumor about incoming recruit Beau Allen's health, Tom Mulhern writes in the Wisconsin State Journal.
• Iowa's latest recruit brings some major size to the defensive line, Andy Hamilton writes in the Iowa City Press-Citizen. What's the No. 4 game of the Kirk Ferentz era? Mike Hlas goes with the Iowa-Michigan contest in 2002, Scott Dochterman goes with last year's game at Ohio State, while The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette readers go with the 2010 Orange Bowl.
• It probably never will happen, but a Big Ten-SEC football challenge would be a lot of fun, Dochterman writes.

The mercury is supposed to hit 90 degrees this week in Chicago, so forgive me for being a little reluctant to write about snow, sleet, ice, frost and any other reminders of winter. While I can't wait for early September, thinking about early December gets me a bit depressed.

That said, I'm a man of the people, and this morning, I'm all about the brrrr.

It's funny how almost every Big Ten football topic seems to trace back to Big Ten weather. Shows how the climate is such a major part of the league's fabric. When we think Big Ten, we think snow, we think cold, we think this.

When it comes to a potential football championship game, the Big Ten's first must determine if it wants one. The league must decide whether before it can consider weather.

Pretty much everyone expects the Big Ten to say yes to a title game, at which point the bids from different venues around the Midwest will begin to roll in. The expected candidates include indoor venues like Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis), Ford Field (Detroit) and the Metrodome (Minneapolis), as well as outdoor venues like Cleveland Browns Stadium and Soldier Field (Chicago).

From the Chicago Tribune:

Soldier Field general manager Tim LeFevour told the Tribune on Monday that if and when the game is announced, his group "absolutely" has interest in hosting it.

"We'll take a very strong look at it and put together a proposal," said LeFevour.

It's no surprise that a potential Big Ten championship game would garner tons of interest. For the venues, it's a no-brainer ($$$+national exposure).

But what's best for the Big Ten?

The league could pick a permanent venue for its title game or go with a rotation. The SEC has found a great fit in Atlanta's Georgia Dome after playing its first two title games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. The Big 12 has rotated its championship game between sites in Missouri (Arrowhead Stadium, Edward Jones Dome) and Texas (Texas Stadium, Alamodome, Reliant Stadium, Texas Stadium, Jerry World).

Although the Big 12's model hasn't worked out great, I think a Big Ten rotation could be really cool. Maybe alternate indoor and outdoor each year.

The safe choices for the Big Ten are unquestionably the indoor facilities, particularly Lucas Oil Stadum and Ford Field. The weather wouldn't affect game operations, logistics would be easier and everyone would be comfortable.

But this is the Big Ten, and we don't care about being comfortable. We love feeling the brrr.

If a championship game is supposed to reflect a league, maybe the Big Ten should go outside on the first Saturday of December.

The first Big Ten title game likely would be played on Dec. 3, 2011.

Here are the average high and low temperatures on Dec. 3 for the outdoor NFL stadiums located in the Big Ten footprint (from Weather Underground):

Chicago (Soldier Field): High of 36, low of 26

Cleveland (Browns Stadium): High of 43, low of 33

Green Bay (Lambeau Field): High of 34, low of 18

Cincinnati (Paul Brown Stadium): High of 46, low of 30

Pittsburgh (Heinz Field): High of 47, low of 29

Actually, not too frigid. Big Ten players, coaches and fans certainly could handle it.

I wouldn't fault the Big Ten for choosing an indoor facility, and Lucas Oil makes the most sense to me. But it would be pretty sweet to see the title game decided outside, the way Big Ten football has always been played (save for Minnesota's stay in the Metrodome).

Big Ten weather, all the way!

(Just as long as the press box is heated.)