OT: Only one endzone to be used for NU/UI

I think the other endzone is more dangerous with that railing being just off the back right of the endzone. Player and fan injuries could ensue.

Are they going to do "laces or spaces" to determine who gets the ball first and who gets first pick?

to Evanston.  This is becoming a bad joke.

I Randy Mossed the neighbor kid Timmy for the game winning TD. Man was this a good idea!

That makes it a little better but still. There shouldn't be a risk like this anyways.

did NOT think this out well at all. Why didn't they just put the field like it was back in the day when they did it? It looks like they switched the orientation of the field

Uhhhh... am I missing something? How the hell would that work?

Wow.  I'm glad this all was planned out so well in, you know, advance.

OMG this is beyond funny.  I'm going to be at the game on Saturday but rest assured the NU game is going to getting DVR'd in my house.  WTF are they going to do on turnovers?  Blow the whistle mid-play or just have everyone turn around once they hit the 50? 

Sounds like a halfcourt basketball game to me.

I'm beginning to think they didn't plan this out very well. Their approximate thought process, "Let's make sure the field fits in as tight as possible. We don't want any of that space going to waste."

Followed by, "What's that about player safety? Don't worry, they were pads don't they?"

/s

Probably for the best, but man this whole thing has become such an embarrassing debacle.

I wonder if the brainiacs who came up with this whole thing are still employed??

i'll be all-time QB!

They should just make it like middle school when we only had half a court to play basketball on with takebacks. Those were the days.

Fail

They should make each yard 2.8 feet. That would add to the back of the end zone a total of . . . Mathlete? Little help here?

This makes playing a basketball game on the deck of an aircraft carrier look like a model of conservative prudence.

This makes that stupid bowl in SF (Poinsettia) where the 2 teams share a sideline seem like a cool idea.

Big Ten commissioner James E. Delany said in the statement. "Both Illinois and Northwestern did significant due diligence over the past 18 months, but after seeing the actual layout of the field, all parties felt that it was appropriate to adjust the rules to further enhance the safety of our student-athletes. Wrigley Field is one of the most historic venues in the country, and playing the Illinois-Northwestern game at this facility will provide a once-in-a-lifetime experience for student-athletes, coaches and fans."

I'll say.  It's a once-in-a-lifetime clusterfuck.  Like, say, the Chicago Cubs.  Another in the century-long comedy of errors that is Northwestern football and Wrigley Field.  Personally, I think that they should put a couple of kegs on the field, get the players to go shirts-and-skins, and play 7-on-7 flag football.  Northwestern football fans are unlikely to know the difference.  Illinois fans are unlikely to care.  Cubs fans will be happy to see some guys finally making some decent throws.

What I think is interesting is that neither team will be at an advantage or disadvantage due to the wind, particularly in the kicking game. Plus, with both teams on the same sideline this is going to look like a weird pick-up game but with better equipment.

No decorating.

Is it "4-Mississippi" on the rush, too?  One blitz every four downs?

...from darth delaney's statement:

"Both Illinois and Northwestern did significant due diligence over the past 18 months,"

really, jim?  do you really believe that?  really?

this had better show up in "this week in schadenfreude," that's all i have to say.

...for when he has to throw off.

Landmines and fire pits to the field a la Mutant League Football

The fans in the east endzone are going to be treated like the UM fans in the prison-high school seating bleachers at Purdue.

Now this has become truly odd! This venu was obviously a bad idea, and it makes the Big Ten look awful for allowing it.

With all the time NW had to plan this game, how do you mess it up?

"If you run past the trash can and the light pole you're out of bounds"

Upcoming press release from ESPN: "College Gameday to air3 1/2 hour feature on poor planning Saturday at 3:30 ET."

There is a way to fit a full field into Wrigley.  It's been done.  On many occasions.  Yet they decided to try to jam the field in on this orientation instead.  Awesome.  At least it's becoming must see TV with these bizarre decisions on layout and rules.

I still think it's a cool idea to play at Wrigley field. Yes, it's lame that they have to change sides of the field with each change of possession, but whatever. It's better that than to have a player injured by RUNNING INTO A WALL. (Remember that Houston player who broke his leg on the cart positioned too close to the field? Wall > cart.) It's much, much better that they are being safe, and if I were a player I'd be perfectly fine only playing offense one way if I had a chance to play in a unique environment like Wrigley field.

And yes, for people who are asking how it will work, they are going to have teams change sides of the field for each change of possession:

All offensive plays will head toward the west end zone, including all extra points and all overtime possessions.

So wow, everyone relax and just enjoy the game for what it is - a fun game in a unique setting, where people are trying to keep the kids safe.

There is no way this can work.  What do they do if a fumble or INT is going to be taken for a score?

'Make it,take it" will also be in full effect

from the Big Ten:

at least they are doing something in the interest of the players for once

honestly, did no one look at a blue print or a layout of the field until they put it in place?

i can't believe anyone approved that in the first place

Although, there might be a marketing genius behind this. How else are you going to get the the nation to watch Illinois/Northwestern. ZZzzzz. If it's on, I'm gonna tune in for a few series for the laughs.

It has been proven beyond a doubt that we are smarter than Northwestern.

flag football or 7 on 7 and get it over with.

What a joke....that, or like others have said:  make the field 10-15% smaller.

Rest in peace, Harry Carey.

The game should have been Minnesota-Indiana and then they would only need zero endzones.

The only thing that would make this more of a disaster (read: even more hilarious) would be if it rained on Saturday and they had to deal with a mud pit on an uncrowned field.

I hadn't seen this one commented on, but it raises an interesting problem:

• All offensive plays will head toward the west end zone, including all extra points and all overtime possessions.

So, yeah. On a defensive touchdown, they will have to go all the way to the other end of the field just to kick the extra point.

• All kickoffs will be kicked toward the east end zone.

Losers walk!

This is bad news. I was really looking forward to watching players fly into the padded wall, Arena Football (or American Gladiators) style.

I can't wait to watch this game and all the hilarity that is sure to ensue. Great planning.They really thought this one out for sure.

Every year I run into the same issues as the folks that set up Wrigley Field.  In my backyard I'm a little short in yardage as well, so I just go straight from the 20-yard line to the 50.  No big deal, and really , few people even notice because they're mesmerized by the lights.  Having attended many, many games over the years, without question there are plenty of people attending the game tomorrow that wouldn't even notice if the 30 and the 40 yard lines were missing. 

For the math wizards, its 1/2-scale.  **Note: with 40-yards "removed" from the middle of the field, of course.

And yes, this was before the block M was painted on.  My neighbors here in OH love me.

I'm now a lot more interested in watching this game than I was before.  Seriously.  (It would kind of suck to have tickets in the "no-offense" endzone, though.)

That's pretty embarrassing.

To be honest, I thought the subject line of this post meant that in overtime ("OT"), they would use only one endzone -- that is, they wouldn't switch sides. 

Just read the ESPN article though for the correct reading.  This is really, really strange.  But it has to be the right choice given the safety concerns.  Although, I wonder how much it would have cost for the single game to change the physical infrastructure enough to give some space behind the end zone?

And, as others have pointed out, it's not like the endzone they are using is actually so safe...

I would hate to be the people who sit in the endzone that is blocked off. The action will be going away from them the whole game.

Looks safe to me.

Love,

Brian Kelly

By the way, what I really love about this game is that it has totally obscured Notre Dame's game at Yankee Stadium tomorrow.  That game has been completely forgotten by most people.

The decision to play only one direction really pisses me off.  I was planning to watch this game just because I thought the wall of death would add an interesting strategic element.  Now it is just another boring game that I will ignore.  Shame on whoever planned this and then chickened out.  It's not like this wasn't understood from the beginning.  The stadium did not shrink.  Pussies.

All I know is it's going to be really hard for the NU kids to lake the posts.  Traffic on Addison is murder around game time and it's a much longer walk to the beach.  Plus somebody could get hurt when they try to pass them over the bleacher wall onto Sheffield.

Its 2 completions for a 1st down, right?

Ok, with like 150 comments, I'm certainly not gonna add anything new. But I just got home from a long, long day and saw this news about using only one endzone. It got my blood boiling, so I felt the need to rant.

This fucking bullshit must stop. Playing in unique locations to make a buck, or whatever other dumbass reason they can come up with. Does anyone wanna see, say, UM/MSU at Comerica Park? FUCK NO. This UI/NU thing is just DUMB. Wrigley Field Capacity = 41160. NU Stadium = 47130. The travel distance is negligible. Why the hell did NU agree to this??? What new version of crack has come out that people smoked and came up with this dumbfuck idea???   And now..... because of pure idiocy on the part of everyone involved.... they have to CHANGE THE FUCKING RULES OF FOOTBALL in order to play the game there!!!   How goddamn dumb is this?????    How long, in the interest of making a fucking extra buck, will it be before they decide to have season-opening games played in.... oh, i dunno.... Dubai??  (Although, for some reason, I must say this sounds like something Notre Dame would agree to.)

This dumbassitude makes me want to tear my fingernails out one by one. AaaaaaahhhH!!!!!!

Ok, rant done. Thanks for reading.

Oh wait...