Campus sites will be used for Big Ten's Week 9 schedule

The Big Ten Conference plans to play all of it's Week 9 games on campus sites other than the 11 am championship game in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Schools were notified on Wednesday morning of the plans.

The email said Big Ten home stadiums would be used for the Week 9 crossover games, and final match-ups may not be known until Monday.

A lot will depend on the status of teams like Indiana, Purdue and Michigan who currently have paused team activities because of COVID-19 outbreaks in their program.

The email to the schools also said there would be both Friday and Saturday games on Dec. 18 and Dec. 19.

There have been reports already that the league was looking to have two Friday games on Dec. 18 if things work out.

There has also been a strong public push by both Wisconsin and Minnesota to play each other on Week 9, which would force two teams from the East to square off as well.

There are still lots of unknowns about the Big Ten's Week 9, but the warmer weather pattern in the Midwest makes it much easier to stage these games outdoors, vs. paying the cost to rent multiple dome venues and traveling all 14 teams to neutral locations.

Temperatures in Lincoln are projected to be 46 degrees on Dec. 18-19 as we sit 10 days out.