Montlake Musings: Big Ten life was already tough — then Indiana became a behemoth

Washington knew it would face greater competition in the Big Ten. It did not know Indiana would be defending a national title in 2026.

Conference realignment already had you bracing for Washington’s new reality.

Instead of battling Oregon and USC for Pac-12 heavyweight status, you knew Washington would now have to contend for conference supremacy with Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and the Ducks and Trojans — at least — and that UW would do so while receiving a half-share of media-rights money, and with all the travel challenges inherent to joining a league based in the midwest and east coast.

You also knew that, alongside its heavyweights, the Big Ten carries its share of punching bags like Purdue, Rutgers, Maryland and, of course, Indiana, which until this season had lost the most games in college football history (another league foe, Northwestern, owns that distinction for now). Hit enough of those in a single season, miss a blueblood or two, catch the right home/road combination, and maybe the schedule, in an 18-team league, in the right year, could be more advantageous than not.

Except … what was it Dan Lanning told my pal Tyson Alger a while back? Something about the rabbit having the gun?

Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers wield a bazooka.