College football and beer - if there are two things that go together better than those... well, you get the picture. Last season Minnesota began to sell booze and beer to the patrons of TCF Bank Stadium. It should've been a slam dunk, hit a home run, empty the kids' wallets of all their disposable income type move. Instead somehow they managed to lose money selling booze in their stadium.

No, seriously.... A booze selling endeavor at a college actually lost money. Surely you are asking the same question we here were: How the hell is that possible?

If you believe the spin from Minnesota's higher up's it was because they were focused on stopping underage drinking and that's how they lost out on those precious $16,000 dollars. 

From the article:

“Making money on it is not really the main purpose of it,” Allen said. “We’re more interested in being sure that we can control the sale of it.”

Ya, sure... That's it, because no booze hungry freshman or sophomore has ever found a way around the underage drinking bans in the history of bars or booze at stadiums.

After a day off to enjoy some great weather and a little Sunday Funday activities it's back to the countdown here at The B1G Time. For the 2nd straight time on our list we've got a first entrant for a team, this time from the Nebraska Cornhuskers. 

However, we are sticking with the same position after we left you with a look at No. 17 Cody Latimer of the Indiana Hoosiers. As we enter the 2013 season a pattern seems to be emerging in that most of the talent at the skill positions are coming from juniors or sophomores, indicating that the best is probably yet to come for a lot of the conference. 

Before we get into the next player on the list, let us remind you of what criteria we used to make our Top 25 list. We used things like importance to your team, overall skill at your position, records set, past performance, conference honors (coaches, media, our list too), and the good old-fashioned eye test.

The heavy hitters of the Big Ten schools have held the vast majority of spots in our Top 25 Players countdown, including Jordan Hall of Ohio State coming in at No. 18 when we last left you in our countdown. However, today we give you an up and coming team and a player that has already arrived, you just don't know it yet. 

Before we get into only the 2nd non OSU, MSU, or Wisconsin player, let us remind you of what criteria we used to make our Top 25 list. We used things like importance to your team, overall skill at your position, records set, past performance, conference honors (coaches, media, our list too), and the good old-fashioned eye test.

If you don't know the name of our No. 17 player by now, you sure will by the time 2013 is over and so will the NFL, that's how talented he is. 

Ohio State ended last season undefeated and the actual Big Ten Leaders division champions, so it shouldn't surprise anyone that OSU players dot our Preseason Top 25 Players list, but the name on it today may surprise a few who live year-to-year in there following of college football. 

Same for yesterday's player, Zac Epping, who emerged late in 2012 as a significant player on the offensive line. See a theme here? We're not going to blow smoke at you and there was a large amount of thought behind our staff votes. 

Speaking of that, before we get into the third Buckeye on our list, let us remind you of what criteria we used to make our Top 25 list. We used things like importance to your team, overall skill at your position, records set, past performance, conference honors (coaches, media, our list too), and the good old-fashioned eye test.

Having said that, let's get into a player who's best days may be ahead of him in 2013, barring injury of course.... 

We've reached the teens!!! O.k., not sure if that's something to celebrate as most of us wouldn't want to go back for the life of us, but here on the countdown that's a damn good thing. It means we are one step closer to solving the puzzle of who we see as the best player in the Big Ten heading into the 2013 football season. 

Yesterday it was the reining player of the year at tight end, Jacob Pedersen, from Wisconsin making an appearance at No. 20. So, it's perhaps only fitting that up next is a player from the Border Battle rivals, Minnesota.

Before we get into the other half of the Battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe, let us remind you of what criteria we used to make our Top 25 list. We used things like importance to your team, overall skill at your position, records set, past performance, conference honors (coaches, media, our list too), and the good old-fashioned eye test.

Now, let us take a look at our 2nd offensive lineman on this list, a name that may surprise a few of you for his inclusion. He's also the youngest player to appear on our list to date, being a redshirt junior in a sea of seniors so far.

We gave you a quick overview of the 2014 football schedule release earlier today, noting that rivalries are first and foremost in the minds of the Big Ten, putting the biggest of them on the final weekend of the season and all. 

However, there are a lot of interesting things happening all over the individual schedules. In that vain, we are here to break down each schools schedule and give you the winners and losers in this deal. Additionally, you'll see each breakdown happen in order of toughest to easiest schedule. 

Enjoy and let the breaking down begin!! 

1. Rutgers: How's this little stretch for you - Penn State, BYE, Michigan, BYE, at Ohio State, at Nebraska, Wisconsin. Not sure that's exactly the welcome the Scarlet Knights were hoping for. However, they'll know exactly where they stand in the pecking order of the conference with that stretch. All four are bad news for trying to be competitive off the bat. Sure, it was going to be tough no matter what moving into the division they are in, but then getting the top of the West as well. DAMN.

2014 will spark a new era in the Big Ten with the additions of Maryland and Rutgers to the conference fold. It also meant the Big Ten needed to redo it's conference schedules for football and earlier this afternoon the Big Ten announced the 2014 slate of games (which you can find in full here). 

The biggest takeaway from it all? Try the Big Ten going all-in on rivalry weekend to end the season. Every single game played over the final weekend of the season is a rivalry game and it's perhaps the smartest move the conference could make. 

Getting OSU vs. Michigan, Wisconsin vs. Minnesota, Penn State vs. Michigan State, Nebraska vs. Iowa, Indiana vs. Purdue, Northwestern vs. Illinois, and Rutgers vs. Maryland all on the same weekend will make a national audience want to tune in to Big Ten football and isn't that the ultimate goal?