Big Ten taking no chances with east end zone at Wrigley

Go west, young men.

At all times.

For, perhaps, the first time in college football history.

Northwestern's grand Wrigley Field experiment became even more of a national phenomenon Friday when Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany determined the eastern end of the field to be too risky for a normal game.

After Delany and the league's head of officials triggered a discussion about safety with Northwestern and Illinois on Thursday afternoon then conducted another teleconference at 7 a.m. Friday the Big Ten announced both offenses will run all of their plays toward the west end zone in today's game (2:35 p.m., ESPNU).

Initial research suggests there's no precedence for this in major-college football.

“Amen to the Big Ten Conference for taking leadership on this,” said Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald. “It's never too late to think about safety, ever, and I'm proud of Commissioner Delany. It's going to be unbelievable tomorrow, I can't wait for it.”

The Big Ten's decision addresses the right-field wall's proximity to the east end zone. Underneath the uprights, there's just one foot between the back of the end zone and the six-inch padding covering the brick wall.

NCAA rules demand at least 12 feet of clearance beyond the field. And if a field such as Wrigley has unique dimensions that make that impossible, then there must be 6 feet of clearance.

Delany told ESPN.com Friday night that the league wasn't aware of those rules until Wednesday.

“Once it was obvious to me there is a rule in play and we weren't close to being in compliance with it,” Delany told ESPN.com, “it was a no-brainer.”

There's also a problem along the wall that's beyond the visitor's bullpen. Inside the 20-yard line, the wall is just 1 yard from being in play.

“They made a decision that's in the best interests of the players' safety,” said Illinois coach Ron Zook late Friday afternoon after his team had a 30-minute walkthrough. “I think it's still a neat venue. I think it's exciting. I think our guys are excited about it.

“To me, there's probably a little less strategy involved (due to the ruling). Everybody's going to be doing the same thing. You're kicking the same way. You're punting the same way.”

All kickoffs will go from west to east, but punts, field goals and extra points will be handled from east to west.

There will still be four ways for a team to score in the east end zone: Safety, punt return, blocked punt or defensive return of a fumble or interception.

Also as part of Friday's ruling, the Big Ten decided the teams need to rotate the benches since they're sharing the north sideline.

A coin flip at the league office determined Illinois gets the west portion of the sideline in the first half and Northwestern gets it thereafter.

The league also defused the biggest competition-related issue with the shared sideline: The long run from the eastern part of the sideline when on defense.

“If you substitute, the umpire is supposed to give the opposing team an opportunity to match the substitution,” Zook said. “And the other thing is, if you run off the field, you don't necessarily have to be in your team box.

“You have to run off (to) your sideline, but if we're on the other end and our guys run off the field on their side and team box ... they're just going to escort them through and get to your team box.”

For all the discussion of the east end zone, the west end zone doesn't fulfill the NCAA rules either. From the northwest corner of that end zone, there's less than three yards to the first row of seats.

The Cubs dugout, which has been covered with padding and wood, also is in close proximity to the goal post.

Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips, the driving force for the Allstate Wrigleyville Classic, sounded disappointed during multiple media opportunities Friday, but he understood why the Big Ten made its move.

“In the end, the decision came down to, were we more concerned with the disappointment or were we more concerned about the safety?” Phillips said. “We feel the game will be a great afternoon, a great spectacle, it will have an awful lot of terrific elements to it, two terrific teams and this doesn't take away any of the excitement our student-athletes feel.

“It isn't ideal, but at the end of the day we were most concerned about making the right decision.”

Illinois (5-5, 3-4) vs. Northwestern (7-3, 3-3)

When: 2:30 p.m. Satureday at Wrigley Field

TV: ESPNU; Radio: WGN 720-AM, WIND 560-AM

Series: Illinois leads 52-46-5

Coaches: Ron Zook (26-44, sixth year at Illinois; 49-58 overall); Pat Fitzgerald (34-26, fifth year at NU)

Illini players to watch: Believe it or not, Illinois had just one first-team all-Big Ten running back in the last 25 years. Junior Mikel Leshoure is on the way toward joining Rashard Mendenhall as he ranks behind only Michigan QB Denard Robinson in rushing (1,041 yards) and leads the league in TDs (15). MLB Martez Wilson ranks second in the league with 94 tackles while QB Nathan Scheelhaase hasn't thrown an interception in four full games.

NU players to watch: With QB Dan Persa out for the year with a ruptured Achilles tendon, redshirt freshman Evan Watkins gets his first start. He hit 3 of 7 passes for 44 yards in four relief appearances this year. RB Mike Trumpy becomes NU's primary rushing threat. He's averaging 55 yards per game in Big Ten play, but he also caught a career-high 5 passes for 55 yards last week against Iowa. DE Vince Browne ranks second in the Big Ten with 7 sacks and third with 13 tackles for loss.

The skinny: The Wrigley Field experience added another unique characteristic with the Big Ten's ruling on Friday that all offensive drives must head toward the west end zone. That ought to resolve some of the game-planning issues associated with driving toward the east end zone, though there are still some tight spots just beyond the west end zone. This game should revolve around how frequently Watkins can exploit Illinois' weak secondary. In the last two weeks, the Illini allowed 644 yards and 7 TDs through the air... and that doesn't take into account Minnesota's plentiful dropped passes last week. On the flip side, Northwestern has allowed three 100-yard rushing performances in the last two weeks. The Leshoure/Scheelhaase tag team needs to exceed their average of 162.8 yards per game for the Illini to control the ball and the scoreboard.

Bowl ramifications: With a win, Illinois all but ensures its first bid since 2007. The Illini would clinch a Big Ten-affiliated bowl if they win while Purdue and Indiana lose. If NU wins, the Wildcats clinch no worse than a spot in the TicketCity Bowl on Jan. 1 in Dallas.