... 16 teams, Notre Dame may be reaching the conclusion that football independence may leave them on the outside looking in, especially as it pertains to the BCS and conference bowl tie-ins.

Before this story broke, I was under the belief that the Big Ten was leaning towards Missouri for its 12th member.  Missouri would enable the conference to stage a conference championship game, such as the SEC, the ACC, and the Big 12.

With Notre Dame possibly back in the mix for the first time since 1999, when Notre Dame rejected an invitation from the Big Ten, I believe the likely candidates would be Missouri, Notre Dame, and Rutgers, creating a fourteen team conference.  By doing so, the Big Ten would expand its television coverage vi...

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