The Big Ten has announced a rule change for Saturdays football game at Wrigley Field. Northwestern University is playing Illinois at Wrigley Field Saturday. But with a twist. They say the the middle of the east end zone is too close to the playing field. So Eight months ago both schools and the Big Ten approved the layout of the field without any Safety Concerns . But after the field was layed out a conference official decided the heavily padded wall was a Safety hazard.
Maybe the stadium has had some changes since the Chicago Bears played their games there. Or the field was just lain out poorly for this game.
But for the Northwestern Vs Illinois game, all kickoffs will be to the East end of the field. At possession changes all offensive plays will be toward the West end zone. This being said, I wonder if, I am a defensive player and I intercept a pass, do I run East (as I should) or do I a reverse and run West. A coin flip was held by the conference Friday and Illinois will sit on the West end bench the 1st half, with Northwestern occupying the West end bench the 2nd half, and overtimes.
I realize that player safety is of utmost importance. But after a year of planning, couldn’t they have figured out a better layout or decide it could not be safely played. But to wait until Friday, the day before the game?
This could be an interesting thing. Probably a One Time Ever Event. I plan to watch just for the novelty. Game time is 3″30 pm EST, on ESPNU ( at least in my area).
Watch it. I’ll bet even the officials get confused.
That’s the way I see it.