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Former Kansas State Coach Bill Snyder is a legend in college football. Not just for making K-State relevant, but for his astounding non-conference schedules that presented not simply a minimal risk of loss, but usually guaranteed a 3 touchdown beatdown -- minimum. It would be compounded by rarely including a single road game and almost never an opponent from another BCS Conference. To honor the legacy of Coach Snyder, we bring you the FanHouse "Bill Snyder Award Honoring Excellence in the Scheduling of Creampuffs and Patsies".

As we look ahead to the Big Ten season, as noted yesterday, there aren't a ton of non-league matchups to be excited about. That said, we also don't have a lot of embarrassments when we look at the non-conference slates.

I really like Michigan's schedule, even though it features a I-AA team (at least it's the two-time champion Appalachian State) and there aren't any road games. Ohio State has two MAC teams and a I-AA team, but they travel to Washington for what could be a tough game. Iowa has roadies to Iowa State and Northern Illinois (at Soldier Field in Chicago). Purdue visits Toledo and hosts Notre Dame. Illinois plays Missouri in St. Louis and visits Syracuse. Northwestern has what should be a decent home game against Nevada, and they play Eastern Michigan at Ford Field in Detroit. Michigan State has a trip to Notre Dame, along with a home game against Pittsburgh. Penn State hosts Notre Dame. Even Wisconsin has an improved schedule, with home games against Washington State and Northern Illinois.

If you kept track, you'd notice that I ran off nine teams. There are eleven in the Big Ten, and I think we have two clear cut Bill Snyder Award candidates. Details on them after the jump.
Runner-up: Minnesota

The Gophers put together a superb Snyder Award candidacy, including a I-AA team (North Dakota State), two middle-of-the-road MAC teams (Bowling Green and Miami), and a I-A newbie (Florida Atlantic).

They made two mistakes that cost them the Snyder Award. First, they scheduled an NDSU team that they thrashed 10-9 last year, so there might actually be a chance that they'll lose that game. Also, they agreed to play Florida Atlantic in Miami, where the Owls hope to attract a big enough crowd to keep them from getting in attendance trouble with the NCAA overlords (FAU averaged less than 10,000 per game last year).

It's an impressive Snyder-like schedule for Tim Brewster's first year, but it's not quite enough to take home top honors in the Big Ten.

Winner: Indiana

Maybe IU is plotting to join the MAC.

The Hoosiers have set themselves up for another fast start in 2007, as they will open with an Indiana State team that went 1-10 last year in Division I-AA. Yes, Indiana lost to Southern Illinois last year, and Nicholls State took them to the brink in 2005, but they beat Indiana State 33-3 in their last meeting (2003). That's followed by a trip to Western Michigan that's not a terrible matchup. Akron and Ball State, also from the MAC, will visit Bloomington for the Hoosiers' other non-league games.

Matching this up with Minnesota's schedule, Indiana State is clearly a bigger cupcake than North Dakota State, who actually has formed a pretty strong I-AA program. Akron and Ball State are inferior to Bowling Green and Miami, and while Western Michigan is a tougher road opponent than Florida Atlantic, it's not a tough enough game to make up the difference.

The Gophers tried valiantly, but Indiana has won the inaugural FanHouse "Bill Snyder Award Honoring Excellence in the Scheduling of Creampuffs and Patsies" for the Big Ten.

Previously at FanHouse
The Countdown Begins: Top Games in the Big Ten