Badgers 2014 football schedule heavy on rivalries, devoid of Eastern powers

The Big Ten released it's 2014 football schedule on Thursday afternoon and Wisconsin will have an interesting mix of games to say the least, but they also dodged a bullet or two as they won't see Michigan, Penn State, or Ohio State out of the East division. 

Instead they will face newcomers Maryland and Rutgers, doing so in back-to-back weeks actually. Additionally the Big Ten has gone all in on the rivalry tip, putting the biggest rivalry games in the final week of the season. For UW that means a date with Minnesota for Paul Bunyan's Axe and the chance at a decade of domination for the Badgers in that rivalry. 

Also of note is that Wisconsin's three biggest games inside the West division come down the stretch as it'll be back-to-back-to-back games against Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota. Without the big four schools from the East on the schedule that stretch should get the juices flowing, regardless of how good or bad Iowa and Minnesota may be in 2014 – that's three rivalry games in a row and if you as a fan can't get up for that, I'm not sure there's much in the way of help we can offer you.

Here is Wisconsin's full 2014 schedule as it is known now (courtesy of FBSschedules.com):