Ohio State and Michigan have irrefutably the most intense rivalry in the Big Ten — maybe in all of college football — and tradition has it that the two teams play each other in the final game of each season.

But that tradition could be in jeopardy with talk of a Big Ten championship game, and players and coaches from both sides are lobbying to keep the schedule the same.

“I definitely feel that tradition should not be tampered with at all,” Ohio State senior defensive tackle Doug Worthington said. “I know everyone’s talking about having a playoff or whatnot, which would be fine and dandy for the conference … In my eyes, I couldn’t see not playing the Maize and Blue that last game.”

Even so, the conference has been under pressure to do anything and everything to resurrect its reputation as the top conference in the nation, which many think the Big Ten has ceded to the SEC in recent years. Iowa was the only Big Ten team to win a bowl game last season out of seven who participated in the postseason.

Many think that adding a later game to the schedule, and possibly a championship, could go a long way to producing bowl victories.

“I think we are at a disadvantage,” Penn State head coach Joe Paterno said. “I felt that way when we played Southern Cal this year. They had two games after we played, and it’s a home game for them. So I think it’s a tough deal for a Big Ten team to go out and play a team that’s had two good tough games after we’ve finished and we’re sitting around.”

But not all players are willing to concede that a lull in the schedule hurts them.

“The layoff, it doesn’t really faze us,” Michigan safety Stevie Brown said. “If you need another game before your bowl game to make sure you’re ready to play, I don’t necessarily see where that’s needed. It’s a bowl game — you should be fired up to play someone new.”

Another proposed way for the Big Ten to improve its postseason record is through increased competition in non-conference games.

Penn State, for example, does not play a team out of conference that won a bowl game last season.

“The 12th game, probably too often, has gone to an opponent that … that you have a really good chance of winning against, to be honest about it,” Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney said.

“I’m starting to think in my own mind that while six and six and going to a bowl is a good thing for some programs at some times, in other cases it’s really not a welcome development at all because it’s not what the school’s aspirations are.”

While conference coaches and athletic directors have not been able to agree on a single method to improve the Big Ten’s standing, the fact that improvement is crucial seemed to be the consensus.

“There’s a lot of things we’re talking about,” Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster said. “We’ve got to do a better job in the bowl games, but we need to help ourselves by possibly extending the season or doing some other things.”