According to ESPN's Ivan Maisel, Penn State Head Coach Joe Paterno is lobbying within the Big 10 conference for expansion to a 12 team league.  JoePa feels that it would be beneficial to the Big 10 regarding BCS and bowl positioning for league teams:

"We go into hiding for six weeks," Paterno said, referring to the hiatus between the end of the Big Ten regular season and the BCS bowls. The other major FBS conferences play into the first weekend of December.

"Everybody else is playing playoffs on television," Paterno said. "You never see a Big Ten team mentioned. So I think that's a handicap.

And of course, one of the teams that JoePa would consider adding would be Rutgers University:

"I've tried to talk to the Big Ten people about, 'Let's get a 12th team -- Syracuse, Rutgers, Pitt -- we could have a little bit of a playoff.'"

The Big Ten currently sits at 11 teams, and NCAA rules mandate that the minimum number of teams in a conference for a playoff is twelve.  Hopefully we've all passed intermediate algebra and realize that 11+1=12.  The Big Ten has taken numerous hits over the last few years with it's lack of marquee wins in signature games and choke jobs in the BCS.  I guess the thinking is that a Big Ten Championship game would further promote the league, and prevent a team with an advantageous unbalanced schedule from stealing the Conference Title. 

If, and that's a HUGE if, the Big Ten ever did look to expand, Rutgers would have to be on the short list of teams that it would look to add.  Rutgers has a good academic reputation, would be a natural rival to Penn State and is located in a major market that the Big Ten would love to take advantage of. 

What do you think?  If Rutgers had the chance should they jump ship to the Big Ten?  Leave your comments....

UPDATE:  Not that anyone really believed that Paterno's comments would change anything, but Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney officially put the kibosh on any thoughts of expansion in the near future.