Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel made news earlier this week when he stated that independents should be obligated to join a conference. Given the backdrop of college football conference expansion, Pinkel’s comments certainly make a lot of sense. With his recent statements in mind, the Big 10 should consider expansion once again.

The larger implications of Pinkel’s comments on Monday is that independents such as Notre Dame, BYU and Army must be forced to join a conference, or not be allowed to participate in the College Football Playoff. With the talk of conference expansion again in the air, especially regarding the Big 12, maybe it is time for the Big 10 to also join the conversation – even though expansion is highly unlikely to the conference.

The most obvious target for another hypothetical expansion of the Big 10 is Notre Dame. If the NCAA were to put Pinkel’s words into action, it would be a simple matter of common sense for the conference to extend an offer for Notre Dame to become the 15th member.

Of course, given Notre Dame football’s history of remaining independent, such an offer would likely be met with fierce opposition. The Irish’s status as an independent as both allowed the program maintain rivalries with diverse schools such as USC, Michigan, Stanford, Navy and others, and a lucrative TV contract with NBC. Joining a conference would necessitate eliminating these rivalries and joining a new network.

For a number of reasons, though, if Notre Dame were to join any new football conference, the Big 10 would definitely be a top option. From a geographic standpoint, the conference would make a lot of sense given its proximity to Chicago and other Midwestern cities.

Past history also indicates the success of the expansion of the Big 10, given the assimilation of the Penn State and Nebraska football programs, and the recent assimilation of Maryland‘s basketball program.

Notre Dame also has continuing rivalries with multiple Big 10 teams such as Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue. Joining the conference would allow them to continue their historical rivalries with the programs listed above. Even with four non-conference games on the schedule, Notre Dame could still continue their rivalries with the likes of USC, Stanford, Navy and others.

The biggest obstacle that would preclude the conference from expanding to include Notre Dame is the fact that the Irish are already in the ACC for every other sport outside of football. This would likely mean that they would have to move out of the ACC entirely. At the same time, though, simply from a travel standpoint, it would make sense for Notre Dame to move from the ACC to the Big 10.

Like it or not, conference expansion is likely to continue for the foreseeable future in college football. Given that inevitable fact, the Big 10 should once again get in on the conference expansion conversation. Furthermore, with the status of the college football independents possibly at stake, the conference should consider – even if not seriously – adding one of the sport’s most iconic programs.

Dan is a Big 10 Football Beat Writer for www.RantSports.com. You can follow him on Twitter @danescalona77.