Big Ten Reverses Course on Plus One
Led by comments from Northwestern's AD and Big Ten Administrators Council member Jim Phillips, it seems the conference is listening to fans and open to a four team playoff. In the proposal apparently discussed by the Big Ten, the top four teams would be removed from the BCS pool with "semifinal" games played at the home of the higher seed. The Championship game could then be bid out. Commissioner Jim Delany would not comment on specifics, waiting to receive feedback from member institutions. Delany did say that they are trying to do the right thing for fans without adversely affecting the positives of the current college football landscape.
Kansas City, MO
2/7/2012
One of the most interesting parts of the article are the comments on the BCS and bowl system. Proposals have been made for a seven win requirement to play in a bowl game, along with possibly moving up the BCS game timetable due to how late the game is played.
KC, MO
2/7/2012
Great news. I have no problem with these proposals. I’m sure they aren’t perfect (they aren’t my ideal scenario), but definitely a step in the right direction.
2/7/2012
I love this proposal b/c it would create HOME games for the higher ranked teams. For the B1G (NU included!) this would be a great shift from always having to play warm-weather teams in their home areas. Bring Florida State to Lincoln in December. GOOD TIMES!
2/7/2012
Darren
Theres only one problem with that statement.. More than likely the SEC will still have an inside track at having a home game.. LEts face it , if theres two SEC teams in the top four and they have 1 loss or less, they will more than likely be the #1 or #2 team and still get the home bid..
2/7/2012
Twauto22 - that’s a pretty small sample size. Has the SEC dominated the last 5 years? Yes. Is that certain to continue? Not likely. Things ebb and flow.
As recently as 2006, Michigan and Ohio State played at the end of the regular season as the #1 and #2 teams.
The Big 12 has also had seasons were they had multiple teams in the top 5 as the season neared a close. Remember the UT, OU, TT snafu?
In 2007, Missouri and Kansas (!) were both in the top 4 when they met to end the regular season.
Remember when the Big 8 (that’s right, just 8 schools!) had three teams in the top 10, even the top 5?
Don’t let the *recent* media bias toward all things SEC get in the way of the facts. Other conferences are absolutely capable of putting a team - or teams - in the final 4.
Conference strengths change year to year and decade to decade. There is absolutely a chance that some “Northern” school, whether that is Ohio State, Nebraska, Pitt or Boise State or anyone else could have a chance to host a playoff game with a southern school as the visitor. As a Husker loyalist, that’s all I need to hear.
2/8/2012
Just the fact that it’s Delaney and the B1G is cause for excitement. Delaney/B1G has been the single biggest obstacle toward anything that would resemble a playoff. It’s wonderful to see him actually looking to take the reins and steer the discussion toward a playoff.
It will be better than what we have now, but the devil will be in the details. For example: How is the revenue to be shared? How will the “final four” be selected/seeded? Will a selection committee finally be assembled for the purpose, or do we keep the ridiculous part-human-part-computer-always-biased-cyborg ratings system we have now for the BCS?
If I were to be suspicious of Delaney’s sudden change of heart, it would be on the revenue-sharing question. For everyone who has wanted to see the have-not non-AQ’s get a little better piece of the pie, I can imagine the playoff plans moving forward in a way that does exactly the opposite… and Delaney would be the guy steering it that way. I think the hidden, unintended (except to Delaney and others) consiquence of a 4-team playoff will be the exclusion of current non-AQ’s in the mix. ConfUSA, Mountain West, these mid-majors can pretty much forget about getting to a final four with no rules on qualification other than the BCS standings and polls.
However… it will still better than what we have now, and better by an order of magnitude. With Delaney pushing some form of a four-team playoff, for the first time in 15 years, I’m confident it will actually happen.