The Big XII was the first Power 5 conference to be snubbed by the CFB selection committee in this first year of the new system. TCU and Baylor, who tied atop the Big XII standings, were both hoping for one of the four slots in the inaugural format. Despite both teams winning quality games this past weekend, they were left out in favor of teams that won conference championship games.
CFP Selections: All about Greedy Money
Bob Bowlsby, commissioner of the Big XII, has caught heat for not “declaring “ a champion for the CFB committee. However, let us not forget this has been a practice of the Big XII for years, the crowning of teams tied for titles in all sports. Right after the selections were made, Bowlsby admitted the league was “penalized for not having a postseason championship game.” For 15 years, the Big XII, then 12 teams, held a conference championship game. Since 2011, the league shrunk to ten teams and now, has lost out on another national championship berth.
Back in 2011, Oklahoma State was also penalized for not playing in a conference championship game. Although this was in the old BCS system, Alabama edged OSU by .0082 to earn the #2 spot in the national championship game. This year, Baylor would have been #4 in the BCS rankings.
Before we criticize the Big XII for no conference championship, it is an NCAA bylaw that a ten-team conference can’t hold a championship game. If set up in this system of round-robin play, we would always be given a rematch. Again, taking away the head-to-head aspect that the committee has said it would put a premium on. We saw the depth was not big enough this year to bring eight teams in to the mix, except the concept of six would have worked perfect this season. Not many would argue that the top two teams could be given a first-round bye. Wasn’t the real battle in those four other teams in the top six? This was a committee that selected profits over matchups to make this inaugural year all about greedy money. There is little doubt that Ohio State is a bigger ratings draw and money maker than either of the available Big XII schools.
This year and every year going forward with a four-team playoff, somebody from the Power 5 will always be on the outside looking in. This year, it happened to be the Big XII and their two front runners. Most would agree that the SEC West is the best division in college football, though a case can also be made for the Pac-12 South, but look how many bowl teams the Big 10 produced. All I am trying to say is for the Big 12 to finish outside like they did is a tragedy, but only the beginning of things to come.
Had this been just a few years ago, would Oregon have been the team on the outside looking in? With time this conference will get the credit and “name brand” recognition that it has so desperately wanted, especially when a horse like Texas or Oklahoma is not in the national mix. At the end of the day, strength of schedule mattered, winning remained important, but conference champions were the title held by the first four college football Playoff teams.
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