BIg 12 close to title game

[blackattack]

Floride could knock off 'Bama too. I also wouldn't discount Mich St getting beat by Iowa. What do you do with a two loss Mich St who beat O$U and Michigan and Oregon? As much as there are complaints about the committee, I don't envy them their duty.

I don't envy them either. No matter what happens, it's going to be fun to watch. Let the chaos begin !

[bearcatbret]

And MSU lost to Nebraska by poor play but also by a fluke play at the end of the game that was enabled by horrible officiating. It is nice to see that bad officiating is not only in the American but all conferences and also in the NFL.

[Lobot]

The Big 10 has filed an amendment to The Big 12 petition for a championship game waiver. Jim Delaney is our new best friend.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/14307386

[blackattack]

The Big 10 has filed an amendment to The Big 12 petition for a championship game waiver. Jim Delaney is our new best friend.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/14307386

No surprise here. Several Big 10 coaches (including Dantonio) have publicly stated that "you should have to win a CCG in order to get in to the playoff".
After watching Michigan State leapfrog Oklahoma into the #3 spot after their close win over Iowa, it's obvious that the Playoff Committee puts a lot of weight on conference championship games. That's not going to change even if the Big 12 is permitted to not have a CCG.

[Bearcats1232002]

"We're trying to work our way through it, but I'm less certain of the outcome than I was before," Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby told ESPN.com on Sunday, just hours after Oklahoma slid into the College Football Playoff at No. 4. "We don't think we ought to be forced into adding schools in order to have a championship game, but it could end up that way."

I actually feel some hope in the realignment arena for the first time in awhile.

[longtimefan]

MReally good news. It would have been nice to add a conference title but we still have tremendous upside. Much smaller states like Kentucky, Iowa, Kansas, and Oklahoma have two power 5 teams, and Indiana has three. There is no reason Ohio should have only one. Big 12 in Ohio would be a really good add for the conference.

[London 'Cat]

This may be somewhat good news for expansion. But I don't know how much it means for UC. If I had to guess, I would say after the kind of season Houston had, they made themselves a candidate for possible expansion of the Big XII. I do agree with Ohio being large enough for at least two Power 5 schools but you have to believe tO$U will use all of its influence to prevent that from happening.

[RedDog]

be careful what you wish for. an also ran in a tenuous big 12 can quickly be right back in the same position we are currently in or worse and left out in the cold again after the next round of reorganization. big 12 is probably our best and frankly only option but its not one with a lot of security or appeal.

[blackattack]

Big 12 is our best option right now. If we get in we have to make the most of it.
No one has a crystal ball, but I think the ACC is just as unstable or more so than an expanded Big 12 is.

[GoCats1994]

No surprise here. Several Big 10 coaches (including Dantonio) have publicly stated that "you should have to win a CCG in order to get in to the playoff".
After watching Michigan State leapfrog Oklahoma into the #3 spot after their close win over Iowa, it's obvious that the Playoff Committee puts a lot of weight on conference championship games. That's not going to change even if the Big 12 is permitted to not have a CCG.

Or...it just means the committee did not want to give Oklahoma a near-home game (at Jerry's World in Dallas). It has come out that there were voices in the committee room lobbying for Oklahoma to be the #1 overall seed.

[blackattack]

Or...it just means the committee did not want to give Oklahoma a near-home game (at Jerry's World in Dallas). It has come out that there were voices in the committee room lobbying for Oklahoma to be the #1 overall seed.

If there were voices lobbying for Oklahoma to be the #1 seed, how did they fall all the way to #4 ?

[RedDog]

The feeling in the South by the talking heads is that it was committee manipulation to favor Alabama. They did not want Okla to get to play Bama at Jerry's place in the semis. They would much prefer a finals that includes Alabama and a neutral site MSU matchup.

[longtimefan]

More on the Big 10 challenge to the Big 12 championship game exception.

[Lobot]

Short version, The Pac 12's Larry Scott has publicly stated that he wants the Big 12 to add a championship game and that they need to expand to do so. That makes two conferences that plan to force expansion. There is a regulatory vote on the Big 12's Championship waiver happening mid Jan. I expect we will hear something shortly thereafter if the vote does not go in favor of the Big 12, and I don't expect it to.

[longtimefan]

I hope we are still in a strong position after the disappointing football season. I think we are but fingers crossed.