The conferences can further shape the playoff as they see fit and plot ways to further gerrymander the selection process in their favor.
If college football has gone to the pigs, then there are two Napoleons in the sport right now—Greg Sankey and Tony Petitti. The commissioners of the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten, respectively, seem to be strategically working toward the kind of totalitarian takeover that happened in Orwell’s 1945 work. The next step could come next week, as their leagues discuss decisions that affect the whole of the sport but are likely to be made in the best interests of themselves.
The announcement was couched in airy, non-threatening language about the “challenges” facing college sports: “These challenges, including but not limited to recent court decisions, pending litigation, a patchwork of state laws, and complex governance proposals, compel the two conferences to take a leadership role in developing solutions for a sustainable future of college sports.”legal settlement at this meeting. Probably some other issues.
To quickly recap: We have an agreed-upon format for a 12-team playoff for this season and next, but nothing beyond that is ironclad in a contract with ESPN that runs from 2026 to ’32. At present, there are automatic bids for five conference champions and seven at-large bids, with the near-certainty that four of those automatic spots will go to the champions of the SEC, Big Ten, Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big 12.
Why would the rest of the leagues agree to such a strong-arm move? Because they clearly perceived a threat that the Big Ten and SEC could break away entirely, killing the sport as a national entity once and for all. There have been complaints with the subjectivity of the CFP selection committee—which, hey, they are humans, there will be subjectivity. It hasn’t been perfect, but it hasn’t been a catastrophe, either. And it won’t be in a 12-team playoff, with less pressure on every selection.
Then you feed the numbers into a set of computers that spit out the majority of the bids for the SEC and Big Ten, and the two commissioners can shrug and say, “This is what the computers have produced. Objectivity rules.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Big Ten Daily (Sept. 5): We'll Learn Plenty About Big Ten Football in Week 2Five Big Ten teams will play Power Four opponents and there's one conference game on the schedule in Week 2. We should learn about the league this weekend.
Read more »
Big Ten Big Ten Football Week 2 Capsules: Indiana Routs WIU, Northwestern FallsNebraska football is one of 16 Big Ten teams in action this week. Follow along for results from every game.
Read more »
UCLA Football: Could Big 10 Opponent Struggles Open Door For Bruins to Compete?Can UCLA football surprise in the Big Ten amid struggles by Big Ten powers?
Read more »
Big Barda In Three Big Comics Books This Big Week From Big DC ComicsBig Barda, created by Jack Kirby for New Gods seems to be suddenly all over the DC Universe, like she's the new Batman or something.
Read more »
College football picks for Week 4 top games today: SEC, Big Ten in marquee matchupsLet's make our final picks for the biggest games on the Week 4 college football schedule today.
Read more »
Goodman: It’s time to go Badger hunting in Big Ten countryThe SEC vs. the Big Ten matters now more than ever before.
Read more »