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Ohio State Football: Bowl Results Strengthen Big Ten’s Clout for 2018

By Thomas Scurlock

LINCOLN, NE - OCTOBER 14: Head coach Urban Meyer of the Ohio State Buckeyes before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - OCTOBER 14: Head coach Urban Meyer of the Ohio State Buckeyes before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /
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Big Ten teams were 7-1 during the bowl season.

The bowl season was a smashing success for the Big Ten, except for Michigan which proved once again how inept its offense is under Jim Harbaugh.

The 7-1 record was better than I expected, but not by much.  I predicted a 6-2 record thinking Iowa and Purdue would both lose.

Many are pointing to the record as proof that the Big Ten is the best conference this season and subsequently Ohio State should have made the College Football Playoff.

I tend to agree that it is the deepest conference this year, but I lean more on the Committee’s side in terms of teams they selected. I do believe Central Florida deserved the shot though.

Given the circumstances, the Committee could not predict a 7-1 record by the Big Ten.  The members had to go with regular season results.

They knew Ohio State’s schedule was more difficult than Alabama’s. They also knew that Alabama would have rolled to a 11-1 or better season playing the Buckeyes’ schedule too. Anyone thinking differently did not watch them play this year.

The Crimson Tide are that good.  So are Georgia, Clemson and Oklahoma.

The Buckeyes lost to the wrong team at home and were demolished by an average team by 31 points.

Wins over Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State does not erase that.

The issue for Ohio State was not getting passed over for Alabama.  The issue is the system itself.

We are forced to live with a seriously flawed playoff format, even if it is a tad better than what we’ve had in the past.

Looking back, the time-period when writers and coaches determined the champion was imperfect, the Bowl Coalition and Bowl Alliance years were deficient and the BCS was too complicated.

Bottom line, no other sport denies a conference champion the right to play for a national title.  It amazes me that we allow this to happen at the FBS level.

I am not sure why every time the system is altered for improvement, the power brokers continue falling short of giving us a sensible method for determining the champion.

The defenders argue that four is the right number because it should be harder to get in and we need to protect the sanctity of the regular season.

What about protecting the legitimacy of the post-season?

My preference is to minimize eye tests or the collective “we think” decision making.  Instead, include the Power Five champions plus three at-large teams determined by the Committee. They can also determine the seeds.

Letting the gridiron determine the champion seems most fitting.

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Of course, there is concern about the playoff diminishing the popularity of the rest of the bowl games. I would say that has been happening for years anyway because there are too many games.

I know that scheduling is a factor too, but it is minor.  How about decreasing the pageantry from a week down to a couple of days or just extending the season one more week?

Obviously changes are not coming anytime soon.  This is why the 7-1 record for the Big Ten, along with the non-conference performances next September, are important.

Back-to-back duds by Michigan State and Ohio State in the playoffs mattered. No one can convince me that the Committee members did not think of that when they voted on December 3.

This bowl season should erase that black cloud.

On the non-conference slate for the Big Ten next season are TCU, Arizona State, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Texas, Missouri, Duke and Virginia.  Hardly murderer’s row.

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Hopefully the attitude the Big Ten took into bowl season carries over into next season.  If it does, and Ohio State wins the conference again, the Buckeyes will make it back into the playoffs where they belong.

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