In a move sure to be dubbed as Prop Ronald Reagan, conferences are preparing to “deregulate” their championship games, according to a report from Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com.
The news naturally raises the question of whether a title game is coming for the Big 12. The 10-team league co-sponsored the measure with the ACC, so it would make sense that the conference intends to use it to add an end-of-season game to determine its champion.
I wouldn’t take that as a given.
You could certainly argue that the playoff selection committee taught the Big 12 a tough lesson in December about the value of a championship game. There’s no doubt that Ohio State’s showcase slaughter of Wisconsin helped push the Buckeyes ahead of Big 12 candidates Baylor and TCU and into the final four on the last week of the season. The Bears and Horned Frogs didn’t get that chance.
Adding a championship game would theoretically give the conference a chance to market its champ in a game with more juice than the regular season contests Big 12 teams are playing in the final weekend of the year. On top of that, it would ensure that the Big 12 champ plays the same number of games as the other Power 5 conference winners.
Of course, the downside is obvious: Everyone’s already playing a round-robin schedule. Aside from playing one more game, what’s the point?
Now, imagine pitching this to Texas and Oklahoma. The Longhorns have non-conference series slated with Notre Dame, USC, LSU and Ohio State in the future. OU is playing home-and-homes against UCLA, Ohio State, Michigan and Nebraska.
In other words, the league’s two marquee programs have a nine conference games and a big-time test outside league play every year. (Consider that if Baylor had played the same non-conference schedule as OU or UT, the Bears might not have been aced out of a playoff spot.) They have little to gain in terms of making the playoff by winning a championship game. Meanwhile, a loss would likely knock them out of the chase.
What might change their minds? The selection committee giving the Red River rivals the cold shoulder the way Baylor and TCU got it last year, for starters.
Alternatively, someone — looking at you, Jerry Jones — might wildly, irresponsibly overpay for the privilege of staging such a game. There may be a number out there OU and UT can’t say no to.
Ultiamtely, though, this sounds more like Bob Bowlsby wanting to have the flexibility to move quickly on instituting a championship game if the league members want it. For now, expect status quo.
