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B1G has reportedly been seeking change to CFB Playoff evaluation
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The criteria used to judge the four best teams by the College Football Playoff selection committee fluctuates, to say the least. There doesn’t seem to be a set standard on a yearly basis.
That’s something the B1G has been hoping to change.
CBS Sports is reported that B1G commissioner Jim Delany has been unhappy with the way the four teams have been selected over the last few years and is looking for a change in protocol. He’s wanting more emphasis on strength of schedule and conference championships.
Delany wanted clarity on the value of winning a conference championship and questioned a disparity in the number of conference games played by leagues, another source said. According to a different source, the Big Ten commissioner wanted to make sure the 13-member CFP Selection Committee was “adhering to the protocol” developed when the playoff was finalized in 2012.
The Big Ten champion has been left out of the playoff for the last three years. The conference hasn’t had a team in the CFP since 2016. Through the first five years of the playoff, the Big Ten has three appearances but has been shut out in each of the last two seasons.
“If I had any concern, it would be about strength of schedule and the value of [conference] championships, period,” Delany said last month. “That’s not a criticism. That’s just: What do we know after five years?’”
A Big Ten spokesman told CBS Sports on Sunday that the conference supported “the spirit and letter of the original intent of how conference champions should be respected in the selection process.”
Delany might have a legitimate gripe, as the B1G champion has been left out of the College Football Playoff each of the last three season. The conference has been omitted from the four-team field the last two seasons.
Since the inauguration of the College Football Playoff, there’s been a call for either expansion or a set criteria to judge teams. Both topics have picked up steam this season.
We’ll see if Delany’s push leads to any change in the future.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB