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Pac-12 commissioner calls for B1G to play 8 league games instead of 9

Derek Peterson

By Derek Peterson

Published:

In August, the Big Ten, ACC, and Pac-12 announced an alliance. With the SEC poaching Oklahoma and Texas from the Big 12, the 3 other Power 5 leagues banded together to promise future non-conference games within The Alliance.

Early on this season, Ohio State played Oregon in everything the league commissioners hope to eventually provide. The matchup in Columbus was a cross-country clash between two reigning league champions and then-top-15 programs. It was a marquee day and one of the most-watched games of the entire college football regular-season. The commissioners plan for each one of their teams to play 2 games—home and away—each season against teams from the other 2 conferences.

They’ll be scheduled throughout the year, not just plopped at the beginning of the calendar. But…

Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff, speaking Friday ahead of the Pac-12 championship game, told members of the media he’d like to see the Big Ten alter its conference schedule to accommodate The Alliance.

Both the Big Ten and the Pac-12 play 9 league games. The ACC and SEC play 8. The number has been a particular topic of contention in the College Football Playoff era. While the Big Ten claims to give its teams a tougher schedule and therefore a better resume for the CFP committee to evaluate because of the extra game, the SEC argues that it’s simply extra exposure for a CFP-run-ending loss.

In mid-November, while Ohio State was playing a ranked Purdue squad and Michigan was playing Penn State, Alabama was hosting a 1-win New Mexico State squad in an out-of-conference snoozer.

It would seem that if the Pac-12 is going to schedule more non-conference games with its Power peers in The Alliance, Kliavkoff wants them to take the place of a conference game to keep things balanced.

Derek Peterson

Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.