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Tony Petitti lobbies for B1G teams with an 8-4 record: ‘That’s a good record’
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Tony Petitti took his turn at Big Ten Media Days on Tuesday, kicking off the annual event by tackling all the hot-button topics in the sport today.
One thing that Petitti took extensive time to address and field questions on is the future of the College Football Playoff. He made it clear his preferred model for the future Playoff is allocated bids per conference and play-in games, even with the support for a 5+11 system seemingly growing nationally.
At one point, Petitti specifically referenced the idea of an 8-4 overall record for a team hailing from the Big Ten as a “good record.” He described that scenario for a team that went 6-3 in a premier conference with a 9-game slate and “stumbles” in the nonconference.
“If you’re 6-3 in the Big Ten, I would argue that’s a good record. And if you stumble in the non-conference, I don’t know why that disqualifies you,” said Petitti.
As for the 8-4 overall record, Petitti made the case that such a winning percentage would get you in the postseason “across every other sport.” He also said college football has “conditioned ourselves” into the belief that teams with a blemished record do not get to play for a national title.
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There are many ways to discuss the strength of a conference’s teams, but Petitti likely missed the mark to most fans and analysts when discussing a potential 8-4 team reaching the Playoff.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.