The Big Ten is missing the point in changing the rule for Ohio State

The Big Ten finally took action Wednesday, amending the minimum-games rule that would’ve prohibited No. 4 Ohio State (5-0) from playing in the conference championship game. The league wasn’t wrong in changing this rule that it made up on the fly a few months ago, as the Buckeyes clearly are deserving of playing in the game having beaten Indiana and steamrolled everyone else.

But as usual, the Big Ten is missing the point, which is that Ohio State needs games, not a conference title. As of Wednesday afternoon, there had been no announcement on any schedule changes for Ohio State, which had its game against Michigan postponed.

It’s astounding that the Big Ten is oblivious to this issue considering one of its athletic directors laid out the potential problem on live television less than 24 hours earlier. Iowa AD Gary Barta, who is the College Football Playoff Selection Chair, said Tuesday night on ESPN that “the number of games would be critical” in regards to Ohio State’s College Football Playoff hopes. The core issue is whether the Buckeyes give the Committee enough data points, not whether they hoist a trophy.

So while the Big Ten may think it solved the problem for Ohio State by putting the Buckeyes in the title game against Northwestern on Dec. 19, it most certainly did not. The Big Ten is doing the Buckeyes (and the 13 other league members) a disservice by not shuffling the schedule and allowing them to play another game this weekend, whether it be against a B1G opponent or someone like Texas A&M. (The 13 other league members are victims here, too, since they stand to profit immensely off Ohio State playing in the CFP.)

“Conference championships won is one criteria that we use, and certainly that will be considered,” Barta said. “But of course, we consider the entire body of work. We look at teams they’ve played head-to-head, so it’s one important piece, but it’s not the only piece.”

In 3 of the last 4 years, the Big Ten champion hasn’t made the CFP. And twice in the last 4 years, a team that didn’t win its conference made the field (Ohio State in 2016 and Alabama in 2017). Who cares if Ohio State beats No. 14 Northwestern (5-1) in the Big Ten Championship Game in 2 weeks, or if it would’ve beaten No. 16 Iowa (5-2) in a crossover? There is some prestige in being a conference champion (in terms of brand awareness, sure), but the Committee clearly doesn’t care all that much about it, so the Big Ten shouldn’t either.

Barta commented specifically on Ohio State, despite COVID issues the week before, being able to play Michigan State short-handed. “It was important that the Committee see another game by Ohio State, and they performed well,” he said.

It is mind-boggling that the Big Ten leadership isn’t picking up on the hints that one of its own athletic directors is dropping. They haven’t come up with the proper solution because they don’t understand the problem. And with every minute, the likelihood of the Big Ten stepping in to fix the problem decreases. The later in the week we are, the less likely the Big Ten will be able to shuffle games in order to get Ohio State another game. It’s one thing for Coastal Carolina and BYU to schedule a game just days before, but when a decision like this would affect other B1G teams, the conference needs to give them as much notice as possible. That’s why contingency plans should have been in place the moment Michigan announced on Tuesday that it would be unable to play Ohio State.

The counter-argument, that it isn’t fair for the Big Ten to make other teams switch opponents days before the game, is weak. A Big Ten source told Yahoo’s Pete Thamel, “I can’t see any team agreeing to change an opponent with 2 days left to prep.” Well, too bad. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said he has repeatedly told its league members that COVID cancelations “will affect more than just the involved teams.” Athletic directors should be able to see the bigger picture and why this must happen.

Maybe none of this will matter. If Clemson beats Notre Dame in the ACC Championship Game and Florida beats Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, would those 4 teams get in regardless of whether Ohio State is 7-0 or 6-0? Maybe. But how could the Big Ten not even try to give the Buckeyes the best possible chance?

That’s the most frustrating part: None of this is Ohio State’s fault. It fought hard to play this fall and was instrumental in the B1G reversing its decision to postpone until the spring. Then it was hurt with this schedule that featured no margin for error. Ohio State is the only Big Ten team that has had 2 cancelations because of the other team’s COVID issues. The Buckeyes have only canceled 1 game (at Illinois). The Big Ten continues to be the biggest hurdle in Ohio State’s path to the CFP.

This talking point won’t go away for anti-Ohio State pundits. Notre Dame (10-0) and Alabama (9-0) will enter their respective conference championship games with double the amount of wins as the Buckeyes. And that’s no fault of Ohio State — it’s entirely the fault of the Big Ten, which continues to not put its teams in the best position to succeed.

I believe Ohio State is 1 of the top 4 teams in the country, and so does the Committee right now, but when they are openly telling you that number of games is an issue, how do you not listen?

Through every step of this pandemic, the Big Ten has failed to put its teams in the best position to succeed. And with this misguided solution announced on Wednesday, the Big Ten is once again completely missing the point.