Well look who decided to show up
The Big 10 is back, but how should the rest of the College Football World feel?
By: The Hammer
Big Ten text to the CFB Playoff committee, SEC, ACC and Big 12 (probably).
According to reports, the Big Ten will begin its abbreviated season on October 24 and plans to play eight conference games in eight weeks, leading up to the Big Ten title game on December 19th. Coincidentally, that happens to be the day before the December 20th Selection Day for the College Football Playoff. Uhhh hold up. The Big Ten attempted to derail the entire college football season by canceling and now they not only want to play, but also want to be considered for the college football playoff? What happened to the great idea that is spring football? Who doesn't want to play a mid-January game at the Big House? I heard TCF Bank Stadium (Minnesota) is ideal for games in January and February!
The Big Ten has legitimate football programs that compete at a very high level every year. They have sent a team to the College Football Playoff each year outside of 2017/2018 and 2018/2019. But this year, they shouldn’t be considered. They vacated that right when Kevin Warren canceled their season on August 11th. Ever since SEC, Big 12 and ACC stepped up and decided to try and play the season, with legitimate schedule shuffling and safety protocols, the Big Ten has been a laughing stock. Why cancel over a month prior to when other conferences were going to begin play? Why take away the players right to play? These student athletes have worked their entire lives to play college football. Many decided to delay their NFL careers in order to return to their university and represent the school they love. And don’t forget, the majority of players won’t get the chance to pay at the next level. Sure, they got another year of eligibility (even if the “full” season happens) but who cares? Don't you think those athletes would rather play this season if it was possible? Damn right. And it turns out, so far at least, that it is possible. So the Big Ten has been eating crow since August 11th because other teams plowed forward and opted to play.
Not surprisingly, right after the first weekend of Power 5 conferences playing games that were televised across the country, the Big Ten came crawling back like a clingy ex-girlfriend and now wants to play. It’s so predictable and pathetic. Kevin Warren thought he and the Big Ten would be applauded for leading the pack. Be a champion for player safety. Be the progressive conference. And it couldn't have turned out worse, yet all of the sudden it’s safe enough for the Big Ten to play. It's almost like if they had waited a few weeks rather than rushing to a foolish decision, they would have never needed to cancel in the first place!
Let’s be clear- it’s great for the schools, athletic departments, coaches, and most importantly the players that they are going to play, but the Big Ten’s right to compete on a national level is done for this year. Partially because they quit, left everyone else in a terrible position and now are begging to be let back in, but more importantly because they are only playing eight games. Well, 9 with the Big Ten title game and the other meaningless exhibitions that same weekend. We’ll see what the CFB playoff committee ends up doing, but don't let this conference, who wouldn't even be here if not for the SEC, ACC and Big 12, jump back in and play like nothing happened. But they probably will and we’ll see Ohio State in the playoff.