Winners and losers from Big Ten's decision to play
The announcement by the Big Ten that the conference would start i ts football season Oct. 24 ended a contentious 36- day period where football coaches, fans, players and their parents and even President Trump pushed the league to play this fall.
The decision sparked a lawsuit from Nebraska football players and had school officials send conflicting messages about what actually transpired leading up to the decision to cancel fall athletics in all sports.
With the Big Ten now committed to playing an eight-game football schedule and hopefully participate in the College Football Playoff, a look and the winners and the losers from the reversal.
Winners
The Big Ten: Pulling the plug on the season last month - six days after announcing a schedule for the fall - was done with the expectation that the rest of the Power Five would follow suit. The Pac-12 did just that a few hours later, but the ACC, Big 12 and SEC continued on. The remaining three conferences were able to weather the medical issues of COVID-19 with enough resolve to play. The ACC and Big 12 started last week. The SEC is set to begin on Sept. 26. The likelihood of a season and College Football Playoff without its participation, clearly had the Big Ten concerned about the impact on finances, recruiting and national perception. Now, they'll be able to generate the revenue from television and — if they came somehow complete the season — be part of the College Football Playoff. It wasn't an ideal process, but being on the field is going to be a big boost.
Ohio State: The most specific winner from the Big Ten's decision? That would be Ohio State, which was ranked No. 2 in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll and viewed right alongside Clemson as the teams to beat in the playoff chase. The Buckeyes will quickly return to that position at or near the top of the Bowl Subdivision. Meanwhile, quarterback Justin Fields could play his way back into the Heisman Trophy race, though it may end up being difficult to make up the head start given to Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. OSU immediately becomes a favorite to reach the playoff. Other Big Ten teams, including Penn State, have similar aspirations. But no team in the conference, and maybe even nationally, seem as loaded as the Buckeyes.
College Football Playoff:
Simply put, the playoff needed the Big Ten for its legitimacy. Yes, the other three Power Five conferences would have supplied four credible teams. But the idea of playing without Ohio State, Penn State or whichever team would have won the Big Ten was not optimal. The expectation is that the four conference champions will be in the field unless there is some unexpected chaos that develops. That helps with credibility of the system and will also draw more fans in from major markets that would have been excluded with the Big Ten eliminated.
Losers
ACC, Big 12 and SEC: One of the three Power Five conferences was expected to earn two berths in the College Football Playoff until this week. The ACC and SEC looked to be in the best position. This change raises the stakes for the conference championship games in both leagues. There's no wiggle room now. Clemson and Notre Dame meet in the regular season. So do Georgia and Alabama. Those games will be important, however, potential rematches on the final weekend are now going to be decisive. The Big 12 — even with bad losses last week — still had hope with Oklahoma, Texas and Oklahoma State part of the mix. It will be hard to see more than one of those three in the field.
American Athletic
Conference: If there was ever a year for the American to stake a claim for the College Football Playoff, there would have been a path this season. Cincinnati, Central Florida and Memphis were positioned to make a run with an unbeaten season, especially if the at-large candidates in the Power Five had two losses. The circumstances are now very different. When you consider the Pac-12 hasn't been a part of the field since the 2016 season, the calculation for the American is the same with other years. Contenders have to hope for a wild season to be part of the conversation. In the end, they'll likely be on the outside looking in.
Pac-12: Someone — or some conference — has to be the target of outrage. That burden now falls to the Pac-12, as the only Power Five conference and one of three leagues overall not in competition. It doesn't really matter that the Pac12's consistent messaging and the moves to bring rapid testing to every team stands in contrast to the Big Ten's bungled attempts to explain last month's decision. With every other major conference in competition, the Pac-12 is now the outlier in the FBS.