You mean there is hypocrisy in college athletics? Nooooo. That can’t be so! Oh… It be so alright. It definitely be so. So, Michigan has had to cancel their annual rivalry game with Ohio State due to 40(!) players being out due to COVID protocols. I’m not in disagreement with the cancellation. I’m actually quite in favor of it. Safety first. Football… I want to say second, but really I would put it further down the list… like, say, 64th or something. And I LOVE football! However, so many other things come before it in my eyes. Agree with that, or disagree with that. I don’t really care. It’s my opinion, not yours.
At any rate… this means Ohio State will have only played FIVE games this season. The threshold set forth by the Big Ten before the (delayed) start to the season was a team had to play SIX games to be eligible to play in the Big Ten Championship Game. As it stands now, that would mean it would be Northwestern versus Indiana in the Big Ten Title game. BUT WAIT!! Since Ohio State is not meeting that threshold… the Big Ten Conference is looking at changing those rules and allowing Ohio State to participate having played only five games. Personally, I don’t care if the number was five, or six, or seven or eight. The Big Ten said it was six. They should stand by that.
Don’t get me wrong… I understand we are in “unprecedented times” here. That is a phrase that has been beaten to death the past 10 months. To me though… this is another example of the Big Ten and their current leadership (looking at you Kevin Warren) not having a backbone. They caved to pressure from Nebraska and (Oh look) Ohio State to reverse their decision not to have a football season this year. They came up with a complete wreck of a plan for playing this season which didn’t allow for ANY wiggle room whatsoever if games were canceled. This has put them in the situation they are in right now, having to change rules in order to put Ohio State in the Championship game.
I don’t like playing the “hypothetical” game of saying, “Well, you know full well that if (blank) had happened, then (blank) would be the result.” You know… like in Politics when people say, “Well if Obama had done (insert something Trump did), you would have blasted him for it!” OR, “If Trump had done(insert something Obama did), you would have blasted him for it!” (Pick your side… you know you already have). I’m going to play that game here though for just a second… IF the situation was reversed, and it was Indiana that had played only five games, and Ohio State had played six… I’m QUITE confident the Big Ten would say, “Well… Them’s the rules yo. Too bad so sad!” Please understand me here… I DESPISE INDIANA. I despise their football team, their basketball team, their fans… basically the entire state of Indiana. I don’t come to their defense lightly. But I feel the need to here. You can basically put ANY other Big Ten program in Indiana’s position and make the same statement. It’s because it is Ohio State, that they are looking to change the rules they put in place.
The league is biased because Ohio State (possibly) needs the national recognition of playing in the conference championship game to stay relevant in the race for a National Championship playoff spot. It’s a monetary decision. It has nothing to do with safety. It has nothing to do with fans. It has nothing to do with standing by rules and regulations they laid out just a few months ago. (Yes… just a FEW months ago). This has to do with television ratings, advertising dollars, and lining their own pockets.
I’ve said it before, and I’m saying it again… I’m not sure ANY of this would be an issue if the Big Ten had a better commissioner at the helm.
Just my two cents.
Bickham
