Read the opposing argument from Bleacher Fan.
The Big Ten has finally decided to join the big boys of college football and have a conference championship game in football. With the upcoming addition of Nebraska, the conference will now have twelve teams, thus allowing an opportunity for a conference championship game. The first conference championship game will be held next year at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis.
The Big Ten recently announced the division alignment for next year. Obviously, much of the attention was centered on where Michigan and Ohio State would end up. Would they end up in the same division, or would they be in separate divisions? As it turns out, they are in separate divisions. In one division, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Michigan State, and Northwestern reside. On the other side, Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Illinois, and Indiana reside. Basically, this means you could have arguably the conference’s signature programs (Ohio State and Michigan) play each other twice (regular season and conference championship), and I think that is the best overall result for the conference. You know the conference did everything they could to make this happen and they could benefit long-term.
Look at how the SEC is currently structured. It’s set up geographically, but it also luckily puts Alabama and Florida in separate divisions. Now these two teams don’t play every year as they aren’t natural rivals (they play only twice every six years thanks to the rotating schedule… inter-divisional rivalries include Georgia-Auburn, LSU-Florida, Alabama-Tennessee, etc.), but both Alabama and Florida have played each other in the SEC championship the past two seasons, with the winner going on to win the national championship game. They are favorites to both make it to Atlanta again this season as well. And for the first time since 2006, the Tide and the Gators play in the regular season, thus setting up the possibility of a rematch in Atlanta in December.
Then there is the Big XII. Seemingly, the Big XII is decided in October when the Longhorns and the Sooners get together in Dallas for the Red River Rivalry. That isn’t always the case, but that’s certainly been the case of late. And why wouldn’t it be? Look at the teams in the Big XII South as opposed to the Big XII North. Odds are the winner of the Big XII championship game is going to be screaming “Boomer Sooner” or “Hook Em Horns” because the Big XII North features very little in terms of competition as of right now. The last eleven seasons the South has been represented by either Texas or Oklahoma. Obviously these things go in cycles, and who knows what will happen in the future now that Nebraska and Colorado are moving on. The point is that the Big XII Championship game often lacks that championship game feel because the two best teams in the conference are rarely in it. It’s almost a letdown, from a national standpoint, from the Red River Rivalry.
The Big Ten is moving in the right direction. By placing its two marquee programs in opposing divisions, it brings more attention to the conference and more potential for big games. Perhaps an Ohio State victory in the conference championship over a good Michigan team could propel it to a spot in the national championship game. That’s something that perhaps a victory over a mediocre team might not do. That’s what puts it a step above the Big XII situation right now, and that’s why it was the right decision by the Big Ten.
