SeniorFrog
Active Member
Conference title game hurt Big 12 as often as it helped
Was the Big 12 better off when it had a conference title game?
That's a question the conference had to ponder this offseason, and one we'll surely be discussing again if the Big 12 ends up expanding in the future.
And it's a far more pressing question if the conference gets left out of the College Football Playoff again in 2015. The selection committee's preference for a so-called "13th data point" had even Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby second-guessing the league's postseason plan this spring.
After further discussions with presidents, athletic directors and coaches, Bowlby emerged more reassured by the end of May. As he put it: "As you look back through history, nobody's been hurt more by a game after the season than we have."
He's right. Here's a quick rewind on each Big 12 title game, with a simple question in mind: Did the result help or hurt the conference's chances of winning a national title?
1996: Texas 37, No. 3 Nebraska 27
Outcome: BAD
The Huskers were 10-1 and No. 3 in the AP poll and got upset by James Brown and his 7-4 Longhorns. Nebraska looked likely to face Florida State in the Sugar Bowl but got bounced out of the national title picture....
Was the Big 12 better off when it had a conference title game?
That's a question the conference had to ponder this offseason, and one we'll surely be discussing again if the Big 12 ends up expanding in the future.
And it's a far more pressing question if the conference gets left out of the College Football Playoff again in 2015. The selection committee's preference for a so-called "13th data point" had even Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby second-guessing the league's postseason plan this spring.
After further discussions with presidents, athletic directors and coaches, Bowlby emerged more reassured by the end of May. As he put it: "As you look back through history, nobody's been hurt more by a game after the season than we have."
He's right. Here's a quick rewind on each Big 12 title game, with a simple question in mind: Did the result help or hurt the conference's chances of winning a national title?
1996: Texas 37, No. 3 Nebraska 27
Outcome: BAD
The Huskers were 10-1 and No. 3 in the AP poll and got upset by James Brown and his 7-4 Longhorns. Nebraska looked likely to face Florida State in the Sugar Bowl but got bounced out of the national title picture....
