The CFP selection committee's decision yesterday to award the fourth spot in the inaugural playoff to Ohio State over either TCU or Baylor "could impact the Big 12 -- from the way it picks its champion to the return of a title game and even a serious discussion of expansion back to 12 teams," according to Chuck Carlton of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby yesterday said, "It certainly is an impetus for soul-searching and probing some of the ways we can do some things differently." CFP Selection Committee Chair Jeff Long said that the decision on whether conferences should hold championship games "was up to each conference." But Long did say that winning a title game against a "high-ranked, quality opponent" was an "advantage." Bowlsby refused to criticize the selection committee, but said that he "was disappointed at the implication that his conference was penalized for not having a title game." Bowlsby: "I wish we would have been advised of that, that it was likely about which we would be penalized. Not that we could have done anything about it, but we at least would have been aware of it." Meanwhile, talk of Big 12 expansion has "resurfaced." Bowlsby asked, "Would it foster discussion of possible conference expansion at some point in time? I supposed it would." He added expansion is a "multi-faceted decision process and certainly goes well beyond whether you have a postseason football playoff or not" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 12/8). Bowlsby said Big 12 execs will "have to go back and be introspective about it and see if some of the things that we're doing or not doing could be changed in the future.” He added the conference will likely "go back and look at whether or not we want to stay with our longstanding tradition of naming co-champions, because in this case it may have been a disadvantage for us." West Virginia AD Oliver Luck is on the selection committee, and Bowlsby said the conference will “debrief with him” about the process and why no Big 12 school was included("Mike & Mike, ESPN Radio, 12/8). More Bowlsby: "We just need to look introspectively and see if there are some things we should be doing differently to put us in a better position" ("The Dan Patrick Show," 12/8).
NOBODY'S FAULT BUT MINE? ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach wrote the Big 12 has "only itself to blame" for being on the outside looking in. It is "the only Power 5 league that doesn't stage a conference championship game and didn't have an outright champion this season." If the Big 12 "doesn't make some pretty dramatic changes soon, it might continue to lag behind the ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC if its champion doesn't finish undefeated in future seasons" (ESPN.com, 12/7). TCU AD Chris Del Conte said of conference championship games, "It never entered into the conversation at the beginning of the year. That was not the criteria that they put forward. But obviously, having a 13th game propelled Ohio State into that position" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 12/8). In Ft. Worth, Jimmy Burch writes the Big 12 "is in its current predicament because league officials vote with their pocket books, not their long-term vision, in addressing conference matters." Its 10-team configuration "is all about having fewer takers from league coffers when distributing conference revenues" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 12/8).
DIVIDED WE FALL: In N.Y., Marc Tracy notes the Big 12 "recently introduced the motto 'One True Champion' to emphasize that its teams played all the other conference teams during the regular season." Bowlsby said before the season, "We’re always going to apply a tiebreaker to determine who our champion is." But Tracy notes the conference ultimately "decided to consider TCU and Baylor co-champions rather than use tiebreakers" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/8). ESPN’s David Pollack said he was not sure if Bowlsby cost the conference a "chance to sit at the table and play for the college football final four," but he "didn't do (himself) any favors." Pollack: "You need to restructure your format. You need to look in the mirror and fix this” (“College Football Playoff Selection Show,” ESPN, 12/7). In Chicago, Steve Greenberg writes the Big 12 "will rue its decision to allow for co-champions instead of letting head-to-head serve as a logical tiebreaker." Had Baylor "been able to bill itself as the league’s back-to-back undisputed co-champion, then maybe, just maybe, Ohio State would be sitting out the playoff" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 12/8). In L.A., Chris Dufresne writes the decision to name Baylor and TCU co-champions "exploded, Saturday night, right in" Bowlsby's face. It gave the selection committee the "perfect way of mitigating whether Baylor or TCU deserved a playoff bid: it left both schools out" (L.A. TIMES, 12/8).
BRILES' BEEF: ESPN.com's Max Olson noted Baylor coach Art Briles yesterday "expressed fears ... that the Big 12 and its region were not fairly represented on the inaugural playoff committee." He said, "The committee needs to be a little more regionalized with people that are associated with the south part of the United States. I'll say that. I'm not sure if there's a connection on there that is that familiar with the Big 12 Conference." Olson noted two members of the committee -- West Virginia AD Oliver Luck and former Nebraska coach and AD Tom Osborne -- "have Big 12 ties, but Briles doesn't believe their representation is sufficient." Briles on "SportsCenter" yesterday suggested that former Big 12 coaches R.C. Slocum, Mack Brown or Spike Dykes "would be more qualified to evaluate programs in the state and region" (ESPN.com, 12/7).
