Big Ten Conference commissioner Jim Delany is among the most powerful leaders in all of sports and that has to be taken into consideration when analyzing the first ever college football Final Four playoff. The Ohio State Buckeyes catapulted past both the Baylor Bears and TCU Horned Frogs, co-champions of the Big 12 Conference, to get the fourth and final playoff spot. TCU was ranked third heading into the final weekend of the season but was kicked to the curb on the final ballot.
Ohio State will face the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Sugar Bowl while the Oregon Ducks will face the undefeated and defending national champion Florida State Seminoles in the Rose Bowl for the first ever Final Four playoff on January 1.
Resounding Final Statement
There is no doubt that Ohio State’s 59-0 annihilation of Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game was a perfectly timed statement as to their merits for Final Four consideration, especially when you consider that the Buckeyes were down to third string QB Cardale Jones.
But just as important to the prospects of Ohio State is Delany and his ability to pull strings behind the curtain. The conference commissioner carries considerable influence among college football’s leadership structure. Delany ranks with Mike Slive of the Southeastern Conference as the top power broker in the game. Big 12 Conference commissioner Bob Bowlsby was completely outclassed and ill-equipped to match the political savvy of Delany in getting one of his teams into the Final Four.
Mixed Message of Big 12
The Big 12 Conference does not have a league championship game but does have the only round robin schedule among the power five conferences in which every team plays every other team in the conference to make for what the Big 12 marketing department terms as “One True Champion.”
Unfortunately Bowlsby undermined that message by changing the rules on the fly in an obvious overreaction and panic at not getting his team(s) into the Final Four. At first, Bowlsby said Baylor would be the Big 12 champion because they defeated TCU in their head-to-head matchup this year. He then backtracked and said both teams would be champions if they tied in the final standings for first place.
The mixed message angered Baylor coach Art Briles and only served to make the Big 12 Conference come off as weak and desperate.
Another factor in the demise of Baylor and TCU was the Oklahoma Sooners losing their regular season finale to the 5-6 Oklahoma State Cowboys. Oklahoma’s final record of 8-4 (5-4 in the Big 12) hurt the Bears and Horned Frogs in the all-important scheduling comparison factor for determining the top four teams.
From Three to Six
TCU and the Big 12 have every right to be angry. The Frogs destroyed Iowa State 55-3 on Saturday but it was not enough. To be downgraded from third last week to sixth this week opens up all sorts of questions as to what the real reason is for the Frogs demotion.
Eyeballs not Footballs
Ohio State is undeniably peaking at the right time and playing their best football of the season. But there is far more to their selection into the Final Four than meets the eye.
Ohio State is a name brand traditional power program that is among the “blue bloods” of college football. Ohio State brings significantly more fans, alums, and TV viewers than TCU or Baylor would bring as small private schools with little in regards to historic relevance.
It’s pretty clear that the Alabama vs. Ohio State match-up is far more loaded with marquee sales appeal than what potential match-ups with programs like Baylor or TCU would have been.
Follow the Money
The soft non-conference schedules of TCU and Baylor coupled with the momentum of Ohio State served as the perfect reason for the committee to go with the big name programs in the Final Four. There is a good football case to be made for the Final Four teams that made the cut. More importantly there is just as good of a case from a business perspective for the 2014 Final Four teams that made the cut.
