Oh, good grief.
Of the myriad angles derived from Big 12-SEC “Champions Bowl”, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott just took one that willingly places college football a spot or three behind on the evolution chart.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Scott (pictured) said the new bowl agreement was a “game-changer” in reviving talks about a plus-one. As a brief refresher, a plus-one is where all 35 bowl games are played and two teams are then voted into a separate national championship game. It is truly nothing more than a process that delays the controversy marring the postseason status quo by a few weeks.
According to Scott, a championship game that matched the winners of the Big 12-SEC bowl and Rose Bowl could work so long as there was a way to include teams from other conflollolololol!!!!1!1!1!!!
“I’d say before Friday that idea of a plus-one didn’t have much traction, but I think the announcement on Friday’s a game-changer,” Scott said. “We’re pretty far down the path on four-team playoff options, but given the very positive reaction to what the SEC and Big 12 have done, it’s possible that (a plus-one) could get some traction.”
Possible? Sure. An industry source told George Schroeder of the Eugene Register-Guard earlier this week that a simplified plus-one consisting of the so-called Champions Bowl and Rose Bowl (re: “consolidation of power”) was “very logical.” Stewart Mandell of Sports Illustrated added a simplified plus-one could become a favorable option among university presidents.
Remember, the Big 12-SEC agreement acts, intentionally or otherwise, as a security blanket in the unlikely event that either league champion fails to make a four-team playoff; having a simplified plus-one would all but officially eliminate that possibility since it would serve as one of the semifinal games.
Yes, technically a plus-one doesn’t consist of “semifinal games”, but come on now. If the champions of the Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC are all in a position to play for a national title (and more often than not they are) then isn’t it a matter of those teams controlling their own postseason destiny?
But, inevitable controversy aside, is a plus-one probable at this stage in the process? Let’s refer back to Scott’s own words.
“We’re pretty far down the path on four-team playoff options...”
The BCS committee, consisting of all 11 conference commissioners and Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick, has less than two months to decide on all those remaining options for postseason format. Some conferences are already done or are in the process of wrapping up spring meetings, where playoff discussions were set to take place. Changing anything significant now based on some “traction” would set those talks back months, at least.
So, in conclusion, Larry Scott is trolling the media.
And he succeeded. No wonder he’s the highest paid commissioner in college athletics.
