College Football Playoff, Big Ten
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Paul Finebaum spent his latest podcast appearance ripping Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti over an eyebrow-raising proposal to overhaul the College Football Playoff further.
One Big Ten football program is scheduled to face ranked opponents in half of their games this season. Luke Fickell’s Wisconsin Badgers topped Paul Myerberg’s list of the top-10 most difficult schedules.
The BTN crew stopped by all 18 league schools for behind the scenes practices this month and wrapped up its three-week tour in Ann Arbor on Aug. 22.
The power conferences have contracts with non-CFP bowls that expire after the current season, but old ties remain for the former Pac-12 members scattered across four different conferences. Like last year, the Pac-12’s previous bowls will choose from the league’s current (Oregon State and Washington State) and former members.
This season, the USC Trojans return some of their most talented players, on both sides of the ball. A recent article ranked college football's top players and two USC stars were excluded, but college football analysts found that they were simply snubbed.
According to Thamel, the new model proposed by the Big Ten suggests eliminating conference title games and awarding more auto bids for the four power conferences. In a 28-team playoff, the Big Ten and SEC would receive seven auto bids each, while the ACC and Big 12 would get five auto bids each, per Thamel.
Rece Davis has heard fans take shots at the SEC the last couple of seasons, and he took his own shot at the B1G for Penn State's schedule.
The change was approved by conference presidents and chancellors. It previously had been recommended by league athletic directors.
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