Big Ten Championship Could Prove the CFP Committee to be a Farce

The winner of the Big Ten Championship could still be left out of the College Football Playoff.

It’s probably safe to say that nobody is rooting against Penn State harder this weekend than the College Football Playoff ranking committee. Sure, they would never admit it, but a Nittany Lion win in the Big Ten Championship could exploit the true bias of the committee.

Of course, first and foremost, Penn State must take care of business Saturday night. If they lose, this is all a moot point. Few would probably have a problem seeing Wisconsin left out of the Playoff over the likes of Ohio State or even Michigan.

However, if the Nittany Lions are victorious in Indianapolis, the selection process could get very sticky.

As it stands right now, the committee has decided that Ohio State is a virtual lock to make the final four, even without having to suit up during Championship Week.

Michigan, a team that’s lost two of its last three games, currently has a better chance at making the final four than Penn State does. The Wolverines are sitting at No. 5 and would likely be in if someone ahead of them falters this weekend.

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Does Penn State have two losses? Yes. Did the Nittany Lions get smoked by Michigan earlier this year? Absolutely. However, the current team, specifically on defense, looks nothing like the one that lost in Ann Arbor in September.

Oh, and the other loss that the Nittany Lions suffered? It was a three-point loss early in the season on the road against Pitt. The Panthers are currently ranked 25th and happened to get an upset over Clemson when the Tigers were ranked No. 2.

Name a team hotter than Penn State right now, outside of perhaps USC. There isn’t one. A win in the Big Ten Championship would be the ninth straight for the Nittany Lions. They’ve won their last four games by an average of 28 points and don’t seem to be slowing down.

It’s been shown in the past that winning late in the year helps a team’s cause more than an early season loss hurts it. Well, right now, that doesn’t seem to be the committee’s take with Penn State. Ranking the Nittany Lions at No. 7 in the current CFP rankings shows that there’s little respect for what James Franklin and company have done so far.

As absurd as it sounds, there’s a high probability that the Big Ten champion could get left out of the Playoff all together in favor of teams that finished second and third in the same division this season. If that situation were to come to fruition it would completely negate the value of having a conference championship game. If that’s the case, why not just skip the game and get an extra week of rest before the bowl game?

It’s still a bit unclear what team Penn State will be compared to by the selection committee if it comes down to one spot, but it will likely be Ohio State or Michigan.

There’s no question that Ohio State is a very talented team, but to already consider the Buckeyes a lock could set a dangerous precedent. The committee is essentially giving Ohio State a bye week while other teams have to grind hard in games this weekend. It would also expose some hidden motives behind the decisions of the selection committee.

The Buckeyes have a better record, having just one loss to Penn State’s two. But, Penn State still has a chance in the Big Ten Championship to post another win over a top six team. Oh, and it almost slipped my mind — Ohio State’s one loss came at the hand of the Nittany Lions. Call a great special teams play a fluke all you want, the Buckeyes still had a chance to make plays, and they couldn’t get it done.

Now, in the case of Michigan, there’s an elephant in the room. The Nittany Lions were completely blown out by the Wolverines. But, as mentioned earlier, Penn State was down to the bare bones on defense in that one. Lately, Michigan has not been playing well, having lost two of the last three games. Both losses came against teams Penn State beat.

Penn State is hot right now and has clearly shown improvement. Michigan has started to head in the opposite direction.

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Hopefully, things will work themselves out and the committee looks at the entire work should Penn State beat the Badgers. By leaving out the champion of easily the best conference in football this season, the committee would be proving that dollar sings and T.V. ratings trump everything else.

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