K-State Q&A: The Big 12’s great week, Nebraska’s temper tantrum and Wildcats football
The past few weeks of cancellation mania in college football have reminded many of the old conference realignment days that took place 10 years ago, only everyone is laughing at Nebraska and the Big Ten instead of the other way around.
With schools and conferences across the country putting their own interests above the collective whole, the Big 12 emerged from the wreckage looking like a hero while one of its ex-members threw an epic temper tantrum and one of its chief conference rivals appeared disjointed.
How about that?
It’s way too early to tell which conferences are on the correct side of the cancel/play debate, or if anyone will actually play games in the fall. But, at this exact moment in time, this looks like one of the best weeks the Big 12 has experienced in recent memory.
Think about it. When was the last time the Big 12 acted decisively and announced something that made their fans cheer? You probably have to go all the way back to the day they fired Dan Beebe. When was the last time the Big 12 made a decision that had fans in ACC and SEC country cheering? That might not have ever happened.
All eyes were on the Big 12 this week when its presidents voted on the upcoming season. Deciding to postpone games until the spring could have served as the ultimate domino that caused the ACC and SEC to follow suit. By forging ahead, those other conferences had extra incentive to play.
Most expected the Big 12 to punt and delay any kind of decision, leaving college football in limbo for a few more weeks. Instead, they flexed their muscles and released a revised schedule for all 10 of its members.
Talk about a power move.
They showed strength when everyone expected they would roll over.
An extra benefit from that decision: the way Nebraska fans have reacted to seeing their old conference move forward with plans to play while their new conference has forced the Huskers to the sideline.
Nebraska tried as hard as it could to protest. It even explored the possibility of going rogue and playing games without Big Ten permission this fall. Maybe they could have even re-joined the Big 12?
Longtime Omaha columnist Tom Shatel wrote an excellent story on whether this could be the beginning of the end for Nebraska in the Big Ten. Fans from all across the Big 12 ate it up like a man reading a letter from his ex-girlfriend that explained how miserable her life is without him.
Nebraska finally backed off and expressed support of the Big Ten on Thursday, effectively ending any hope of the Huskers switching conferences, at least in the short term. But it’s clear they aren’t happy in Lincoln. The Big Ten has made them richer, but that’s about all switching conferences has done for them.
They lost all their natural rivals and their best recruiting territories when they left the Big 12. They also failed to find the respect they were looking for from their new conference brothers. Instead of feuding with Texas, they are now getting looked down at by Ohio State and Michigan.
Who cares what Nebraska wants? That could be the Big Ten’s new motto.
The money is too good in the Big Ten for Nebraska or any other team to bail on that league, but I wish Nebraska could move back to the Big 12. I asked my Twitter followers how they felt about that idea in a social media poll, and 80% of nearly 7,000 voters indicated they would welcome back the Huskers with open arms.
Sure, there are still some hurt feelings. But nothing they couldn’t move past. Of all the teams that left the Big 12 a decade ago (Nebraska, Colorado, Missouri and Texas A&M) I get the feeling fans would be most welcoming of a return for the Huskers than the other three.
Trading West Virginia for Nebraska would be ideal. Adding Houston, Central Florida or BYU along with Nebraska is a decent idea, too. Wouldn’t it be amazing if these recent decisions created another round of conference realignment?
I’m sure that won’t happen. But I’m also sure of this: Nebraska, at least for the time being, wishes it never left the Big 12.
Now let’s get to your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
It’s time for another K-State Q&A.
It is and it isn’t.
On one hand, two major conferences choosing not to play football in the fall might open the door for a team other than Oklahoma, Clemson, Ohio State and the SEC champion to make the College Football Playoff this season.
On the other hand, there might not be a College Football Playoff this season.
Can you really crown a champion while four FBS conferences and counting have decided to punt until at least the spring?
Bob Bowlsby was asked that very question on Wednesday and he had no immediate answer, saying that is something that will need to be figured out on the fly after games begin. For what it’s worth, the CFP announced Thursday that its selection committee is preparing for the upcoming season the same way it would any other.
There is also a fairly high risk that college football gets canceled entirely in October.
Maybe this isn’t the best year to have a loaded team.
Even if K-State plays a full 10 games during the regular season, there’s a decent chance that the postseason gets canceled and the basketball debate from March starts all over in football circles about which team deserves a trophy.
Conference championships might be the best any team can hope for.
Now, if things go off without a hitch I think finishing in the top 25 of active teams would be an accomplishment more than a given. Most preseason magazines have K-State rated somewhere around 50 nationally. After you take out all the Big Ten and Pac-12 schools listed above them, the Wildcats move up to about 35.
There are still lots of great teams looking to play this season, and it’s not like K-State will be adding players off waivers from teams that won’t be playing. Chris Klieman has some legit question marks to address right now (like offensive line). I’m not expecting the level of difficulty to change.
Let me start by sharing the following immortal video about playoffs ...
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s actually answer your question.
My guess is they still find a way to have a four-team playoff. Yes, it will be weird without the Big Ten and Pac-12. But if we’re being honest all you really need is the ACC and SEC.
Heck, we could forgo the whole season and just let SEC choose a team to play Clemson tomorrow for the national title and we wouldn’t be robbing many competitors of a realistic shot at hoisting a trophy.
As of now, enough teams are still moving ahead with plans to play in the fall for a playoff to be held. The champions from the ACC, Big 12 and SEC would all earn a spot in the field, along with a wild card or the best smaller-conference champion.
You wouldn’t necessarily have to put an asterisk on that competition.
Or the teams playing in the fall could have one championship and the teams playing in the spring could have another. Split national champions!
On the topic of bowls, I’m not expecting them to be played. The Rose Bowl, for example, already looks like a no go. Asking teams to travel to a neutral city for a week to play a glorified exhibition game during a pandemic seems totally unnecessary. I don’t see it happening.
The safe bet remains the under.
As badly as I want to see college football start and finish its 2020 season in the fall, that remains a risky bet.
Even though I am more confident that it could happen than at any other point this summer (K-State not producing a single positive case as players reported for camp was a great sign), a Big 12 source reminded me this week that “everything could change by tomorrow.”
It won’t take many coronavirus outbreaks to derail the whole season. Without a bubble like they have in the NBA, it’s going to be hard to make it all the way through. So if I had to make a wager on you bet, I would put $50 on the under.
But I am rooting hard for the over.
I would strictly prohibit overnight travel for all Big 12 football teams, meaning that K-State would need to make day trips for road games against Oklahoma, TCU, West Virginia, Iowa State and Baylor.
Fly* into town. Play a football game. Fly* home.
*Or drive for close games.
That’s what the schedule should be for every visiting team this season.
Maybe that doesn’t classify as extreme, but I do think minimizing travel would help protect against COVID outbreaks. Eliminating nights in hotels and time on the road sounds like a good thing right now.
And before you say that type of travel schedule will throw off a team’s routine, I must tell you that Baylor made day trips out of all its road games last season and things turned out just fine for the Bears.
I’m all for eliminating morning kickoffs to give teams more time to conveniently travel on Saturdays.
Perhaps an exception could be made for games involving West Virginia. That’s the one team I could see getting hurt by reduced travel.
Speaking as the father of four boys that didn’t inherit much in terms of athleticism, I will be absolutely thrilled if any of them earn a college scholarship (athletic or academic) when it’s time for them to leave for school.
I certainly understand why elite college athletes want more than that just a scholarship in exchange for their talents. And I will admit it is a little ridiculous that some coaches make $9 million a year while the players they teach don’t have a salary of any kind. I’m all for closing that gap, and hopefully that will happen after the coronavirus pandemic ends.
Still, I think an athletic scholarship is a terrific deal for most players.
College athletes have it better than some might suggest. They receive a free education, they get access to world-class trainers and doctors, they eat free food, they benefit from tutors and they often travel charter. They also receive a cost-of-living stipend on top of that.
Once colleges adopt a policy on Name Image and Likeness, allowing athletes to profit off their abilities and sponsor products, I think they will have it really good. A player’s association for college football, if it happens, would also be nice to see so that they can start having more of a voice in decisions.
But, after all that happens, if that still isn’t enough for some college athletes, the NCAA should advise them to search for different options.
There are a few out there for young athletes, like the NBA’s new developmental program for players fresh out of high school. They can also try playing overseas.
College athletics aren’t for everyone, but they are a sweet deal for many.