The correct choice is very clear for the Big Ten

[MplsGopher]

- Scrap the current plan for the last week of the season
- Let Ohio State play in the championship game, regardless if the The Game (vs Michigan) happens
- Let Minnesota and Wisconsin play their rivalry game
- Allow any other games to be played among Big Ten teams that haven't happened this year and desire to play each other


Do they have enough brain cells to get out of their own way and make this objectively correct decision????

 

[MplsGopher]

https://www.startribune.com/give-us...inal-football-game-big-ten-leaders/573304551/

Give us Gophers vs. Badgers in the final football game, Big Ten leaders
The Big Ten’s football “regular” season concludes next Saturday, and everything about this trudge toward the finish line has been predictably chaotic, disjointed and messy.

Some Big Ten teams have played seven games, some six, some five, some four.

Uniformity was never realistic. Cancellations caused by COVID-19 outbreaks were inevitable, which brings us to the plus-one games — “Champions Week,” as the Big Ten is calling it — scheduled for Dec. 19.

Let’s change that moniker to “Makeup Week.”

Give us Paul Bunyan’s Axe.

...

Week 9 provides flexibility to fix that. Once the division champions are determined, the league can do anything it wants in scheduling everyone else. This situation isn’t guided by bylaws. Just fire up a Zoom with athletic directors and iron out matchups.

Sources told me that Gophers officials have spoken to the Big Ten office and expressed a desire to play the Badgers. Presumably, that feeling is mutual.

No one has more clout in the Big Ten than Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez. If Barry asks for it, he will get it.

On a different note, Alvarez told the Detroit News that the league should reconsider its six-game minimum standard to qualify for the championship game if Ohio State gets excluded by virtue of the Michigan game being canceled. The Buckeyes are in position to earn a berth to the College Football Playoff, and the Big Ten doesn’t want to hinder their chances of being selected.

“We may make some adjustments on that last week,” Alvarez told the newspaper.

 

[upnorthkid]

Now that Wisconsin has lost again, there is no reason for them to not want to play this game instead. They really should just get all the team reps together and hash out the schedule together for the final week. Would make much more sense that an odd assigning of cross over games when teams have unbalanced records

 

[MplsGopher]

Now that Wisconsin has lost again, there is no reason for them to not want to play this game instead. They really should just get all the team reps together and hash out the schedule together for the final week. Would make much more sense that an odd assigning of cross over games when teams have unbalanced records

Absolutely.

When things are this obvious to people .... I always get nervous if decision makers will actually let the right thing happen. For various reasons, they seem often to not (in general, not specific to the Big Ten).

 

[Joe Hardy]

Wisconsin is the biggest game on the schedule. Nebraska and the Badgers are the two games I look forward to every year. There must be a way to get this done.

 

[Some Day...Maybe]

- Scrap the current plan for the last week of the season
- Let Ohio State play in the championship game, regardless if the The Game (vs Michigan) happens
- Let Minnesota and Wisconsin play their rivalry game
- Allow any other games to be played among Big Ten teams that haven't happened this year and desire to play each other


Do they have enough brain cells to get out of their own way and make this objectively correct decision????

I’m sure Indiana would love that. Change the rules everybody agreed to at the start of the season during the last week of the season. You’d probably be advocating this if the Gophers were in Indiana’s predicament as well, I’m sure.

 

[MplsGopher]

I’m sure Indiana would love that. Change the rules everybody agreed to at the start of the season during the last week of the season. You’d probably be advocating this if the Gophers were in Indiana’s predicament as well, I’m sure.

Indiana lost fair and square to OSU.

Tom Allen would be the first person to agree that the Buckeyes deserve to be in Indy, and that he doesn’t want his team backing into the game. Good for him!

 

[GFBfan]

Michigan still is shut down. Tell Illinois they won’t get a game this week unless another team can’t play. Play OSU and Northwestern this Sat for the Big title.
Next week the schedule could be.
Gophers vs Badgers
ScUM can get drilled by OSU
Illinois vs Northwestern
MSU vs Maryland.
Indiana Vs Nebraska
PSU vs Purdue.
Rutgers vs Iowa

 

[#2Gopher]

I would hope that Ad's realized that this season is completely screwed up. Adjusting the schedule at this point would make perfect sense.

 

[Catechol]

I would hope that Ad's realized that this season is completely screwed up. Adjusting the schedule at this point would make perfect sense.

How is the season more screwed up than what they planned for? Everyone knew the rules, and the rules were written precisely for the likelihood that some teams would not play 6 or more games. these possibilities were literally spelled out in the rules. There is no way it’s fair to change the rules in the last week of the regular season.
So if the Gophers were 7-1 with their only loss to Wisconsin who was say 5-0 but missed 3 games, you would be OK with Barry suddenly announcing Wisky was going to the championship?

 

[MplsGopher]

How is the season more screwed up than what they planned for? Everyone knew the rules, and the rules were written precisely for the likelihood that some teams would not play 6 or more games. these possibilities were literally spelled out in the rules. There is no way it’s fair to change the rules in the last week of the regular season.
So if the Gophers were 7-1 with their only loss to Wisconsin who was say 5-0 but missed 3 games, you would be OK with Barry suddenly announcing Wisky was going to the championship?

They lost fair and square. OSU is ready to play a sixth game, and would've (easily) won it, had Michigan not gotten sick.

Fair is fair -- OSU should be in the championship.


Also, the main reason this needs to be done, which your analogy doesn't cover, is that OSU deserves to be in the CFP. Wisconsin 5-0 would simply go on to lose to OSU in the championship, as always. So it's not equivalent.

 

[GoGophersUMN]

The rules to qualify for the championship game were clearly laid out at the beginning of the season. If they don't play another game, they don't qualify and shouldn't get in. In a reversed situation where Indiana ended the season 5-0 and OSU ended 7-1 with their only loss coming to Indiana, I doubt anyone other than Indiana fans would be saying that Indiana deserves the spot. The whole point of rules is to give every team a fair chance.

I could see the argument for changing the rules if OSU only had games cancelled because of their opponents but they had one cancelled on their own. OSU put themselves in this situation by not playing their game against Illinois.

Outside of the championship game, I think teams should be able to schedule any Big Ten team they haven't played. The original system would have been cool in a perfect work where everyone played their schedule but with the majority of teams missing at least 1 game and a ton of teams tied or potentially tied depending on what would have happened with cancelled games, the crossovers mean very little.

 

[Catechol]

They lost fair and square. OSU is ready to play a sixth game, and would've (easily) won it, had Michigan not gotten sick.

Fair is fair -- OSU should be in the championship.


Also, the main reason this needs to be done, which your analogy doesn't cover, is that OSU deserves to be in the CFP. Wisconsin 5-0 would simply go on to lose to OSU in the championship, as always. So it's not equivalent.

Fair is fair? I thought rules were fair. When we were playing games as kids, the kids who tried to change the rules at the end of the game were called sore losers.
This is why they made the rules - you have to play the games to deserve to win. I realize OSU looks like a B1G champion and a CFP playoff team, but they actually have to play the games, you know? Isn’t that part of the greatness of college football?
Wouldn’t it be convenient for a team to play 2/3 of their games, shut it down and say “well we look great, don’t we? We didn’t need to play those other games to prove we’re the best? Upsets rarely happen so let’s just assume we would’ve won those games.”
You’re basically equating a canceled game to a win because you’re saying they would’ve won anyway. One problem with that is that they get a “win” in your book without being exposed to an upset or to losing guys to injury which can happen at any time.

 

[Some Day...Maybe]

I think this is all a moot point as I think OSU will play Michigan this week.

 

[Taji34]

From an ESPN article posted today:

Fleck also expressed his desire to play Wisconsin next week. The Big Ten initially set aside the final weekend for division crossover games as well as the league title game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. But sources said certain intra-division games that were canceled could be made up Dec. 18 or Dec. 19.

Minnesota resumes practice, set to face Nebraska

Minnesota returned to practice Monday and is on track to play Nebraska this week despite having more than 20 players out because of COVID-19 protocols.

www.espn.com

 

[MplsGopher]

I think this is all a moot point as I think OSU will play Michigan this week.

It appears you're correct. So far, so good.



But that's just one aspect of it. The rest of the OP still stands. All other plans should be scrapped, and the teams that want to play each other should get to.

 

[MplsGopher]

Fair is fair? I thought rules were fair. When we were playing games as kids, the kids who tried to change the rules at the end of the game were called sore losers.
This is why they made the rules - you have to play the games to deserve to win. I realize OSU looks like a B1G champion and a CFP playoff team, but they actually have to play the games, you know? Isn’t that part of the greatness of college football?
Wouldn’t it be convenient for a team to play 2/3 of their games, shut it down and say “well we look great, don’t we? We didn’t need to play those other games to prove we’re the best? Upsets rarely happen so let’s just assume we would’ve won those games.”
You’re basically equating a canceled game to a win because you’re saying they would’ve won anyway. One problem with that is that they get a “win” in your book without being exposed to an upset or to losing guys to injury which can happen at any time.

I don't want to waste our times debating what may end up being a moot point.

You make great points here, and by no means is your side of the argument "wrong", at all. Thank you for the discussion!