The future of college football could change forever if an All-Big Ten national title game between Ohio State and Penn State goes down.
That’s according to ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum, whose primary lean is the SEC. Texas remains the only conference representative, as it plays the Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl semifinal a week from Friday.
After losing to Michigan in Week 14, the Buckeyes have pounded their first two opponents to advance to the penultimate game. This included a 41-21 Rose Bowl thrashing against Oregon on New Year’s Day, as the Buckeyes pounced on the Ducks early thanks to effortless, near-flawless execution from quarterback Will Howard and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who combined for two touchdown connections and 187 of Howard’s 319 yards through the air.
Finebaum seemed somewhat dismayed when asked about this possibility following the quarterfinal outcomes.
“This would really completely change the paradigm of college football… if it’s two Big Ten teams and the Big Ten is ruling the world,” Finebaum said. “I’m not sure what we’re gonna do down here in SEC country, but hang our heads.”
Finebaum smartly pointed out that an all-SEC national title game has happened three times since 2011. It has simply become semi-tradition for an SEC team to be at least half of the national title game.
Except for the 2014-15 national championship between the Buckeyes and Ducks and last year’s final between Michigan and Washington, the SEC has been represented yearly in the College Football Playoff era.
The BCS era ended with Florida State’s win against Auburn in 2013. The last Big Ten champion to win the national championship in that era was in 2003, when the Buckeyes stunned the Miami Hurricanes in a double-overtime thriller, 31-30.
Historic is an understatement. It would not just begin a new era but also prove that the Big Ten could compete with the ACC, Big 12, and SEC as one of the sport’s premier conferences, if not the sport’s best.
Ohio State won the first matchup in November in State College during the regular season, 20-13. This ended up serving as a springboard for both teams. Penn State finished as a conference runner-up to Oregon, 45-37. At the same time, the Buckeyes eventually hosted a first-round playoff game because they missed the conference title game, thus not earning a bye. Neither did Penn State.
Both teams must win their respective games (the Cotton Bowl for Ohio State and the Orange Bowl for Penn State) to make the game a reality. With the unpredictability the playoff has brought so far, putting a victory past either of these two teams opposite Texas or Notre Dame is a mistake.
Parity in college football is a great thing. With the chaos happening off the field in the new world of NIL and the transfer portal, the more drama involved keeps people invested.
The semifinals pick up a week from Thursday with Penn State-Notre Dame, followed by Ohio State-Texas the following evening. Both kickoffs are set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
