Es ist jetzt nicht so, dass die Big Ten die einzige Conference ist, die sich in Richtung ihrer potentiellen Playoff-Teilnehmer beugt. Und die Frage muss schon erlaubt sein, ob man diesen Geist wieder in die Flasche bekommt, wenn er einmal draußen ist. Guter Artikel diesbezüglich:
https://www.si.com/college/2020/1…yoff-contenders
ZitatSo we have two Power 5 conferences playing favorites, in plain English.
How should their conference peers feel about the integrity of the championship games themselves? Worried. Because if league leadership is willing to play favorites in terms of scheduling and rules, who’s to say they stop there? If you want to take it a dark step farther, we should watch the officiating closely in those title games.
In the ACC, the desired result is Clemson avenging its loss to Notre Dame. That would leave both teams with a single defeat and probably get both in the playoff. In the Big Ten, the desired result would be Ohio State beating West champion Northwestern (6).
If either game is close, could a borderline offensive holding flag, or a defensive pass interference, or a personal foul call that favored the desired winner come into play? You’d hate to think so. But any conference willing to change its rules at this point is inviting a new level of cynicism. If a Northwestern defender so much as breathes heavily on Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields (7) in a possible Big Ten title matchup, keep an eye out for a torrent of yellow flags.
For fans who have always suspected that the conference office protected the best teams, this year you’re actually right. They’re not hiding it.