It's Time To Dump Conference Championship Games

I can hear it already. Is this guy nuts? Did he watch the SEC Championship Game today? I don’t think I’m nuts, and yes I did watch the game. It’s probably one of the best games in my lifetime. That game itself, however, doesn’t make the concept of a championship game right and with a playoff coming, it is needed even less.

Let’s assume for a minute that the Kansas State Wildcats stayed perfect through the season. Without a title game anymore in the Big 12 they faced a Texas Longhorns team which clearly isn’t one of the best in their conference. If anything, they should have had a rematch with the Oklahoma Sooners. That game has a fluke win written all over it anyways with the crazy turnovers we saw.

Of course, you then could face a situation like we saw last night when the UCLA Bruins and Stanford Cardinal faced each other twice in the span of two weeks. The champ game was fine although the initial matchup had the feel of an NFL preseason game. Neither team wanted to give too much away in anticipation of the next week. You can even make a legitimate argument that UCLA let Stanford win so they didn’t have to face the Oregon Ducks.

When you add in the vast amount of empty seats at that Pac 12 Championship, the Big Ten Championship and the ACC Championship, the choice is clear.

As of this writing, the Wisconsin Badgers look to be headed to the Rose Bowl. A 7-5 team in the “granddaddy of them all”? That has classic written all over it…… NOT.

One game was a classic today. That doesn’t justify this outdated concept that is just another money grab by corporate interest in college sports. Again, I thought this is about the student-athletes!

Like my article? Hate it? Let me know on Twitter (@tmichaelcronin). I look forward to your thoughts.