In a sport that has become accustomed to recycling national champions from the same small programs, the final game of this college football season offers something not seen in more than 30 years, and something that will sadly never be seen again. It’s going to happen.
Big Ten vs. Pac-12.
Midwest vs. West Coast.
And perhaps the most surprising given the modern history of the sport is Michigan vs. Washington.
Since the beginning of the BCS era in 1998, which extended to the final year of the four-team College Football Playoff, Ohio State is the only Big Ten program to win a national title, and Southern California is the only program in the Pacific Region. did. The time zone where the job actually ends.
That will change on Monday thanks to this matchup. And, for better or worse, conference-based heartthrobs will become just another relic of the sport’s past.
There will be a lot of discussion in the coming days about how Washington and Michigan will play in next season’s Big Ten conference games. It’s a shining moment for new commissioner Tony Petiti, and a reminder of George Kryavkov’s historic humiliation as commissioner. The Pac-12 collapsed this fall.
Even if Washington wins, it won’t be a last hurray, but rather a sign of the wasted promise that generations of Pac-12 administrators have squandered due to arrogance and incompetence. Dew. And the fact that the big West Coast-based conference will no longer be held is an humiliation that deserves more than a shrug and empty platitudes about change being inevitable.
In fact, conference pride (including that awkward “SEC!” chant) is a big part of what has made college football interesting for decades. But it’s not just about which logo the team wears, it’s also about what the team symbolizes. Everyone at the conference shared understandable traditions and idiosyncrasies and was like members of a dysfunctional family who fought all year long but still came to the table and enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving.
But what about the league we’re going to get next season?
These are not conferences in the sense that we are familiar with them. When Texas and Oklahoma arrive to expand the SEC membership to 16, some of the backyard brawls that made the league what it is now will turn into throwaway games that rotate in and out of the schedule. And when Washington joins Oregon, the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles in the Big Ten to become an 18-team monster, the only thing that will unite them culturally will be the relentless pursuit of dollars.
Don’t forget about ACC. The ACC effectively weakened the entire Atlantic Coast by adding two teams from California (Cal State and Stanford) and one team from Texas (SMU). Or the Big 12, which was the most regionally cohesive of all leagues until they all folded and had to buy out schools in the Cincinnati, Orlando, and Phoenix metropolitan areas to ensure their survival. Ta.
These are no longer cohesive leagues built on academic and cultural commonalities, but chain restaurants trying to plant their flags in suburban shopping centers with good foot traffic and plenty of parking. You can also support Chipotle and Starbucks.
The point is, if Washington wins the national championship, it would mean something to West Coast football. It should be a badge of pride for Washington’s rivals, too, that the team was actually able to do it in the Pac-12 despite all the obstacles it faced. This has seen many top players go on to schools like Alabama and Georgia, from Seattle to San Diego due to the perception that football is taken more seriously locally than in their own backyards. This should be an inspiration to all high school coaches. .
If Michigan wins its first outright national title since President Harry Truman, it will significantly change the perception of the Midwest. Among all these regional powers, the national championships, last won by Penn State, Nebraska, and even Notre Dame, are starting to go out of the rearview mirror and into the scrapbook. It seemed like only Ohio State could attract enough talent to compete on modern college football’s biggest stage.
But what does that actually mean when college football is no longer a regional sport? We know the real debate is who makes the most money from their TV deals. But what’s the fun in comparing one conference to another?
Sure, they’ll keep scoring, but the most important game, SEC vs. Big Ten, will last until they’ve consumed all the parts they want from the rest of college sports. A few years ago, the SEC-Big Ten matchup was a clash of styles and ideologies, allowing fans from both leagues to attend.
Now, it’s a battle for TV windows and the remains of other leagues that could fall apart in the near future (looking at you, the ACC). It’s not that appealing.
But on Monday, before college football becomes fully corporatized, there will be a national champion who truly represents a conference and region of the country. Sadly, this will be the last meaningful moment.