Conference-only college football doesn't make sense - Houston Chronicle

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This is the perfect time for Texas to finally start playing Texas A&M again.

That was my second thought.

The first: The Big Ten panicked. So did the Pac-12. And the NCAA has no control over the Power Five.

Maybe someone out there can convince me that Georgia playing Georgia Tech is more dangerous than Ohio State playing Rutgers and USC playing Oregon.

I know it’s 2020, everything is crazy and real life rarely makes sense. But good luck with that.

The Ivy League made the Big Ten look silly this week. At least the conference that cares more about academics than athletics went all-in and completely canceled fall sports due to the lingering shadow that is the coronavirus pandemic.

During a time when no immediate answer was necessary and no one was forcing the Big Ten to do anything big, the Power Five football conference that almost annually disappoints dreamed up the incredibly odd idea of canceling all of its non-conference games during the 2020 season in the name of “health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, game officials and others associated with our sports programs.”

“By limiting competition to other Big Ten institutions, the conference will have the greatest flexibility to adjust its own operations throughout the season and make quick decisions in real-time based on the most current evolving medical advice and the fluid nature of the pandemic,” the conference said Thursday in a statement that immediately rocked the sports world, college football and the NCAA at the same time.

All the programs (Houston, Ohio State, Kansas State, Kansas, Louisiana Tech, Boise State, etc.) that have been forced to pause offseason workouts because of positive COVD-19 tests speaks to just how challenging the 2020 season is going to be — if it even happens.

You want to limit games to in-state or within a set geographical area? Fine. That makes sense and is increasingly understandable in an athletic environment that continues to be wildly unpredictable.

Follow in the Ivy League’s trendy footsteps and simply cancel the 2020 football season? Good luck paying all the big bills in 2021. But, again, it would be understandable in an athletic environment that continues to be wildly unpredictable.

But canceling Michigan at Washington almost two months away from the game? Canceling Ohio State at Oregon, Penn State at Virginia Tech, and Wisconsin versus Notre Dame on October 3 at Lambeau Field? Canceling Iowa State at Iowa, even though both teams obviously hail from the same state?

Nothing about that makes sense. Especially considering that the Badgers-Fighting Irish game was still more than 80 days away and the Big Ten currently has no problem with Ohio State playing at Maryland, which is 400 miles away.

The Power Five conferences were supposed to be working together, trying to find some way to save college football in 2020.

The NCAA is supposed to be a governing body that looks out for the best interests of its student-athletes.

Thanks to the NCAA, that previous sentence too often is laughable.

But the Big Ten’s and Pac-12’s conference-only plan is just as big of a joke and does nothing on paper to preserve health, protect players or keep the college game moving forward in 2020. It’s insular, short-sighted and selfish.

“Ten (Football Bowl Subdivision) conferences have signed a college football playoff agreement with an expectation that we will work together for the good of college football," said Bowling Green athletic director Bob Moosbrugger, whose program lost a season-opener at Ohio State previously scheduled for September 5. "If we are to solve these challenges and be truly dedicated to protecting the health and safety of our student-athletes, we need to do a better job of working together."

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

It should also be pointed out that Bowling Green is located in the same state as Ohio State and the schools are separated by about 115 miles. If player safety really is paramount, that matchup makes way more sense than the Buckeyes traveling to Maryland and the Wolverines heading to New Jersey.

Is there going to be a college football season?

Is the NCAA on the verge of fracturing for good, with a contemporary game of survival of the fittest completely reshaping the collegiate landscape?

Is the SEC going to end up ruling its own world while the Pac-12 falls apart and the Big 12 goes its own way?

“The Southeastern Conference will continue to meet regularly with our campus leaders in the coming weeks, guided by medical advisors, to make the important decisions necessary to determine the best path forward related to the SEC fall sports,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. “We recognize the challenges ahead and know the well-being of our student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans must remain at the forefront of those decisions.”

The Aggies are currently scheduled to play at Mississippi State, Auburn, South Carolina and Alabama. The Longhorns are set to play at Kansas State, Kansas and Oklahoma State.

If it’s safe enough to play college football in 2020, then college football should be played.

Conference-only doesn’t make practical sense. It could also end up doing more harm than good.

brian.smith@chron.com

twitter.com/chronbriansmith

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