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Title game gives Big 12 psychological edge it needs
- Updated: June 3, 2016
5:34 PM ET
IRVING, Texas — The Big 12’s psychological disadvantage, real or perceived, doesn’t stem from having fewer members than the other Power 5 conferences. It stems from not having a signature event like the other big-boy leagues.
The infamous line from Oklahoma president David Boren last June about the Big 12 feeling smaller because it is smaller may have been misguided. You know when the Big 12 really felt smaller? December 6, 2014.
It’s a day I spent along Interstate 35, watching TCU stomp Iowa State in the early afternoon and then Baylor handle Kansas State on a postcard-perfect night in Waco. Both Big 12 champions looked Playoff-worthy. Both showcased stars. And both were forgotten because of what happened in a conference championship game about 800 miles away. Rather than marveling at Baylor’s quick-strike offense, those of us in the McLane Stadium press box fixated on GameTracker and shouting, “Ohio State scored again!”
In the last Big 12 championship game before the league went down to 10 teams, Oklahoma clipped Nebraska for the 2010 title. AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez
Yes, the result was unexpected with a virtually unknown Buckeyes quarterback. Yes, Ohio State is an exponentially bigger brand than TCU or Baylor. But the fact the Buckeyes’ bludgeoning of Wisconsin took place in a league championship game — on league championship weekend — made the biggest optical difference. If Stanford had beaten Oregon last fall, it could have made the same difference during the Pac-12 championship game, while Big 12 champ Oklahoma watched from home.
And it will continue to make a difference when the playoff selection margins are razor-thin.
The playoff selections are a beauty contest, usually among one-loss teams. There’s no prettier sight than a league’s best team winning in its league championship game.
The Big 12 needed a touchup, and Friday, it stepped to the vanity mirror. The return of a league championship game in 2017 isn’t the extreme makeover that expansion brings, but it’s an important step for …
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