Pac-12 and Big Ten Really, Really Love the Rose Bowl

The Pac-12 and the Big Ten are holding a college football playoff hostage, which led to this Talking Point for Saturday’s paper:

The latest math-challenged proposal from the BCS involves three semifinal games. The Rose Bowl would be a traditional matchup of the Pac-12 and the Big Ten, and the other semifinal games would feature the four highest-rated available teams. From all that, two finalists would be culled.

Michael Adams, president of the University of Georgia, responded, “I just reject the notion that the Big Ten and the Pac-12 ought to be treated differently in this process.”

Maybe. But while some pretend that the sanctity of the Rose Bowl is about tradition, it’s really about money (of course). The Rose Bowl annually draws significantly higher TV ratings than any bowl game other than the BCS Championship.

If other conferences really want to break the Pac-12/Big Ten stranglehold on the proceedings, they should schedule another game to compete with the Rose Bowl’s traditional afternoon time slot on New Year’s Day. But, alas, that would make too much sense.