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There is nothing that can be done about the Big Ten’s shameless power grab, but something can be done about its efforts to corner more spots in a playoff bracket of any size.
College football is awash in problems, including the Big Ten’s unrivaled arrogance, and its never-ending list of demands that would make Notre Dame blush. There is Ohio State. There is Oregon. The end.
On Wednesday night, Miami evicted defending national champion Ohio State from the playoff by winning the Cotton Bowl, 24-14, in the quarterfinals. No. 10 Miami came in as 7.5-point underdog to No. 2 Ohio State, and at no point was Miami the inferior team.
After the game, on the field amid the celebrations from Miami players and coaches current and past, Hurricanes linebacker Wesley Bissainthe was asked if mighty Ohio State was any better than any of the other quality teams they have faced this season.
“No way, baby,” Bissainthe said.
Succinct. Brutally honest.
Ohio State’s status as one of the top programs in the nation merits zero debate. The Buckeyes are some combination of Big Pharma and Wal-Mart.
But the idea that the rest of that league merits special exception is absurd, a creation of Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti and ratings-craved executives who desperately need the likes of Rutgers and UCLA to be “in the mix.”
As college football evolves, and tinkers with its playoff format, granting any exceptions, or potentially guaranteeing more teams from the Big Ten to be included in this lucrative postseason bracket, needs to be tossed into the “God Awful Ideas” dumpster.
Miami’s identity was built on dominating teams in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and its reputation has taken a hit over the past 15 years for a variety of reasons, including its spot as a member of the little ACC. From the moment Ohio State took the field it was evident the players underestimated Miami.
“Obviously, I’m not in the opposing locker room and can’t confirm or deny that statement, but probably,” Miami quarterback Carson Beck said in the locker room after the game. He sat before a few reporters wearing his Miami jersey, which features an ACC logo.
I asked him if that patch read “BIG10,” would his team would be viewed differently.
“Honestly, probably, and I don’t know, it’s just that’s kind of the world of college football that we live in,” said Beck, who started his college career at Georgia before transferring to Miami in the offseason. “I’ve been in the SEC, so I understand the different viewpoints on different conferences, and it’s a real thing.
“There’s 100% bias in certain areas. And again, if we had a different patch on our [jersey], there would probably be a different viewpoint, but we are in the ACC. But I would assume that people would look at us a little bit differently now.”
They should.
Doesn’t mean they will.
In this world of super conference consolidation, there is too much appeasement of all things Big Ten and the SEC. Those leagues did grab the biggest brands, and markets, and many of the traditional powers exist in those two leagues.
The BIGSEC10 is not a monopoly in the traditional sense, but what the leadership of these leagues did would at least merit a quality discussion in a graduate-level business class. This is some upper-tier marketing.
And just because they wear the same patch doesn’t mean Maryland and Minnesota merit the same level of consideration as Oregon and Ohio State.
The Big Ten has tried to create a discussion, and a debate, that its strength of schedule, and depth, merits more spots in a playoff. It doesn’t. If anything, its teams merit more scrutiny. Did anyone watch what happened to No. 16 USC against unranked TCU in the Alamo Bowl?
“There are certain programs that want certain narratives, and we can’t control them. The play on the field controls it and the honest answer to your question is, our league is probably from top to bottom, is the best league in the nation,” Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said after the game.
Not sure everyone is going to sign off on the ACC as the top league in the nation, but every coach claims his conference is the football version of the Bataan death march.
“There are teams that are at the lower part of our league that can beat you, if you don’t play well,” he said. “There are a couple other conferences out there that people like to talk about that are top-heavy; there are teams that win eight games in those conferences, but don’t beat the team with the winning record.”
He’s talking about you, Missouri.
“When the game is played it’s pretty revealing,” Dawson said.
What Miami’s win at Texas A&M in the first round of these playoffs and now the ‘Canes’ win over Ohio State revealed is that the top team in the ACC can whip the best from the SEC and the Big Ten.
Neither A&M nor Ohio State was ready for Miami’s defense.
“I feel like everybody thinks they are [ready] until they gotta see us,” Miami defensive lineman Rueben Bain said. “Everybody got a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
No one doubts that the three Big Ten teams that made these playoffs — Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon — deserve to be here. They do.
But any effort to lobby for guaranteed spots for teams just because they play in the Big Ten should be handled by Miami’s defensive line.
This story was originally published January 1, 2026 at 1:07 AM.
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Mac Engel
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