Ryan Day: Eliminating Big Ten title game would enhance Ohio State-Michigan showdown

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. — The annual Ohio State-Michigan battle hasn’t directly impacted the Big Ten regular-season title in more than 15 years. That could change should the College Football Playoff grow to 24 teams and the Big Ten eliminate its championship game, Ohio State coach Ryan Day said.

“I think it could even be more important,” Day told The Athletic during the Big Ten meetings Monday at the Terranea Resort. “You’re playing for either a chance to get into the Playoff or a chance to get seeded high to get a first-round bye. Or, if you are already maybe predicted to be one of the top eight schools, then you’re fighting for a high seed. So, all those are critically important to your success in the Playoff.

“I think with the elimination of the championship game, it keeps that rivalry as fierce as it’s ever been, the stakes just as high.”

Michigan-Ohio State arguably is college football’s greatest rivalry, and it has concluded every fully played regular season for both schools since 1943. It has also garnered the highest television ratings of any regular-season game in four of the past five seasons. But since the Big Ten instituted a championship contest following the 2011 season, neither team has hoisted the league championship trophy following “The Game.” For 10 years, they were placed in the East Division together. In the other five years, the powers never met in a rematch. Their last winner-take-all battle for the Big Ten title took place in 2007.

A 24-team CFP likely would force leagues to give up their championship games to start the postseason the first week of December. The Big Ten, along with the Big 12 and ACC, is solidly in favor of doubling the CFP from its current 12-team alignment to 24 teams. The SEC, which joins the Big Ten in having bilateral say over the number of Playoff teams, officially remains undecided.

Day was tepid in his support for an expanded Playoff, partly because Ohio State would have qualified no lower than seventh since the CFP began with the 2014 season. But he supports the plan overall.

“You could debate whether going to a 24-team Playoff would be best for Ohio State, but I do think it would be best for the conference, and so I think that’s significant,” Day said. “I can see that there would be more games on campus, and I feel like it would be engaging more of the college football fan bases across the country.”

Day said the first and second rounds should be played on college campuses. He also believes the CFP must end in early January and the tournament open the first week in December.

“I feel very strongly about that,” Day said. “To let the season go all the way into the third or fourth week of January doesn’t make sense. So, the sooner we can get the season over with, the better, so that we can get into putting our next year’s roster together and bringing in our freshmen, because that all happens the first week of January. So, can we be finished by the first week there of January? I think that would be ideal.”