Barfknecht: Playoff no lock with larger leagues

Rankings: Lee Barfkencht ranks the Big Ten

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Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman offers another wake-up call to college football fans dreaming of a playoff.

Even if the landscape of college sports someday changes to the point that four super-conferences rule, Perlman sees "no additional reason to have a playoff.''

"And maybe less reason," he said in an email interview.

In that scenario, conference championship games would serve more like early-round playoff games.

"So it might be easier to put a No. 1 and No. 2 together in the same bowl," Perlman said. "(It's) hard for me to see the need for a separate playoff so that a second-place winner in a super-conference has a chance to be No. 1.''

Perlman also dumps cold water on the recent ESPN, talk-radio and blogosphere conclusion that super-conferences will naturally result from some schools' realignment efforts.

"I have heard very little conversation among my fellow CEOs about super-conferences," he said. "I doubt most of us would have an ambition to be in a super-conference."

Outside consequences someday could lead to 16-team leagues, Perlman said, but multiple pieces would need to fit together.

"First and foremost, I think the issue is culture and fit for teams joining," he said. "I think you see that playing out in the Pac-12 actions over the last week."

Finances and geography also are critical, Perlman said.

If a school being considered for expansion doesn't add value to a league, there is no incentive to act. The strain of potential coast-to-coast travel also is a legitimate consideration.

Perlman's views dovetail with those of five college power-brokers I interviewed for a Sunday World-Herald column, which explored the "wishful thinking'' surrounding super-conferences and a playoff.

The question for you as a reader and a fan is whom do you trust?

Do you base your beliefs on the speculative babble of some talking head? Or do you pay attention to the in-the-trenches facts from leading officials such as Perlman, who recently was chairman of the Bowl Championship Series presidential oversight committee and chairman of the NCAA Board of Directors?

Big 12 a behemoth on field

Nebraska football fans should give extra thanks to Perlman for helping earn the Huskers an invitation to leave the Big 12 for the Big Ten this season.

Big 12 football in 2011 is on fire, with five teams among the top 17 in the Associated Press poll.

No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 5 Oklahoma State, No. 14 Texas A&M, No. 15 Baylor and No. 17 Texas are a combined 15-1. The only loss was in the conference: OSU 30, A&M 29.

Add in Iowa State (3-0) with wins over Iowa and Connecticut; Kansas State (3-0) with a win at Miami; and Missouri (2-2) with losses only to rated teams on the road, and the gantlet in that league is far more daunting than in the Big Ten.

In the Big Ten this week, No. 8 Nebraska (4-0) plays at No. 7 Wisconsin (4-0) in a matchup of the preseason favorites in the Legends and Leaders Divisions.

Have you ever seen two teams so close in the polls yet so far apart in performance?

That doesn't mean the Badgers are a lock. But the Huskers will need their best game of the year and less than 100 percent from UW to pull an upset.

No. 19 Michigan (4-0) showed in a 28-7 win over San Diego State that its defense may be for real. Coach Brady Hoke's old team has legitimate offensive weapons that the Wolverines shut down.

Saturday's news for the rest of the Big Ten wasn't real cheery.

Penn State lost star linebacker Michael Mauti to a torn ACL in his left knee. Mauti missed the 2009 season after an ACL tear in his right knee.

No. 22 Illinois needed a late field goal to subdue Western Michigan 23-20. Indiana lost to winless North Texas State, falling behind 24-0 in the fourth quarter. Minnesota lost to FCS North Dakota State 37-24.

Conference play, which starts Saturday, can't come soon enough for the scuffling Big Ten.

Contact the writer:

402-444-1024, lee.barfknecht@owh.com

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