Hello, Big 12 expansion stuff. “Seems like the league might add BYU, Cincinnati and/or somebody else, if it can’t have a conference championship without expanding (despite history showing a title game has actually hurt championship chances)” has been the long and short of it for a few years now. Seems that’s where we remain, but now Sports Illustrated is putting percentages on it:
Big 12 has a 70 percent chance of expanding if it can’t add a title game otherwise, says SI
Good morning! This is the Read Option, your morning roundup of college football stuff and a worthy choice to be the 13th team in any league.
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If its legislation proposal gets shot down, there’s a roughly 70 percent chance the league will expand during the next year or two in order to get a title game. If the legislation passes, there’s less than a 50 percent chance of imminent change in the form of the Big 12 adding new members.
One-stop bowl catchup, with Bill Connelly’s single biggest thing to know from each game going back to Christmas Eve (the whole series is here). As always, full bowl scores, schedules and more are here. And some fine recent details, while we’re at it:
- Cincinnati ran the most helpless fake field goal ever.
- The Sun Bowl was a tremendous blizzard again, with camera operators filming phantom kickoffs, Miami’s mascot injecting some Miami into the environment by getting in a snowball battle with Washington State fans, one Wazzu fan becoming a minor meme by giving an interview to CBS in more sombrero than shirt and Mike Leach taking a double-Gatorade shower in sub-freezing temps. El Paso!
- Oh, and somebody drew a snow penis on the field. El Paso!
- Mark May explains the exhilarating power of touching mature dolphins to Mack Brown.
- Indiana might’ve actually hit an overtime field goal against Duke, but refs didn’t review it, which was actually the correct call.
- The five spiciest plays of a very spicy Popeyes Bahamas Bowl.
- MTSU celebrated its bid to that Popeyes Bowl by hoisting giant boxes of Popeyes.
- Nope, the sinister wasteland that is the Tropicana Field turf was still not fixed in time for this year’s St. Pete Bowl.
- The weekly debate about They’re Makin’ ‘Em Play Flag Football fired up when a Nebraska defensive back was ejected for what looked like a standard tackle. On further review, you can see it fits the rule. So, the comments got all They’re Makin’ ‘Em Play Flag Football.
- An Indiana running back named Alex Rodriguez scored a touchdown in Yankee Stadium. He later tweeted this:
IM THE REAL AROD FIRST TD IN YANKEE STADIUM #BACKTOWORK
— Alex Rodriguez (@arod2kold) December 27, 2015 This is both why Alabama assistants are never allowed to talk to the media and why Lane Kiffin in particular should be allowed to talk to the media.
The extremely harmless jawing continues between Alabama running backs and Michigan State front-seven defenders, who are cutting good-natured promos on each other in a spirit of friendship. Good gosh almighty these teams are about to slug each other in the chests for four brutal hours.
Both of Ohio State’s top defensive tackles are out for the Fiesta Bowl, meaning potential No. 1 pick Joey Bosa could slide inside.
More Mizzou turmoil, hooray. This time it’s a former receiver claiming teammates partied too hard during one bowl week.
Today! Keenan Reynolds’ last game comes against a defensive coaching whiz for all the helicopter parts, while Bill tries to talk you into watching Central Michigan vs. Minnesota, the Detroit bowl shamefully no longer sponsored by pizza.
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SB Nation presents: All 40 college football bowl games, in one song
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