Should THE GAME Continue To Be The LAST Game?

Submitted by MaizeMN on

Traditionalists have long believed that the value of the OSU game lies, at least in part, in its culmination as the last game. In years past it was generally a winner-take-all game. The winner likely to play in the Rose Bowl, the lose relegated to a lesser Bowl and a tarnished season. 

Things are different now, though. Now, there is also the BIG championship game and playoff berth at stake. If the ultimate goal is a National Championship, should we consider moving the OSU game to a point earlier in the season? Should it be played when tboth teams would have the ability to recover physically, emotionally and in the rankings? If this year's game had been played earlier in the season, would Michigan have recovered enough in the committee's eyes to have been given a playoff berth? Does keeping The Game last on the schedule doom the loser to be a playoff outsider every year? What do we value more, tradition or National Championships? Can we have both?

EDIT: This OP was not intended to support, nor does it suggest The Game be moved. It was rather, an effort to promote a conversation about users' preference for tradition vs. the prospect of on field success at the expense of that singular tradition.
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hopkinsdrums

January 21st, 2017 at 2:25 PM ^

I really don't believe tradition and a National Championship are mutually exclusive. The team still plays 12 games a season, OSU last or not. Exhaustion and such are going to happen no matter what.

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I Like Burgers

January 21st, 2017 at 2:56 PM ^

Only advantage I could see would be if it helps with some sort of round robin or tiered/flex scheduling concept in the Big Ten.

If moving OSU-Mich off of the last weekend of the season makes for a better overall schedule, I'd be all for moving it.

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