Big Ten, Pac 12 start date has yet to be determined for the upcoming season

written by: Jake Geiger

Alabama and Clemson, two perennial favorites to make the College Football Playoff, will look to do so again, this time with potentially less competition as the Big Ten and Pac 12 have no plans to play football in the fall.

The wait is finally over. College football is set to begin this upcoming weekend. 

Not too many major games are this weekend, as most major conference teams will start playing next week. But, there is still turmoil surrounding the sport because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The big questions are how the season will flow and if the Big Ten and Pac-12, the two Power Five conferences currently not set to play, will begin at some point this fall.

The Big Ten Conference has received plenty of heat from the college football world because of its decision to postpone play in the fall. 

Coaches, players, parents and boosters have been calling and questioning the Big Ten board since they made this decision in August.

 With the pressure at an all-time high, rumors are swirling that the Big Ten will be playing in the fall. 

However, a start date is not set and no one has any sense of when it will start. Reports claim Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and New Years’ Eve are possible starting points. 

A lot of uncertainty lies within the Big Ten, but with this comes insurmountable adversity for all people involved. Rumors have also swirled that the Pac 12 also might play this upcoming fall. 

If the Big Ten were to resume, it would be foolish for the Pac-12 not to follow suit.

The three major conferences set to play this season are the ACC, Big 12, and SEC. Notable top-ranked teams from those conferences include Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma and the defending National Champions LSU. 

With COVID-19 playing a  factor, these conferences had to cancel their non-conference games and just play conference games. 

After careful consideration in the restructuring of the conference-only schedules, presidents from these conferences decided that one non-conference game would be safe. Most teams have found an opponent, but others have an open spot for the time being. 

The biggest question that remains is if the Big Ten and Pac 12 decide to play, will they be included in the College Football Playoff? 

Teams like Ohio State, Penn State and Oregon all had great odds to advance to the playoff. 

The AP Top 25 came out with their preseason rankings and included schools from the Big Ten and Pac 12. The current top 25 has Clemson as the No. 1 team in the country, followed by Ohio State at No. 2 and Alabama at No. 3.