Ryan Day on conference championships in 12-team CFP: 'To take that away would be a challenge'

INDIANAPOLIS – Expectations are high once again in Columbus. Ohio State – one of the big winners on the recruiting trail this offseason – came in at No. 1 in the Big Ten preseason media poll.

That means Buckeyes fans have visions of the College Football Playoff dancing in their heads with training camp quickly approaching. The CFP, of course, will have a new look this year with 12 teams making the field. The five highest-ranked conference champions get in, and the top four will all receive first-round byes.

For teams that lose their conference title games, though, things get interesting. That means they would play 17 games in a season. In turn, it leads to an interesting conversation about how important those games are.

While Ryan Day understands the question, he also pointed out what it means to hoist the trophy and bring home a conference title. That, he said, makes it difficult to think about the idea of doing away with those games.

“Talking to Tony [Petitti], he brought this up before and what that means and should there be some conversation about what that means on that weekend?” Day said Tuesday at Lucas Oil Stadium, which will host the Big Ten Championship through 2028. “I won’t get into all the conversation that’s been had, but I think it’s a great question and a great point.

“I just think that we all know how important it is to win the conference and what that’s meant to college football and the tradition in college football and playing in this stadium and the electricity of that weekend and what it means to win the conference, especially having 18 teams now. It just means so much, and to take that away would be a challenge.”

Ryan Day: ‘You can’t replicate’ experience of winning conference title

The Big Ten is taking on a new look in more ways than one this year. Not only are there now 18 teams in the league, divisions are also going away. The top two teams will punch their tickets to Indianapolis for the conference title game.

It also means the road to the league title gets even tougher, which perhaps also makes it even sweeter. Day knows firsthand what it’s like to hoist the Big Ten Championship trophy. Ohio State rattled off four titles while he was on staff – two while Day was an assistant and two more as head coach.

To take that away would also mean the players would lose out on a potentially seminal moment in their careers. That’s why, for the time being, Ryan Day argued in favor of making conference championships important.

“Now, when you look at it practically – from a wider lens of the playoffs and everything – I can see the argument on both sides,” Day said. “Until then, I’d like to play for the Big Ten championship and win the Big Ten Championship. That experience, you can’t replicate.

“And it’s one of those things, you don’t forget. It’s an experience that I think our guys deserve to play.”