Tommy Tuberville has no particular reason to care about the Alabama Crimson Tide, save for the fact many of the team’s fans vote, and a large percentage of those do so in the state he represents as a U.S. senator.

So even though he wasn’t speaking about the College Football Playoff when he addressed Birmingham’s Monday Morning Quarterback Club this week, he was speaking about the College Football Playoff.

His topic ostensibly was legislation on Name/Image/Likeness restrictions for college sports, but it was not by accident that he chose the Indiana Hoosiers to be his Exhibit A of the scourge of the NIL/transfer portal era.

“You pretty much buy a team now,” Tuberville said. “And that was a little bit forbidden when I was in coaching, but now it’s legal. Look at Indiana. They went out and bought them a football team, and look where they’re at.”

He could have said the same about Tennessee, Georgia, Ole Miss or certainly Alabama, but he knows where he’s from, and it’s not Big Ten country. So he took a shot at the team that attracted 31 transfers in advance of this season, including 13 from that established national high-major football power at, ahem, James Madison. Yeah, JMU, which joined the NCAA’s highest division two whole years ago.

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In the cacophonous conversation around college football that has grown CFP-centric, Indiana is the favored target of those who fear there might be a very-good-but-not-great SEC team excluded in favor of an IU squad that might finish the season 11-1. It was no accident Tuberville chose the Hoosiers. The only thing that would have made them a more inviting subject of derision is if they represented a blue state.

Indiana is 10-0. It won road games at UCLA, Northwestern and Michigan State, but none has a winning record. It won at home against Maryland, Nebraska, Washington and Michigan, but the Terps and Huskers have since collapsed, and UW and UM already were hurting when they arrived in Bloomington.

Indiana’s schedule strength will improve, no doubt, when it travels Saturday to Ohio State for what could fairly be described as the biggest football game in IU history. But it’s still going to fall behind most. If the Hoosiers somehow win as a two touchdown-underdog, it won’t really matter what anyone thinks of anything else. A big, crimson IU logo will appear on the CFP bracket Dec. 8.

If they lose, and if they don’t lose close, the harangues will be downright congressional.

This might not be such an issue if we all understood how the CFP evaluates teams. They have taken reporters through “mock” selection exercises the past several years, and they conducted a Zoom “webinar” last month for members of the media that revealed little of their process. We heard the words “eye test” way too much. They did mention a particular analytics company on which they rely; access to that appears to be restricted to those willing to pay for the privilege.

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The NCAA men’s basketball selection committee tells you exactly which data is evident to members, and all of those numbers can be examined by fans on a daily basis. Publicly available football power ratings and schedule strength numbers are wildly inconsistent from one evaluator to the next, and we’ve little idea whether the committee uses any or none of them.

For instance: ESPN’s strength of schedule rating puts Notre Dame at No. 82 and Indiana at No. 106. Because of the network’s ubiquity, it’s common to see that 106 number cited in discussions of IU’s fitness to reach the playoff field. But why IU and not the Fighting Irish?

Remember: It’s can’t just be about the schedule a team plays. It’s must involve how one plays against that schedule.

Notre Dame’s collection of wins is not much more imposing than Indiana’s. There’s a win at Texas A&M and little else. And Notre Dame owns the worst loss, by far, of any team that’s even thinking about doing anything with the CFP beyond watching it on television. There ought to be some consideration given to the horror/hilarity of losing at home to Northern Illinois, which currently holds a 3-4 record in Mid-American Conference play.

Indiana, currently, owns no losses to anyone, anywhere. If the Hoosiers do fall, it likely will be to a team regarded by any ranking you can find as one of the nation’s best (Ohio State).

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Indiana may spend Saturday afternoon consumed with the pursuit of a Big Ten championship, but while they’re at it, they’ll be dissected like a seventh-grade science experiment by, at the very least, fans of other CFP contenders, talk hosts looking for inflammatory segment topics and reporters who regularly cover the sport. If the Hoosiers wind up on the wrong end of the Vegas line, it’s a safe bet they’ll be the subject of dissent that will reach heavy metal decibels.   

Why is Indiana viewed as the vulnerable team in these hypotheticals? Because Knute Rockne (and Johnny Lujack and Leon Hart and Tim Brown) did not go there. IU does not have the historic success or football brand recognition the Irish have built over a century. That record of long-term excellence has earned ND a loyal television following for which NBC pays handsomely and crowds at their home stadium that consistently test capacity.

That should not get them in the field, any more than the excellence of Steve Alford, Isiah Thomas, Scott May should matter for the Hoosiers. Yeah, that’s another sport, but it’s also history.

If IU loses Saturday to Ohio State, the CFP debate should be Indiana vs. Georgia or Indiana vs. Tennessee or, indeed, Indiana vs. Notre Dame.

Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson was a television program disguised as a sporting event. March Madness is a sporting event that makes for great television. We all know which the College Football Playoff should aspire to emulate.

Putting together a College Football Playoff rankings show can’t be easy. You can only talk through resumes and rankings for so long. Maybe it shouldn’t exist, and the CFP committee can send out its top 25 in a press release. That would save everyone some time.

But if ESPN is going to continue with its rankings reveal, surely they can do better.

There were two wild claims made during Tuesday night’s CFP rankings show, featuring host Rece Davis and analysts Booger McFarland, Joey Galloway and Greg McElroy.

When comparing Penn State and Indiana — which were ranked Nos. 4 and 5 — McFarland brought up a common opponent. He said multiple times that the Nittany Lions “struggled” against UCLA in their 27-11 win earlier this season. He added that because Indiana beat UCLA by 29 points and Penn State “struggled,” the Hoosiers should be ahead in the rankings.

First of all, UCLA isn’t the only common opponent on Penn State and Indiana’s schedules. The Nittany Lions beat Washington by 29 points. Indiana beat Washington by 14 points.

But specific to McFarland’s claim that Penn State “struggled” against UCLA, he couldn’t have watched the game. The Bruins fought hard; credit where credit is due. But at no point was UCLA a threat to pull the upset on Oct. 5. Penn State had a 27-3 lead until UCLA scored a garbage-time touchdown against backups with 16 seconds left in regulation.

Not to be outdone, Galloway later suggested something that set social media into a collective bewilderment. Galloway said, when discussing Saturday’s top-five game between Indiana and Ohio State, that should sit star quarterback Kurtis Rourke to avoid injury.

Galloway suggested, because ESPN’s metrics give the Hoosiers a good chance to get in the College Football Playoff even with a loss to the Buckeyes, that Indiana should sit Rourke and avoid a situation like Florida State had with injured quarterback Jordan Travis last year. Travis suffered a season-ending injury, and the committee left out the undefeated Seminoles.

When I heard what Galloway said, I did a double take. I had to rewind my TV. What are we talking about? Benching one of the most prolific passers in college football in the team’s biggest game, not only of the season, but perhaps program history? Are we being serious? Even McElroy, Galloway’s co-worker, was in disbelief when Galloway suggested it.

But hey, if nothing else, the ESPN rankings show gives people something to talk about.

Oregon has earned a spot in the Big Ten football championship game, the conference announced Tuesday. The Ducks have this weekend off and finish their regular season on Nov. 30 against Washington.

The Big Ten has determined even if Oregon loses, it wins tiebreakers involving Indiana, Ohio State and Penn State. It released a list of 10 potential scenarios involving these teams, and IU would make the title game in four of them, it is a “maybe” in one, and it’s out in five.

How can Indiana football join Oregon at Lucas Oil Stadium on Dec. 7?

Indiana football scenarios for Big Ten championship game

∎ Indiana finishes 9-0 in conference play, and it’s in. The Hoosiers would be the top seed if they’re the only 9-0 team. If they and Oregon are both 9-0, the seeds would be based on highest cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents. That’s two of the outlined scenarios.

∎ IU gets the No. 2 seed if Oregon finishes 9-0 and the Hoosiers are 8-1, with the loss coming to Purdue. That means IU would have beaten Ohio State, which previously beat Penn State. IU has the best record among games involving those three.

∎ If all four teams finish 8-1, and IU’s loss is against Purdue, Oregon and IU get the bids because of wins over common opponents with the highest rankings in the conference standings. In this scenario, IU and Oregon would both own wins over Ohio State, and the Hoosiers would get the No. 1 seed.

Indiana football is a ‘maybe’ for the Big Ten championship game

∎ In this scenario, Oregon is 9-0, IU and Penn State are both 8-1 (with losses to Ohio State), and OSU is 7-2. The Ducks are the top seed, and the other participant will be determined by the highest cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents for IU and Penn State.

Indiana football misses Big Ten championship game

∎ If Oregon is 9-0, and IU loses to Ohio State, and OSU defeats Michigan the following week, the Buckeyes would get the berth based on beating IU and Penn State.

∎ If IU loses to Ohio State and Purdue, and Oregon, OSU and PSU all finish 8-1, IU is out.

∎ IU, OSU and Oregon are all 8-1, and PSU 7-2, an Indiana loss to Ohio State would knock it out of the title game.

∎ If all four teams are 8-1, and IU’s loss is against Ohio State, the Buckeyes and Ducks get the berths.

∎ If Oregon and Penn State both finish 8-1 and IU and Ohio State both finish 7-2, the Hoosiers are out.

Indiana football schedule

Nov. 23, at Ohio State, noon, Fox

Nov. 30, vs. Purdue, TBA

Ohio State football schedule

Nov. 23, vs. Indiana, noon, Fox

Nov. 30, vs. Michigan, noon, Fox

Oregon football schedule

Nov. 30, vs. Washington, TBA

Penn State football schedule

Nov. 23, at Minnesota, 3:30 p.m.,

Nov. 30, vs. Maryland, 3:30 p.m.

When is the Big Ten championship game?

8 p.m. ET Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, on Fox.