Fathead Blog

Here we go again. Looking into the future isn’t as easy as one might think. My Magic 8 Ball is worn out and I don’t think I can stomach another fortune cookie. So let’s not waste anymore time. Here’s what I see happening in the NCAA in 2012.

Urban Meyer takes over at Ohio State and leads the Buckeyes to a 10-2 finish and a No. 1 ranking in a new poll that consists only of teams who are not eligible for postseason action.

Matt Barkley and USC build on the momentum of the 2011 season and make a run at the BCS championship. However, the Trojans come up short in the final BCS standings. As usual, the standings become controversial when Wikileaks publishes documents that reveal “distance from SEC country” is part of the computer formulas. When a one-loss SEC team gets into the national championship game over two undefeated teams, it is the final straw for the BCS system. The NCAA will finally adopt some sort of system that allows for a champion to be determined on the field.

Could an undefeated USC team only get a trip to the Rose Bowl in 2013?

Brittney Griner leads No. 1 Baylor to an undefeated regular season. The Bears suffer their first loss in the Big 12 tournament, but Baylor will be cutting down the nets in Denver.

On the men’s side, a mid-major team will make a run to the Final Four. This not only takes me out of the running in my office pool, but it also ignites more talks of adding teams to the tournament. Officials say they have several scenarios under consideration with the most likely option expanding the field to 70 teams and changing the championship game to a best-of-three series.

In an attempt to keep up with the Big 10, Pac 12 and SEC, the Big 12 and ACC reach an agreement to have all Big 12 teams face off with a team from the ACC on the second Saturday of the season. It seems like a good idea but cannot begin until 2014 and nobody knows what schools will be in what conferences in 2014.

Speaking of realignment, plenty more moves will be made as conferences scramble to survive in a landscape that continues to change. The Big 12 reels in BYU but needs another school for an even 12 teams. They can’t talk Notre Dame into joining, so the conference goes with plan B and brings in a Canadian school, the Manitoba Bisons.

(To read Part 4 of this series, click here.)