Tiebreakers nothing new for college football

Mark Dantonio is only the latest coach left vexed by a conference tiebreaker. Dantonio spoke out this week after it became clear his Michigan State team had little chance of going to the Rose Bowl. The Spartans tied Wisconsin and Ohio State for the Big Ten title, but the Badgers are in line for the trip to Pasadena because of their superior BCS ranking. "The computers don’t see every team play," Dantonio said. Dantonio would prefer his league use a different method to resolve this kind of deadlock—but the situation is hardly unique. Sometimes, there’s simply no easy way to separate teams that finish even in the standings. The Big Ten and Big 12 are both turning to BCS rankings to break ties. Oklahoma is advancing to its conference title game at the expense of Oklahoma State and Texas A&M after a three-way tie atop the Big 12 South. In the Big Ten, Michigan State could miss out on the Rose Bowl despite beating Wisconsin, which beat Ohio State. Head-to-head results aren’t part of the tiebreaker since Michigan State didn’t play Ohio State. Instead, BCS rankings will be used when the final version comes out this weekend. Dantonio says he’s never been thrilled about allowing national poll voters and computers to determine how a conference breaks a tie.

"If I’m going to make a decision in my family, I’m not going to outsource it," Dantonio said.