Power Four Conferences just nipped softer scheduling threats in the bud

The Texas Longhorns were among the loudest voices when it came to perceived injustices from the College Football Playoff selection committee. Understandably, after losing to then second-ranked Ohio State at the beginning of the season, the Longhorns stumbled a bit out of the gate and limped to their 9-3 record after 12 weeks of football.

The prevailing sentiment when Steve Sarkisian's team was absent from the final field of 12? Texas had been punished for competing against a strong opponent during the non-conference. The natural solution was that, if the CFP would determine teams' value based on win/loss record, why schedule a challenging foe at all?

Fortunately, sanity will prevail, and non-conference schedules will not become SEC vs MAC exclusively (with all due respect to our beloved MACtion, the greatest football in the country), as the Big 12, ACC, and SEC have all announced that every member of their conference will be mandated to schedule at least one power conference team in their 3 non-conference matchups, with 9 in-conference games filling the remainder.

The Big Ten, curiously, has opted not to demand a stronger out-of-conference schedule. My theory? It's not fair to make the likes of Purdue, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Michigan State, and Rutgers face off against Power Four competition, because that would be a free victory for their rival conferences.

I'm only sort of kidding.

But this motion from the power conferences is a sign that the sport of college football is committed to preserving the spirit of competition, even during an era where the will of the selection committee seemingly forces every decision. Regardless of what the talking heads demand, what those on the committee value, and what the fans of the blue-blooded programs want to see, better competition is better for the sport.