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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Its right there, in bold type, on the College Football Playoff website.Every Game Counts. Well, and sorry if this seems a little weird, truth is that maybe not quite every game. Maybe the game that does not count is a conference championship game, like Saturday nights Big Ten matchup of Penn State and Wisconsin, and try to explain that one.Because, in the very next paragraph, the playoff websites criteria go on to proclaim, The selection committee ranks the teams based on conference championships won . . .In other words, a conference championship is the key factor.Except when it isnt.Critics used to mock the people who run the college football bowl games because they paraded around looking like peacocks in all those brightly colored blazers with their oversize logos, spending fall weekends wining and dining athletic directors.Well, those guys look like Einstein compared to the clowns now in charge of the college playoff.They played the Big Ten championship game Saturday night at the dome in Indianapolis, and as game time approached, tickets could be had for less than $10, which should give you some idea of what the public thought of it.And about a dozen hours after the end of the game, Ohio State, which failed even to qualify for the conference title game, is expected to be chosen one of the four teams for the college playoff.The Big Ten champion will finish the season with a high place in the national rankings and a boost in its recruiting. It just will not be given a chance to play for the national championship, not be allowed a Cinderella champion like Texas Western in 1966 or a Villanova in 1985 in the NCAA basketball tournament.The consolation prize will be a trip to the Rose Bowl.Thats not bad.And, an argument can be made that Ohio State was the best team in the Big Ten this year, anyway, and maybe it was, although it lost to Penn State and beat Michigan only because of a few dunderhead plays by the Wolverines in critical spots. But the point is the Buckeyes did not even win their conference championship and they are going to get a chance to play for the national championship and the team(s) that finished ahead of them in the conference are not.You have to wonder what the geniuses who dreamed up the college playoff were thinking when, by design, they guaranteed a degree of controversy by setting up a four-team playoff among five power conferences. In other words, you know you are starting out by leaving out one of the conference champions. Period.Its a small step from there to leaving out another.The playoff, of course, was supposedly designed to eliminate the controversy that occurred in the past when the national champion was decided by a vote instead of, oh, say, an actual game. Which is how an undefeated Nebraska was selected over an undefeated Penn State in 1994 or several years when two groups of voters selected different teams as national champions, giving a little for everybody.A word, supposedly, appears in the previous paragraph because it would never pass a lie detector test. Lets face it, the playoff was set up to give a small group power and a bigger group money, because nothing much happens in college sports that does not really involve power and money.The five major conferences brought six bowls into their playoff orbit and only under pressure allowed one of the dozen spots to go to a school not a member of their cartel. But they certainly did not want one of the outliers getting super rich on the playoff, which is why they limited the playoff field to four teams and put the rest into a so-called Group of 6 bowl lineup which they controlled -- and, of course, sold for a huge sum to television.One interesting sidelight is that the people who run this sham championship arrangement, try as they might, could not fool everybody. Youd think, ordinarily, the championship game of the richest conference would be a huge magnet for fans, but since the fans realized it had so little to do with the national championship they smelled it for what it is.On Stubhub earlier in the week, there were more than 15,000 tickets available for the Penn State-Wisconsin matchup. As late as Saturday morning, more than 5,000 were still available, with sideline seats going for as little as, get this, $9.71.You can be sure that would not have been the case were the winner assured of going on to play for a bigger prize, but as it was, even Penn State and Wisconsin fans kept their wallets in their pockets because, since the meaning of the game was diminished, theyd prefer to save for, say, a trip to Pasadena instead of Indianapolis.Going into the game, the coaches, of course, tried to downplay the bigger picture by simply talking about the import of a conference championship -- huge, said Penn States James Franklin -- and deferring any questions about the playoff possibilities.But it didnt take a deep reading of Franklins comments to know how he felt.You could make a really good argument that the Big Ten, specifically the Big Ten East, may be the best conference in all of college football right now, Franklin said.He is probably right. The Big Ten is probably the best conference in college football right now, just a couple years after people were writing obituaries about the leagues weakness. Its just not a good enough conference, apparently, to allow its champion to play for the national title.--Ira Miller is an award-winning sportswriter who has covered the National Football League for more than five decades and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee. He is a national columnist for The Sports Xchange.Tony Gonzalez Chiefs Jersey . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set. Darwin Thompson Jersey . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. http://www.thechiefsshoponline.com/Youth-Harrison-Butker-Chiefs-Jersey/ . After a replay, the winner will meet Sunderland in the quarterfinals. Sagbo did well to control Sone Alukos right cross and fire past Brighton goalkeeper Peter Brezovan. Aluko was making his first start in four months after recovering from an Achilles injury. Larry Johnson Jersey . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. Joe Montana Chiefs Jersey . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said.COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolina linebacker Jonathan Walton has one goal on his mind -- qualify for a bowl game.Weve got something to fight for, Walton said Tuesday.The Gamecocks (5-5) hope to extend their season this week against struggling Football Championship Subdivision opponent (2-8) at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday. It may not be as easy a task as it sounds, given the last time South Carolina faced an FCS opponent, Citadel walked out with a 23-22 victory.That makes me nuts, every day, left tackle Mason Zandi said.Walton, Zandi and the Gamecocks say those memories from last year drive them at practice this week, particular with a chance to extend their season into the holidays.South Carolina coach Will Muschamp began talking up a bowl bid several weeks ago as his team rallied from a 2-4 start to win three in a row before last weeks 20-7 defeat at Florida .I talk to these guys all the time, the first-year coach said. These seniors want to go to a bowl game. Thats very important for our program.Especially for the additional month or so of workouts, film breakdowns and practices leading up to a postseason game given how young South Carolina is.That youth showed last week at The Swamp as freshman quarterback Jake Bentley was swarmed by the Gators strong defensive line most of the game. He threw his first college interception and was sacked five times. Fellow freshman Rico Dowdle, who ran for over 100 yards in his two previous games, was held to 18 yards on nine carries before missing the fourth quarter due to injury.Still, the Gamecocks are the only Football Bowl Subdivision team with freshmen as leading passer (Bentley) and rusher (Dowdle).Footballs not a sport where you can improve on your own, Muschamp said, like playing one-on-one in the backyard or heading to a batting cage.Youve got to go play the game and we need to be able to have these practices to continue to develop our youth, the coach said.dddddddddddd.South Carolina didnt figure to be in the mix for any bowl given the start to their season.Three straight losses to Kentucky, Texas A&M and Georgia left the Gamecocks staggered at 2-4 heading into a bye week without much hope to continue past November. But Muschamp brought true freshman Bentley in off the bench for co-starters Perry Orth and Brandon McIlwain and South Carolina began to take flight.The surprise was a 24-21 win over previously ranked Tennessee on Oct. 29 that put the Gamecocks in sight of a six-win season after going 3-9 last year.South Carolinas upperclassmen know that its like going to a bowl. Last years losing mark -- longtime head coach Steve Spurrier walked away in midseason with the team struggling -- was South Carolinas first since going 5-7 under Lou Holtz in 2003.Spurrier led the Gamecocks to seven straight bowl games from 2008 through 2014, winning the last four postseason games including the 2014 Independence Bowl the last time South Carolina qualified.I know what its like to miss a bowl, said Zandi, among 20 seniors wholl be honored in their final home game. Im not watching bowl games from my house this year.The Gamecocks have had a couple of good, strong, focused days of work prepping for Western Carolina, which has lost seven of its past eight games.The Catamounts problems this season dont matter, said center Alan Knott. Theres only one goal the players discuss.Weve got to get our sixth win this week, weve got to get bowl eligible, Knott said. Thats what were working for.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '