INDIANAPOLIS — Imagine the snickers, cross-eyed glares and shrieks of laughter you’d have encountered last year, on this very weekend, if you’d made these declarations:
• One year from now, either team in the Big Ten title game will be guaranteed to reach the College Football Playoff with a victory. *Neither of those teams will be Ohio State.
• No other conference will be able to claim that both of its division winners are guaranteed a spot in the playoff.
• The SEC will be beyond lucky to have a team in the playoff, as it will require a Band-Is-On-The-Field-eqsue lateral on fourth-and-25 in an Arkansas upset of Ole Miss to secure Alabama’s spot.