The 5 Most Potentially Awkward CFB Conference Champions

1) Jim Harbaugh/Michigan and Commissioner Tony Petitti

Was there any doubt who would top this list? Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti is public enemy No. 1 in Ann Arbor, and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh (-210 to win the Big Ten) takes on the black hat role at the B1G offices. Regardless of the validity of the Big Ten’s punishment of Harbaugh, the fact that his suspension waited until less than 24 hours before Saturday’s kickoff, while the Wolverines were in the air, and was leaked to the media first, wreaks of a personal fight. The gloves are off, and the rhetoric going both ways is unlike anything we’ve seen between a conference and one of their Crown Jewels. Awkward is one descriptor for Petitti handing Harbaugh another B1G Trophy.

4) Oregon State & Commissioner George Kliavkoff

Wait. Doesn’t the Pac-12 and commissioner George Kliavkoff want to see Oregon State (+1500 to win the Pac-12) stick it to the rest of the Pac-12 programs, who blew up the conference by going to the Big Ten and Big 12? Part of him must. But unlike Florida State going to the CFP, the Beavers winning the Pac-12 is probably bad for business. It would mean that the conference would be left out of the College Football Playoffs for the seventh straight season. What would be more Pac-12?

3) Oregon/Washington & Commissioner George Kliavkoff

Even if it fills the Pac-12 coffers with CFP cash, it’s going to be bittersweet, at best, for George Kliavkoff to see either Oregon (-230 to win the Pac-12) or Washington (+210 to win the Pac-12) win the conference. The USC and UCLA dominoes were the first to fall, but when the Ducks and Huskies agreed to follow them to the Big Ten, it was the final nail in the coffin for the conference. It wasn’t long before six of the remaining eight schools found new homes, pulling the plug on the Pac-12.

2) Oklahoma/Texas and Commissioner Brett Yorkmark

Only two programs are leaving the Big 12, Texas (-165 to win the Big 12) and Oklahoma (+390 to win the Big 12). And nobody in the Big 12 wants to see either team win the conference championship game on their way out the door to the SEC. If the Sooners squeak in to make it a rematch against the Longhorns, you should invite Greg Sankey to hand out the trophy. He’ll do it with a genuine smile, unlike Brett Yormark, who ruffled feathers when he said of Texas Tech, “Coach (Joey McGuire), I'm not going to put any pressure on you, but I'm going to be in Austin on Thanksgiving. And you better take care of business like you did right here in Lubbock last year.”

1) Jim Harbaugh/Michigan and Commissioner Tony Petitti

Was there any doubt who would top this list? Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti is public enemy No. 1 in Ann Arbor, and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh (-210 to win the Big Ten) takes on the black hat role at the B1G offices. Regardless of the validity of the Big Ten’s punishment of Harbaugh, the fact that his suspension waited until less than 24 hours before Saturday’s kickoff, while the Wolverines were in the air, and was leaked to the media first, wreaks of a personal fight. The gloves are off, and the rhetoric going both ways is unlike anything we’ve seen between a conference and one of their Crown Jewels. Awkward is one descriptor for Petitti handing Harbaugh another B1G Trophy.