Perception prevails.That’s part of the reason Alabama made the College Football Playoff instead of Big Ten champion Ohio State. We can talk wins, lo ses, strength of schedule, resumes, branding and whatever metric for that argument, which the Crimson Tide won over the Buckeyes.Perception prevailed. It’s that image of Clemson beating Ohio State 31-0 in the Fiesta Bowl lastseason, or Alabama beating Michigan State 38-0 in the Cotton Bowl Cla sic in 2015. The idea of Clemson-Alabama III is much better than the risk of watching the Buckeyes get blown out by the Tigers again. There’s no Dallas Cowboys Kids Jersey metric for that, but it’s a thought proce s that happens all the time in college football.MORE: The perception of the Big Ten has changed. It has improved since Urban Meyer arrived at Ohio State in 2012, and it can still make the argument it’s the .No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 9 Penn State made New Year’s Day Six Dallas Cowboys Rompers Bowls. No. 16 Michigan State and No. 21 Northwestern enjoyed nine-win seasons. Reports of Michigan’s demise after a four-lo s team under Jim Harbaugh are greatly exaggerated.The Big Ten is fine. The conference isn’t lightyears behind the SEC or even ACC like it was for a merciful stretch from 2007-12 before Meyer’s arrival in Columbus. Yet Ohio State’s national championship in 2014 hasn’t changed the perception that much.Why? National championships matter. Since the BCS started, the Buckeyes have accounted for the conference’s two national championships.The SEC and ACC have combined for 13 of the last 19 championships and make up 75 percent of the College Football Playoff field this season. It has nothing to do with ratings. Those are the best teams in the country. College football isn’t worse off for it either.Clemson’s victory against Ohio State wasn’t the only blow last season. Michigan and Penn State lost New Year’s Day Six bowls to FSU and USC, respectively. The and didn’t have a marquee nonconference victory this season Dallas Cowboys Pants . Michigan’s victory against Florida looked good at the time, but these are perceptions that become harsh reality as the proce s unfolds.Wisconsin finished 12-0, but the committee believed Alabama, Auburn and Georgia were better throughout the proce s, and they haven’t been proven wrong. So the Big Ten needs to start changing that perception for 2018 with the bowl season.MORE: That means Ohio State beats USC in the Cotton Bowl Cla sic, Penn State beats Washington in the Fiesta Bowl and Wisconsin beats Miami in the Orange Bowl. Victories by Michigan State, Northwestern and Michigan wouldn’t hurt. A strong bowl season bleeds into 2018, and the nonconference schedule presents more opportunities.Michigan plays at Notre Dame on Sept. 1. Penn State travels to Pitt, and Michigan State to Arizona State the following week. Ohio State travels to TCU on Sept. 15, and Notre Dame visits Northwestern on Nov. 3. Win those and don’t lose two games.A one-lo s Big Ten team will Alfred Morris Jersey never be turned away from the playoff, unle s it mi ses out because of another one-lo s Big Ten team. Alabama-Ohio State wouldn’t have been a discu sion if not for a 31-point lo s to Iowa on Nov. 4. That lo s, and that 31-point lo s to Clemson, formed that perception of the Buckeyes that college football fans and the committee simply couldn’t shake.Perception always prevails. The Big Ten can’t change what happened now, but a strong bowl season would go a long way in making sure it doesn’t happen again.