With the race toward the College Football Playoff occupying a similar space as bracketology in the hunt for college basketball’s NCAA Tournament, studying the bubble should be an essential pastime among industry professionals.
On Sunday, On3’s Ari Wasserman released his update to the College Football Playoff watch and included three teams from the Big 12 in his write-up.
KANSAS STATE – FIRST FOUR OUT
“The Big 12 is completely unhinged,” Wasserman said. “If someone could confidently tell you they know who is going to win that conference this year, they are lying. The Wildcats absolutely could win the Big 12 and capture the No. 4 seed, but it has already had a clunker this year in a blowout loss to BYU. Kansas State bounced back from that loss with a blowout of Oklahoma State on Saturday, but it needs to win a bunch more before it crawls its way back into the projected Playoff field.”
ARIZONA – NEXT FOUR OUT
“There may just be a bad loss on every Big 12 team’s schedule, but Arizona looked really great in a win over Utah on Saturday. The Noah Fifita–Tetairoa McMillian connection is electric and the Wildcats are a lot of fun to watch. It’ll be interesting to see if Arizona can climb into the center of the Big 12 race.”
IOWA STATE – NEXT FOUR OUT
“Iowa State is off to a 4-0 start this season and it already has a win over Iowa in its back pocket. The Cyclones have an easy schedule before facing Utah and Kansas State in back-to-back weeks to close out the regular season. If Iowa State keeps winning, it could find climb really high in this poll.”
While Kansas State was listed as having the best chance of earning a bid to the College Football Playoff on Wasserman’s list, Matt Campbell’s Iowa State Cyclones are the lone undefeated team in the trio.
Kansas State and Arizona bounced back in big ways in Week 5 with wins over No. 20 Oklahoma State and No. 10 Utah. Led by their star quarterbacks Avery Johnson and Noah Fifita, the pair of Wildcats made some major statements during Saturday’s slate with their impressive play.
Despite posting just three first-half points vs. Houston, Iowa State rallied to a commanding win over the Cougars, 20-0. With the win, the Cyclones advanced to 4-0 overall and have begun to turn some heads among those predicting postseason play.
Arizona kicks off Week 6 vs. Texas Tech, while Iowa State squares off with Baylor. Kansas State earned a much-needed bye-week in Week 6 as the trio continues to claw their way toward Arlington.
