Welcome to Fact or Fiction Friday. Each Friday, I allow our Facebook and message board fans to ask the most intriguing questions in the Big 12 Conference, and I will tell you whether they come true or if they are set to fail.
Now, let’s crack open this week’s list and see what we have in store.
Arizona State Will Make A Bowl Game
Fact: After their win against Utah, the Sun Devils are just one more win away from clinching a bowl berth. Their schedule isn’t easy, and I don’t like the fact that their starting quarterback, Sam Leavitt, is out this weekend against Cincinnati. But even if they lose this weekend, they will still get to a bowl game. Arizona State will get to play Oklahoma State and UCF in early November, and they are better than both of those teams. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this team win seven or eight games this season, and if that happens, Kenny Dillingham may end up being the Big 12 coach of the year.
Utah’s Big 12 Title Hopes Are Done
Fact: They looked done once I saw Cam Rising play last Friday night in Tempe. The man was clearly hurt between his leg and his hand. He was shorting his passes and looked like he was in pain out there. Plus, he threw three costly interceptions in that game. I know Isaac Wilson is healthy, but he is not a guy who is going to lead them to a Big 12 title game. I wouldn’t even say he is a good game manager at this point because he will make mistakes if Utah needs to throw the football. The defense will keep them in games, but the Utes are going to have a hard time finding wins on their schedule with Wilson at quarterback. Utah’s Big 12 title hopes are dead.
Texas Tech Has the Best Chance To Go Deep In The College Football Playoffs Of Any Of The Big 12 Teams.
Fiction: I really like the way the schedule sets up for the Red Raiders. That is why they will be a Big 12 title contender late in the season. However, are they the best team in the Big 12? Absolutely not. I would put Iowa State, BYU, and Kansas State ahead of Texas Tech at this very moment. I love watching Tahj Brooks be the engine to that offense, and I think Behren Morton is quietly having a career year in Lubbock, but that defense is going to be their Achilles heel. I am sorry, but I don’t even have the Red Raiders making it to Arlington, let alone the College Football Playoff.
West Virginia Will Fire Neal Brown After This Season
Fiction: Don’t get me wrong here, West Virginia SHOULD fire Neal Brown after this season if he doesn’t win more than seven games, especially after his comments on Monday telling the fans to come back if they had fun. Last time I checked, Neal Brown is making over four million dollars a year to win games, not worry about if people are having fun. If he is worried about having fun, then he should go coach flag football. Anyway, I have a hard time seeing West Virginia firing him because of his contract. After this season, Neal Brown still has three years left on his contract and is set to make around 12.5 million dollars. If West Virginia fires him before his contract is up, they would have to pay him 75% of what’s left on it. Give it another year.
The Big 12 Will Get Two Teams Into The Playoff
Fact: Before the season started, I was very skeptical about the Big 12 getting two teams into the College Football Playoff. For starters, I didn’t think we would possibly have two Big 12 teams meet in the conference championship game with 11 or more wins. But here we are, and we still have two undefeated teams left in mid-October, Iowa State and BYU. Looking at their remaining schedules, there is a real possibility of having two undefeated teams playing for a Big 12 title come December. BYU doesn’t play Iowa State in the regular season, which is good because it helps the conference. If both Iowa State and BYU finish the regular season undefeated, then it won’t matter what happens in the title game because both of them will automatically be in unless the committee pulls a fast one.
