One of the most important things ever said by a Big 12 coach was said by K-State head coach Chris Klieman on Monday during his weekly press conference.
Klieman went off on the SEC bias amongst college football media, and called it out as directly as any Big 12 coach has in a long time.
“Other teams can lose in other leagues and that league is really good. We lose in [the Big 12] and this league stinks. I don’t understand that,” Klieman said during his press conference on Monday.
“As a conference, we need to get together and figure some things out,” Klieman said. “Because for a bunch of teams to be (10-2 or 9-3) and us only get one of those teams in the College Football Playoff, then we’ve got to cancel one of these games. I don’t care what people say, we go to eight games in league play. Or we stay with nine, but play an FCS team or play a Group of Five team.”
Chris Klieman is exactly right.
Big 12 vs. SEC
While the Big 12 teams are heading down the home stretch in the midst of conference play, the SEC has spent the last couple of weeks playing teams like Maine, Murray State, New Mexico State, UTEP and Wofford, just to name a few.
The perfectly-timed “bye week” should not go unnoticed, but it has for years in college football media circles. And it’s about time that the coaches start speaking out against it in the Big 12, which is required to play 10 Power 4 games, which includes nine conference games.
All the while, the SEC gets away with eight league games, and then also enjoys the November game against an FCS opponent. And let’s be clear, they’re not scheduling North Dakota State for this game. They’re scheduling a team willing to take a beating for a big payday. That’s what it’s always been.
I’ve been writing about this since I launched Heartland College Sports 10 years ago.
And don’t just take my word for it. Here’s a great excerpt from the folks over at Barrett Sports Media:
“Let me be clear, I do not think there is any way that anyone capable of divorcing themselves from emotion can believe Alabama didn’t deserve the final spot in last year’s playoff over Florida State, but what I will acknowledge is that this year, ESPN has gone a bit overboard. The talent is outright rooting for and lobbying the committee on behalf of the SEC.”
Big 12 Coaches Speak Up, Now!
So now that Klieman has opened up the conversation, it’s time for the most prominent Big 12 coaches to follow. And for those who prefer to stay out of the spotlight, get over it. It’s about protecting your brand, your conference and your players against an SEC-obsessed college football media, where the biggest platforms on ESPN just so happen to be employed by the network that now owns the SEC football contract.
Mike Gundy might be 3-8 this season, but his voice is still an influential one. Use it. And anything to avoid talking about his team feels like a win-win right now. Sonny Dykes has had opinions on this before and has never shied away from speaking the truth. Jump on it, now!
Deion Sanders, where are you at, my man? You’re arguably the biggest brand in the sport. I know it’s only Year 1 in the Big 12, but a rising tide will lift all boats for the rest of the league.
Kenny Dillingham is arguably the youngest and hottest head coach in the country right now. He’s clearly not afraid to speak his mind. Now is your chance as well.
And then, Matt Campbell and Kalani Sitake. Maybe it’s not as much their style. But it’s time for the big voices in this league to take a stand.
The SEC has more top-end talented teams than the Big 12, I won’t deny that. However, the SEC propaganda machine is getting out of control. It will take some of the biggest voices to point out the ridiculous nature of how this sport is judged and how teams are compared.
And there’s no better time for that than the here and now.
