ESPN pulled one of the dirtiest moves of the playoff cycle this week, and Big 12 fans should be lighting up their socials over it. On a segment comparing playoff resumes, the network rolled out a clean little list featuring No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 9 Notre Dame, No. 10 Alabama, No. 12 Miami, and No. 14 Vanderbilt. You’ll notice something strange real quick. No. 11 BYU and No. 13 Utah just happened to get skipped over.
Funny how that works. Big 12 schools sitting at 11 and 13, both with better resumes than half the teams on screen, and somehow they vanish when ESPN wants to have a “serious” discussion about contenders. If that isn’t the most transparent manipulation of the narrative we’ve seen all season, I don’t know what is. And this isn’t the first time the worldwide leader of sports has tried to gatekeep who belongs in the spotlight.
Let’s talk about the two schools they conveniently ignored. BYU has done nothing but win, sitting at 10-1 and leading the Big 12 in multiple power metrics. They’ve beaten ranked teams, taken care of business on the road, and have one of the most underrated defenses in the country. Utah has battled through injuries and still managed to put together one of the most balanced resumes in the league. But because they don’t have a logo that ESPN can plaster on playoff commercials, they’re out of sight and out of mind.
Meanwhile, Vanderbilt is sitting at 9-3 and hasn’t beaten a single ranked team since September. But sure, let’s throw them into the mix because it helps balance out the SEC talking points. Miami? Cool helmet, decent win over UNC, but nothing earth-shattering. Alabama? Lost to Florida State by two touchdowns. And Notre Dame is Notre Dame; they’ve been overranked since the BCS era.
This isn’t incompetence. It’s intentional. ESPN knows exactly what it’s doing when it crafts these comparisons. They’re not showing you who’s actually in the hunt. They’re showing you who they want to be in the hunt. And the Big 12, once again, gets boxed out of the frame because it doesn’t fit the narrative they’re trying to sell.
It’s time to stop pretending ESPN is some neutral voice in college football. They’re running a brand campaign disguised as analysis, and the Big 12 keeps getting hosed in the process.
