Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark had a few things to get off his chest today, and he didn’t tiptoe around it.
Standing in front of the media ahead of the Big 12 Championship game, Yormark finally said what the rest of us have been yelling into the void for weeks: the College Football Playoff committee needs to quit acting like the Big 12 doesn’t exist.
“This conference is positioned to have multiple teams in the center of this national conversation,” Yormark said. “Texas Tech has been a top four team in the CFP rankings, and deservedly so. A historic season for the Red Raiders with the nation’s top defense, including a historic season from a Heisman-worthy contender, Jacob Rodriguez.”
If you’re thinking that’s more fire than we’re used to hearing from a commissioner, you’d be right. And he wasn’t done.
“BYU’s body of work at 11-1, and I’ve said this before, is being undervalued by the CFP committee at No. 11 in the rankings. I’ve said let’s not look at logos, let’s look at resumes, and when you do a blind resume comparison, there’s no doubt that BYU is in the top 10.”
Finally. Somebody in a position of power in this sport actually saying what we’ve all been watching for the last month.
“No question about it,” Yormark continued. “In comparison to Notre Dame, BYU has a better overall record, better strength of record, and a better strength of schedule. There is no comparison. I found this data point yesterday. No Power Four team with an 11-1 record has ever finished outside the top 10 in the CFP rankings going into championship week. I’ll say that again, no Power Four team with an 11-1 record has ever finished outside the top 10 in the CFP rankings going into the championship week. BYU has been underappreciated.”
“I would hope that they wouldn’t have to convince the selection committee with the win today that they deserve to be in the CFP, but it might take that.”
Texas Tech is 12-1 with a defense that’s suffocating opponents and a quarterback who’s turned into a walking highlight reel. BYU, on the other hand, has ripped off wins against quality competition all year, and their only loss came to the Red Raiders. But when the CFP rankings dropped? Crickets. No respect. Still hanging out behind a bunch of two-loss brands that haven’t played defense since September.
Yormark didn’t just defend his league. He challenged the process. And that’s what this moment needs. The Big 12 isn’t clinging to hope; it’s demanding accountability. You don’t get to wave the SEC flag or run the Big Ten PR machine and pretend that results don’t matter. Not when Tech and BYU have done everything that’s been asked.
So yeah, Brett Yormark cooked today. He stood up for his teams and basically dared the committee to start watching the games instead of Googling helmets. Let’s see if they’re actually listening.
