After BYU got snubbed from the College Football Playoff in favor of three-loss Alabama, and would have been snubbed behind a two-loss Notre Dame as well, it’s clear that the Big 12 is all but guaranteed to be a one-bid league in the 12-Team College Football Playoff format.
If the Big 12 can’t get a team like BYU in this season, or at least ranked ahead of Notre Dame, who it had a better Strength of Schedule and Strength of Record than, then when will it happen? Yes, BYU lost handedly to Texas Tech twice this season. But Tech might be destined for a National Championship Game this season. That’s how good the Red Raiders are, and let’s not forget that BYU was still down just one score late in the third quarter of the Big 12 Championship Game.
How Can the Big 12 Get More Than One Team in the CFP?
So here’s the Big 12, with two one-loss teams meeting in the Big 12 Championship, and they still can’t get two teams into the 12-team field. What exactly will it take? There are only one realistic scenario I can foresee: It would take one team being ranked in the Top 4 or 5, like Texas Tech, with either one loss, or undefeated, losing to the other team, like BYU, which would justify keeping both teams in the field.
That’s it. That’s the only way the Big 12 will ever get two teams into the Playoff. The College Football Playoff committee has made it clear that this league is not going to get the respect it deserves. Yes, committees turn over, but as someone who has owned this website since the first CFP, and watched TCU blow out Iowa State 55-3 in 2014 and fall from No. 3 to No. 6 on Selection Sunday, screwing the Big 12 is something I’ve become accustomed to.
All the extra analytics were thrown out the window. BYU was given absolutely no respect in the final weeks of the CFP rankings. We knew how Sunday was going to play out for the Big 12.
The Big 12 Must Do this Now
The first thing that would help is for Texas Tech to win the National Championship, and do it in impressive fashion. This is certainly easier said than done, but you would think that would be one of those, “I told you so” moments for BYU and the rest of the Big 12 as well.
The reality is the Big 12 only has one win in the history of the CFP, and it was TCU over Michigan in the semifinals a couple of years ago. And that was followed up with TCU’s abysmal performance against Georgia. Arizona State gave Texas an incredible run for its money last year, but we know how that ended. And this isn’t horseshoes anyway.
Next, the Big 12 must schedule tougher non-conference games, and then go win them. I’m not saying this is entirely fair, but it’s realistic. Texas Tech’s non-con was highlighted by Oregon State. BYU’s featured… Stanford. Once again, is this fair? Not entirely. But three isn’t another obvious answer right now as to how to correct the problem the Big 12 has: And that’s blatant disrespect.
Bigger Picture
Now, the bigger items include getting ESPN out of the picture as playing quasi-commissioner. There’s scrapping the committee and maybe going back to some kind of ranking that is BCS-ish-based. All those things should be on the table as well, and Brett Yormark should advocate for them.
But for the things that can be controlled on the field, every single Big 12 fan should be rooting for Texas Tech to win the National Championship this season. It would be a critical step in the right direction. So with that, I say, “Wreck ‘Em!”
