The BYU Cougars are the favorite to win the Big 12 Football Championship in a recent On3 Coaches Poll.
The poll included an assessment of which two Big 12 programs would shape the title game, and some of the picks expose the hilarity of such a poll. In a nutshell, coaches can essentially pick whoever they want because these polls are anonymous and have little impact on anything other than discussion on the internet. Still, the results are worth sifting through.
According to the On3 poll, 16 Big 12 coaches selected BYU (six votes) to win the conference title, with Texas Tech (four votes), Utah (two votes) and Houston (two votes) in tow. Arizona received one vote, and Iowa State of all teams recieved one, too.
If TCU being lumped in with Iowa State and West Virginia wasn’t funny enough, two different coaches actually tapped the Cyclones and Mountaineers to win the whole damn thing. Righteous trolling.
A BYU-Tech rematch in the Big 12 title game is likely, sure, but this poll discounts TCU far too much when you consider just how good the Horned Frogs, Utah and Houston should be this season. Arizona, too, is a team that may play spoiler for any of these teams down the stretch and carries a potential Heisman candidate in Noah Fifita into the season with high expectations. In a nutshell, this thing is anything but defined and a coaches poll was never going to answer our questions.
Moreover, seven Big 12 coaches – nearly half of the league – are hot on Houston or Utah merely making the title game.
Parity sells the league, and it’s a darn shame that neither BYU or Tech actually meet during the regular season. But it’s partially why the Holy War and the Utah Utes are so important the conference’s current make-up in football. That game, aside from its geographic and historic rivalry, has potential major implications for the Big 12 title game moving forward. Combine that road game with Utah with a non-conference battle with Notre Dame in Provo, and there’s two potential dealbreakers for Kalani Sitake.
Coaches had fun with this poll, that enough is clear and it’s ultimately a peek into one of two things: labeling the favorite and/or reminding the public just how unpredictable the league’s become.
