Yormark Playing 4D Chess?

The battle over the future College Football Playoff format took yet another turn this week. 

After most assumed the Big Ten and SEC would force-feed the Big 12, ACC, and everybody else a format with four autobids for each Power Two conference, they’re now going back to the drawing board. 

• The Big Ten wants four auto bids. 

• The SEC prefers the 5+11 format (five conference champions and 11 at-large selections), but only if they get guarantees on the role of strength of schedule in the selection process. 

• The Big Ten won’t agree to 5+11 unless the SEC goes to nine conference games. 

• The SEC doesn’t want to right now.

That’s the best summary I can give you on the stalemate.

And it’s worth remembering this all started with Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark.

Realizing the Big Ten’s 4/4/2/2 plan effectively declared the Big 12 half as valuable as the Power Two, Yormark and ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips countered with the 5+11 model.

SEC coaches liked the idea because it could result in more bids and let them avoid play-in games on conference championship weekend.

Now the SEC and Big Ten are turning on each other, and we appear no closer to a decision that needs to be made by December.

As one of my YouTube viewers, R Webb, proposed during a recent live show, was this all a 4D chess move by Yormark to turn the two giants against each other?

It’s a compelling theory.

At the very least, Yormark may have slowed things down enough to keep the current 12-team format for another year in 2026. If no agreement is reached by December 1, the current structure rolls over.

That’s one more year of a format that’s almost certainly better for the Big 12 than whatever comes next.

Regardless of how it shakes out, the Big 12 deserves credit for standing its ground and avoiding the Big Ten’s trap.

Shout-out to Jack Trice Mafia on Twitter for the perfect analogy:

The 4/4/2/2 proposal looks appealing at first. As critics of 5+11 have noted, the Big 12 will probably only get one team in the field most years under that format. Playoff bids could easily be 6–1 in favor of the SEC and Big Ten some seasons.

So why not take a 4–2 split while it’s on the table?

Because it locks you in as second-tier. It’s a long-term surrender dressed up as a short-term win.

You’d be signing away any shot of real upward mobility.

Sure, it feels like a long road back to parity with the Power Two. But you can’t give up on that—not when Big 12 grad Cody Campbell may soon play a large role in reshaping the entire college sports landscape.

And that takes discipline.

We live in a world obsessed with quick hits—alerts, notifications, direct messages. Real growth and progress take time and patience.

Yormark didn’t reach for the dopamine hit. He didn’t take the bait. He chose the long game.

That fact alone deserves more credit from national voices who’ve dismissed the Big 12’s stance. You can believe the league should have accepted 4/4/2/2, but you should also acknowledge the discipline and guts of taking a harder path.

Of course, that kind of credit is hard to find nationally. Most outlets just don’t care about the Big 12’s side of the story.

But that’s why I’m here.

It may not pan out, but I’ll give the Big 12 its flowers for choosing the harder route and sticking to it.

As for what comes next? I truly have no clue. Now that the whole process is being rebooted, the final result could absolutely be worse for the Big 12 and ACC.

This is Sankey and Petiti, after all.

But the Big 12 is taking a risk to preserve its dignity. Here’s to cautious optimism that it pays off.

What You Need to Know

• Iowa State’s 2026 recruiting class took a huge blow on Tuesday when four-star quarterback commit Jett Thomalla flipped to Alabama. Thomalla committed to the Cyclones in April, but whispers had grown louder and louder that Bama might be able to seal the deal. 

• One of college football’s most respected statistical models released its Big 12 projections. I’m surprised by how much it loves K-State and doesn’t like Baylor and Iowa State. 

• Athlon Sports released its preseason top 25, and four Big 12 teams made the cut. You won’t be surprised to see Arizona State at #14, but you may be surprised to see which Big 12 team is one spot above them. 

• If you’re an old-school Big 12 fan who enjoys Nebraska getting dunked on, check out what Vandy quarterback Diego Pavia had to say about the Huskers. 

• TCU quarterback Josh Hoover explains why he never seriously thought about leaving the Horned Frogs this offseason when SEC programs came calling.

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