No More Preseason Poll

I noticed something this year when I got my Big 12 Media Days credential confirmation email: I didn’t get a ballot in my inbox for the preseason media poll.

At first, I figured it was just a delay. Maybe they’d have us fill out ballots in Frisco.

Turns out, there was more to it.

Multiple reports came out late last week confirming that the Big 12 is getting rid of the preseason media poll altogether.

And honestly? I think it’s a very smart move.

Sure, it’s a bummer for those of us in the content business. But this is a low-risk decision that could make a real difference in the league’s chances of earning an at-large College Football Playoff bid.

It’s clear that last year’s preseason poll helped shape the perception of the league—and not in a good way. That perception wound up hurting both BYU and Iowa State when they made serious playoff pushes.

The two biggest stories of the season were BYU and Arizona State. They were picked 13th and 16th, respectively, in last year’s preseason poll.

So when BYU started 9-0, they faced skepticism at every turn. National pundits and fans doubted them. How could a team picked 13th in the Big 12 be playoff worthy?

When they finally lost to Kansas, the college football world was ready to drop them like a rock. Preseason narratives were confirmed. The skeptics had their "I told you so" moment.

Now imagine if Utah had started 9-0. As the preseason favorite, the Utes would have been given far more grace. The media crowned them good before the season even started, so one loss wouldn’t carry nearly as much weight.

Arizona State didn’t leave its fate to chance—they won the Big 12. But because the team picked dead last won the league, it only added fuel to the national narrative that the Big 12 isn’t serious at the top.

That kind of thing rubs off. When Arizona State looks like the best the Big 12 has to offer, it damages the reputation of everyone else in the league by association.

This isn’t a new concept. Fans have complained for years about how preseason Top 25 polls shape narratives before the first snap of the season. 

Starting in the top 10 makes it easier to recover from a slow start. Starting outside the top 25? Good luck climbing up.

There’s a natural human bias at play. We tend to root for our predictions and stick to our original beliefs, even when new evidence emerges. It’s hard to change minds once they’re made up.

Brett Yormark can’t control the AP poll, but he can control his league’s media poll. And he’s not going to let it become a liability.

Is there irony in this? Definitely.

Alec makes a fair point here. But the Big 12 is reacting to how the playoff committee interpreted that parity, not the parity itself.

I’d rather the league acknowledge something isn’t working than stubbornly cling to tradition just because it’s how things have always been done.

That said, I’m still in the content business.

My friends, the Gamblin’ Gauchos, are organizing a Big 12 preseason media/creator poll of their own. I’ll be voting in it, and I’m genuinely curious to see how it shakes out.

But I get why the Big 12 doesn’t want to hand its critics a preseason blueprint for how to discredit the league in November.

What You Need to Know

• In massive Big 12 news, the Salt Lake Tribune reports that BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff is facing a seven-game suspension for violating the university honor code and has begun telling coaches and teammates he plans on entering the transfer portal. 

• Retzlaff’s attorney filed his official legal response on Friday to the sexual assault allegations facing the QB. In that response, Retzlaff admitted to having consensual sex with the accuser, which is a violation of the honor code that prohibits premarital sex. 

• The early rumors are that Retzlaff is heading to Notre Dame. Deseret News reporter Jay Drew says his likely destination is a “big-time school.”

• The latest College Football Playoff format update includes both a nightmare scenario for the Big 12 and a potential benefit for the Big 12 from the current SEC/Big Ten disagreement. 

• This is one of the craziest stats I’ve seen in a while, and it emphasizes just how ridiculous it was that the Big 12 didn’t get more serious at-large College Football Playoff consideration last year when teams like Miami did.

• Are three Big 12 coaches really at risk of getting fired this year? This week, on my YouTube channel, I addressed the league coaches on the hot seat and the likelihood of multiple firings this season.

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