Big 12 Left Out in the Cold Again

The College Football Playoff selection committee continues to treat Big 12 teams like second-class citizens, even when compared to the best of the Group of Five. 

Despite leaving absolutely no doubt in a road rivalry game on Saturday, Arizona State gained zero ground on Boise State in Tuesday’s playoff rankings after the Broncos struggled to pull away from Oregon State. 

#10 Boise State. #15 Arizona State. #16 Iowa State. #18 BYU.

The treatment of the Big 12 and Boise State has become so egregious that Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark went on a three-and-a-half-minute rant about the committee on Wednesday during a Zoom press conference. Take a listen.

Allow me to blend some of Yormark’s excellent talking points with my own to illustrate just how outrageous the idea that the Broncos should finish above the Big 12 champion is. 

• Boise State played one game against Power Four competition this year. Iowa State and Arizona State played ten. 

• Boise State only beat four FBS teams with a winning record – they came from the Sun Belt, Mountain West, and what’s left of the Pac 12. 

• That means they played a schedule comprised of almost virtually all Group of Five teams and the entire Group of Five went a combined 11-80 against Power Four competition this year. 

• Sagarin’s conference rankings show the Big 12 is the second-best conference in the country, while the Mountain West is eighth. The Big 12 is more than three times as close to the SEC as the Mountain West is to the Big 12.

• Boise State’s strength of schedule is worse than both Iowa State and Arizona State.

A thoughtful reader reached out this week and asked that I consider that the committee could reverse course and push the Big 12 champion above a victorious Boise State in the same manner they elevated Ohio State over Baylor and TCU in 2014. 

I respect the thought, but I find that impossible to believe. Five spots is a huge jump, and Boise State is playing the committee’s 20th-ranked team (UNLV) on Friday. If they moved the Big 12 champ up five spots for beating a team ranked only four or five spots higher than the Broncos’ opponent, it would be a MASSIVE story. I don’t think they want any part of that.

When have any of their actions this year benefitted the Big 12? They’ll bend over backward to accommodate Bama, not Arizona State or Iowa State.

As bad as the Boise State situation is for the Big 12, I can’t believe we aren’t hearing more about BYU. The great debate across the college football landscape this week is Alabama vs. Miami. Many feel the Canes should have the final playoff at-large berth, but the committee predictably went with the Crimson Tide. 

But why on earth isn’t BYU in this discussion when they have an objectively better resume than Miami? Let’s look at the blind resume test between the two. 

Team A

10-2 record
SOS: 44
SOR: 12
Best wins: at #8, RV, RV
Losses: #15, one unranked

Team B

10-2 record
SOS: 55
SOR: 14
Best wins: RV, RV, RV
Losses: #22, one unranked

They have the same record and almost identical losses, and Team A (BYU) has the edge in strength of schedule and a far better win. BYU’s win at #8 SMU has to be the most overlooked win of the entire college football season. 

Yet the Cougars aren’t even on the periphery of the discussion. They’re a full six spots behind Miami. 

The only possible explanation is the eye test, which Former College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock laid the groundwork for last year. 

“Most deserving is not anything in the committee’s lexicon,” Hancock said. “They are to rank the best teams in order, and that’s what they do. Just keep that word in mind: best teams.”

I firmly believe the Big 12 would be treated differently if Utah, Oklahoma State, and K-State were the three 10-2 teams in the league. Preseason buzz and a glossy top-25 ranking before the season help immensely in forming narratives. 

Many outside the league think that if the team picked last in the preseason poll can win the conference, it must be a bad conference. It couldn’t possibly be that the media members who put them there were just, you know, wrong.

It’s an unfortunate reality that the Big 12 has to deal with. At least Yormark isn’t going down without a fight.

Prefer Big 12 news in video form? Ready to take shots at your rival? Subscribe to my YouTube Channel and make sure to join in the live shows on Wednesdays and Sundays. Fans from all across the Big 12 and the college football world mix it up in the live chat while getting my take on the week’s news.

Big 12 Power Rankings

Here are your Big 12 power rankings! Please note: these are rankings, not power ratings. That means they are primarily based on what a team has accomplished so far this year – not necessarily how good I think the team is. You’ll see their ranking from last week in parentheses.

1. Arizona State (LW: 1)

2. BYU (LW: 2)

3. Iowa State (LW: 3)

4. Colorado (LW: 5)

5. Baylor (LW: 6)

6. Texas Tech (LW: 7)

7. TCU (LW: 8)

8. K-State (LW: 4)

9. Kansas (LW: 9)

10. West Virginia (LW: 10)

11. Cincinnati (LW: 11)

12. Houston (LW: 12)

13. Utah (LW: 15)

14. UCF (LW: 13)

15. Arizona (LW: 14)

16. Oklahoma State (LW: 16)

• Yes, I know BYU isn’t in the Big 12 championship game. Remember – this is all about my view of who has accomplished the most this season. BYU’s win over #8 SMU looms large here. They also beat Baylor on the road, while Iowa State got them at home and beat K-State more handily. It’s close, but I think BYU technically has a better resume. 

• There’s not a whole lot of change the rest of the way. That happens when you have a week of favorites taking care of business. One tweak is Utah jumping up a few spots with a convincing win over UCF. The Utes lead the pack of 2-7 Big 12 teams. 

• Four of the bottom five teams have all made significant coaching staff changes. I’m assuming Arizona will follow, but it has been a little quiet on that front so far.