Under the new 12-team College Football Playoff format, the five highest-ranked conference champions — no matter what conference — and the next seven highest-ranked teams will earn spots.
Did last weekend, then, hurt the Big 12 Conference’s chances of getting multiple teams into the 12-squad field? Even quash them completely?
To recap, BYU — which did not play last weekend — became the outright leader in the conference standings at 5-0 after previously undefeated Iowa State (now 4-1 in conference play) lost to Texas Tech.
Furthermore, Kansas State lost to Houston, moving the Wildcats’ conference record to 4-2. Colorado, which had a bye like BYU, remained 4-1 in Big 12 play.
That means mathematically, BYU gained some cushion in its quest to win the Big 12 regular-season crown and earn a spot in the conference championship game (to be held Dec. 7 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys), but was the conference hurt overall?
Say BYU and Iowa State entered the Big 12 title game undefeated. The winner would get an automatic bid to the CFP, but the other’s chances of being ranked high enough to get one of the seven at-large bids would be very good.
As it stands now, however, the loser of the conference championship game might not be ranked high enough to get one of those bids.
Using this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll as a guide and an example, Iowa State got knocked down all the way to No. 17 after its loss to Houston, well out of position to get an at-large bid.
That is reflected in several bowl projections as well. Action Network’s Brett McMurphy, for example, projected both BYU and Iowa State to make the 12-team field last week, but he’s only got BYU from the Big 12 this week. Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde wrote over the weekend, “the Big 12 looks like a one-bid league.”
This, of course, could end up hurting BYU as well. Yes, the Cougars will want to keep winning, and the easiest way of ensuring a spot in the CFP is to go undefeated and leave no doubt, but what if a 12-0 BYU team faces an 11-1 Iowa State team in the Big 12 title game and loses?
Would BYU get knocked down lower in the rankings in favor of another SEC or Big Ten team getting one of the seven at-large bids?
The first CFP rankings of the season will be unveiled Tuesday evening, giving us a chance to see what the 13-member selection committee thinks of Big 12 teams and if any outside of the conference champion will have a shot at a bid.
Regardless, BYU needs to just keep on winning to leave no doubt.
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