FRISCO, Texas – Throughout the week at the Big 12 spring meetings, the future of the College Football Playoff was a hot topic.
Big 12 coaches unanimously support a 24-team format.
A playoff format with 24 could potentially create more opportunities for Big 12 teams.
In the 12-team playoff format, the Big 12 has produced only one team each year.
Last year, it was Texas Tech; before that, it was Arizona State.
It begs the question: Is the Big 12 underrated or disrespected?
Big 12 disrespect highlighted by CFP snubbing BYU football
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark shared his thoughts when asked that question on Friday to close out the spring meetings.
“Well, in some respects, we are disrespected. I think BYU should have made the CFP last year, and there was a lot of debate around it. But I feel very strongly based on their resume.”
BYU boasted the eighth-best strength of record last season, the best in the Big 12.
They played a top-30 strength of schedule, according to ESPN’s FPI.
Despite those numbers and an 11-2 record with both losses coming to Texas Tech, BYU was the second team left out of the field, behind Notre Dame.
When you look back at BYU’s resume…
According to a Sports Illustrated report this week, teams from the Big 12, such as BYU and Texas Tech, were a major topic among SEC football coaches during their spring meetings in Destin, Florida.
The reason for the discussion of Big 12 teams in Destin was that College Football Playoff executive director Rich Clark was holding a presentation for the Southeastern Conference coaches. SEC coaches were reportedly “not happy” with the data highlighting Big 12 teams, including a discussion of strength-of-record metrics that placed BYU in front of teams such as Alabama and Texas.
Yormark was also asked about that on Friday.
“Listen, it’s nice to be talked about, right? At the end of the day, it’s just noise, and you know it’s all good as far as I’m concerned,” Yormark said.
He later continued, “Just speaking against BYU, they deserved to be in the CFP last year. OK? We didn’t complain. We accepted the decisions of the selection committee. But when you look back at their resume, their strength of schedule, the strength of this conference, they were very deserving. But we’ll see what happens this year.”
BYU is one of 10 teams to finish the past two seasons ranked in the AP Top 25. Of those 10, BYU was the only one without a College Football Playoff appearance the past two years.
If a 24-team playoff had been in place last season, a total of five Big 12 teams would have made the playoff, with BYU being one of those teams.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSL and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.
Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.
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