Big 12 football needs to send a team to the College Football Playoff this year. Here are three reasons that is not going to be a problem.
The Big 12 is often the most scrutinized conference in the college football world. Since they only sent a team to the Playoff in one of the three years of its existence, many do not respect it as a legitimate contender for the National Championship.
A huge reason for the recent dip in the Big 12’s success is the down years of the Texas Longhorns. Texas is one of the biggest brands in the country, if not the biggest, and not competing on a national basis is the last half-decade or so really hurts the Big 12.
Moreover, the obvious reason for the fall of the conference is the loss of four members in the last decade. The Colorado Buffaloes bolted for the PAC-12. The Mizzou Tigers and Texas A&M Aggies left for the SEC. One of the biggest programs, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, left for the Big 10.
It would be hard for any conference to recover from losing four of its key members. The Big 12 added the West Virginia Mountaineers and TCU Horned Frogs after, which has worked out well so far. But having programs like the Kansas Jayhawks and Iowa State Cyclones that are consistently among the worst Power Five programs in the country weighs down the conference.
This year, the Big 12 had five of its ten teams ranked in the preseason AP Poll. Texas was bounced from the top 25 after a Week 1 loss to the Maryland Terrapins. And, West Virginia was dropped after a loss to the Virginia Tech Hokies. However, TCU jumped into the rankings when they notched a huge road win against the Arkansas Razorbacks, 28-7.
Now, let’s take a look at three reasons why the Big 12 is the best conference in college football.