Just because the ACC has the best team doesn’t mean it’s better than Big 12 football. Here’s why the Big 12 will be better in 2019.
Clemson is atop the football universe — until the new season starts. The Tigers will be favored again to win another national championship, but who’s Clemson’s in conference competition?
The Tigers might be better than any team in the Big 12, but they don’t live in the better conference. Here are five reasons why the Big 12 will be better than the ACC.
5. Conference balance
Last season, Texas had every opportunity to make the College Football Playoff. They beat Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry, but lost two winnable contests against Oklahoma State and West Virginia. In addition, they beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl which gave the Big 12 two representatives in the New Year’s Six.
Although Clemson won the National Championship, one team doesn’t absolve an entire conference of its mediocrity. The ACC doesn’t have a clear No. 2 that can compete with Clemson. Syracuse and Pittsburgh upset Clemson. The Tigers are clearly better than both teams, and they proved that last season.
You can tell a lot by the bottom of a conference, and the Big 12 had one legitimately bad team: Kansas. We knew coming into last season David Beatty was coaching for his job, and he didn’t have the players to compete in the Big 12.
Although no one predicted North Carolina and Louisville would be as bad as they were, both teams had huge question marks heading into last season. Bobby Petrino and Larry Fedora were on the hot seat and needed big seasons to keep their jobs.
Instead, their seasons went south very quickly. The ACC had a winless team (Louisville) in conference play, and the Big 12 did not. Kansas, yes Kansas, even found a conference win last season.
This season should be more of the same. Texas and Oklahoma will duke it out for conference supremacy if Texas learns how to win games they should win. There is no clear No. 2 in the ACC, and Clemson should go undefeated again.