At Big 12 football media day in Las Vegas in July, commissioner Brett Yormark said he felt the conference was the deepest in the country.
Heading into the stretch run of the season, the Big 12 may not have the top-end teams, but it’s certainly showing to be deep.
“It’s playing out every weekend,” Yormark told BuffZone on Saturday when he visited Folsom Field and watched Colorado knock off Utah, 49-24.
Very little has gone as expected in the Big 12, in relation to the preseason projections.
Three of the projected top teams — Arizona, Utah and Oklahoma State — are at the bottom of the standings with a combined 3-18 conference record. Three of the projected bottom teams – 14th-ranked BYU, 16th-ranked CU and 21st-ranked Arizona State – are at the top of the standings with a combined 17-4 conference mark.
Yet, the depth and parity Yormark promised is very much alive in the Big 12.
“We talked about the month of November being pretty magical, because of so many different scenarios,” Yormark said. “When you think about how many schools are in contention for the championship right now and who’s going to end up in Arlington on that first weekend in December, it’s playing out just as we had hoped. Now, it’s playing out with different schools, if you will, being at the top, but still playing out with respect to depth and parity. Every game matters.”
With two weeks to go in the regular season, BYU (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) and CU (8-2, 6-1) are leading the race to get to the Big 12 title game in Arlington, Texas, on Dec. 7.
ASU (8-2, 5-2) and No. 22 Iowa State (8-2, 5-2) are just a game back and five other teams are still in contention with 4-3 conference records.
Only the SEC (seven) and Big Ten (five) have more Associated Press ranked teams. And eight of the 16 in the Big 12 are already bowl eligible, with seven others still having a shot to get there.
Yormark spoke to BuffZone a few hours before BYU was upset by unranked Kansas on Saturday night. That was the latest surprise result in a wacky season for the Big 12 where just about anything can happen each week.
“I was looking at a stat recently, we lead all FBS conferences in lead changes in the fourth quarter,” Yormark said. “It’s compelling, it’s drama. It’s playing out each weekend, so we’re really excited about it.”
Where the parity could hurt the Big 12 is in the College Football Playoff standings. The CFP expanded from four teams to 12 this year, which provides a better opportunity for the Big 12 to get multiple teams into the mix.
As entertaining as the parity and competitiveness has been, weekly upsets might hurt the Big 12.
Last week, BYU was at No. 6 and the only team projected for the 12-team field. But Kansas State (No. 16) and CU (No. 17) were on the bubble.
On Saturday, Yormark said, “Our expectation in July was that we were going to get two in. That was our goal. We felt that would be a positive year, and I think we’re on track to do that.”
A few hours later, however, K-State lost at home to then-unranked ASU and BYU was upset at home by unranked Kansas.
The new CFP rankings will be released on Tuesday. The Big 12 champion will get into the playoff field, but the conference might need some help around the country to get a second team in.
“I have a lot of trust in the selection committee, I really do,” Yormark said. “Let’s not look at the logo on the helmet. Let’s make sure we’re looking at the resume. Let’s look at the performance week to week. There’s a good story when you think about BYU, there’s a really good story when you think about K-State and Colorado.
“I love where we are right now, and I’m excited about how we’re going to finish.”
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