ADs from Iowa State, SMU jaw over CFP’s Big 12 disrespect
Dec 4, 2024, 2:17 PM
The College Football Playoff committee isn’t giving the Big 12 props for the muddied top of its conference.
Arizona State, Iowa State and BYU finished 10-2 in the regular season and are respectively 15th, 16th and 18th in the penultimate CFP rankings.
Of the four major conference leaders, ASU’s 15th ranking in the CFP is by far the worst after No. 1 Oregon (Big Ten), No. 2 Texas (SEC) and No. 8 SMU (ACC).
ASU, picked to finish last in the Big 12 in the preseason football media poll, enters the conference title game against Iowa State as the favorite. If the Sun Devils win, they would be the lone representative from the reshaped 16-team conference in the expanded College Football Playoff field.
Iowa State’s ranking isn’t pleasing ISU athletic director Jamie Pollard. It led to an online back-and-forth between him and SMU AD Rick Hart on Tuesday night as the rankings were revealed heading into conference championship week.
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“Disappointing that strength of schedule clearly does not matter for SMU, Indiana and Boise State,” Pollard wrote on X. “Message is clear — win as many games as possible regardless of who you play. Time to rethink non-conference scheduling. Very different standards than the basketball committee.”
Hart was quick to respond in support of his school and the ACC.
“Jamie, respect you but bad take,” Hart wrote. “ISU had (North Dakota), Iowa, Ark. St. non-con. SMU had (Nevada, Houston Christian), TCU, BYU. (And scrambled due to Vandy dropping us.)
“SMU 1 of 2 to win all conf. games, 1 of 3 with 9 (Power 4) wins, trailed a TOTAL of 6+ mins. (over the) last 9 games. I could go on… Stay off my lawn!”
The Big 12 created its own problem with so much top-end parity this season.
Its leaders, including commissioner Brett Yormark, will be fighting hard for more respect, if not more inclusion than the ASU-ISU winner of the title game.
The SEC has six teams ranked ahead of ASU in the CFP. The Big Ten has four, while the ACC has two and the Mountain West has one.
— Kevin Zimmerman
Who looks like a lock to make 12-team CFP bracket?
The last two weeks of the college football regular season were wild, and the madness could continue in the conference championship games this week if Clemson, UNLV or both win.
The five automatic bids and most of the at-large spots in the 12-team College Football Playoff will be locked down Friday and Saturday. The real drama centers on the seventh, and final, at-large spot.
The losers between No. 2 Texas (No. 2 CFP) and No. 5 Georgia (No. 5 CFP) in the Southeastern Conference and No. 3 Penn State (No. 3 CFP) and No. 1 Oregon (No. 1 CFP) in the Big Ten should feel secure about making the bracket Sunday. No. 4 Notre Dame (No. 4 CFP), No. 7 Ohio State (No. 6 CFP), No. 6 Tennessee (No. 7 CFP) and No. 9 Indiana (No. 9 CFP) also can count on bids.
That leaves one spot.
If a three-loss and 18th-ranked Clemson (No. 17 CFP) steals the Atlantic Coast Conference’s bid with a win over No. 8 SMU (No. 8 CFP), would the Mustangs get an at-large or would the committee go with three-loss and No. 11 Alabama (No. 11 CFP)?
And if No. 19 UNLV (No. 20 CFP) beats No. 10 Boise State (No. 10 CFP) in the Mountain West game and gets the Group of Five bid, would the Broncos be out?
The fun begins Friday night with Western Kentucky facing Jacksonville State in the Conference USA game in what will be the teams’ second meeting in seven days. UNLV-Boise State and Tulane at No. 24 Army (No. 24 CFP) in the American Athletic also are set for Friday.
Then come Saturday’s showdowns: No. 16 Iowa State (No. 16 CFP) vs. No. 12 Arizona State (No. 15 CFP) in the Big 12, Ohio-Miami (Ohio) in the Mid-American, Georgia-Texas in the SEC, Marshall-Louisiana-Lafayette in the Sun Belt, Penn State-Oregon in the Big Ten and Clemson-SMU in the ACC.
Best game
No. 18 Clemson (9-3, No. 17 CFP) vs. No. 8 SMU (11-1, No. 8) in Charlotte, North Carolina, Saturday, 8 p.m. EST (ABC)
Clemson has Syracuse to thank for punching its ticket to Charlotte for a shot at the ACC title. Had the Orange not knocked off double-digit favorite Miami last week, the Tigers would have been idle this weekend and making plans for a non-CFP bowl. Instead, they’re playing for their first playoff bid since 2020, which was the last of their six straight CFP appearances.
The Mustangs’ only loss was to BYU on a late field goal, and then they did the nearly unthinkable by going unbeaten in ACC play in their first year in a Power Four league.
— The Associated Press
