Big 12 leader: ‘No way’ Boise State should rank ahead of Power 4 college football champ
A victory for Boise State in the Mountain West championship game on Friday night likely would book a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff, expanded this year to 12 teams.
The Broncos have battled to an 11-1 regular season, going a perfect 7-0 in conference play, and the only loss came in the second game of the season — when undefeated and now-No. 1 Oregon kicked a field goal as time expired to win 37-34.
Boise State has earned the No. 10 ranking from the CFP selection committee, putting the Broncos in an excellent position to claim one of the four first-round byes awarded to the four highest-ranked conference champions.
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark isn’t pleased with that. His league is the one without a bye right now: No. 15 Arizona State (10-2) will face No. 16 Iowa State (10-2) in the Big 12 title game on Saturday. The winner would have to be vaulted several spots to not be the lowest-ranked conference champ, depending on what happens in the ACC.
“In no way should a Group of 5 champion be ranked ahead of our champion,” Yormark said at a press conference on Wednesday.
The SEC, Big Ten and ACC boast top-10 teams that can earn automatic bids, which go to the five highest-ranked conference champions. The ACC is interesting, though, because three-loss Clemson, No. 17 in the rankings, could knock off No. 8 SMU (11-1) to earn that league’s bid. That could really jumble how the byes work out.
But Yormark was focused on his conference, which would seem to have scant hope of jumping ahead of the Broncos if they win. Boise State’s opponent in the Mountain West game is No. 20 UNLV (10-2), meaning it would be a high-quality victory.
“The committee continues to show time and time again that they are paying attention to logos versus resumes,” Yormark said. “Strength of schedule should matter. Wins against Power 4 opponents should matter.”
Yormark specifically pointed toward Boise State, highlighting that the team had played just one school from a Power 4 league: Oregon.
Using ESPN’s power index strength of schedule rankings, there’s not a massive difference between the three teams. Boise State enters the game ranked 86th, with Arizona State 72nd and Iowa State 68th.
“The committee clearly focuses on the win and loss column,” Yormark added.
While Boise State’s only loss was to No. 1 Oregon, the Big 12 teams both have losses to Texas Tech, which finished 8-4 and in seventh place in the conference. Arizona State also lost to Cincinnati (5-7), while Iowa State lost to Kansas (5-7). Neither of those teams became bowl-eligible.
“I challenge what I’ve seen to date,” Yormark said. “But I do have trust in the committee that ultimately we’ll land where we’re supposed to land, and that ultimately will mean (the Big 12 will) get a bye, which we’re deserving of, based on all the key metrics that should come into play.”
The final CFP rankings, which will determine the playoff bracket, will be revealed on Sunday at 10 a.m. Mountain time.
