The answer, of course, is really just a matter of taste. I.e., are we optimizing to see the best 12 teams in a playoff or to make it more inclusive, even if it results in really good teams sitting at home and a bunch of playoff blowouts.
But in the discussion in Gabe's "TEN THOUGHTS," I suggested that giving the Big 12 an auto-bid and bye in the playoffs was more like giving a AAA team a bye into the Divisional round of the MLB playoffs than it was giving the NFC West a playoff spot and supported that opinion with the assertion that the talent disparity is so great that somewhere between 9 or 12 SEC teams would be favored to win the Big 12.
I added-up the last four recruiting classes. Of course this is not equal to the current rosters but this was easier to compile. The results are pretty staggering, so I thought I'd share.
Total 4 and 5 stars signed in the four classes from 2021-2024:
UTAH 17, TCU 16, TTU 14, UCF 13, WVU 11, UA 10, OKST/COL 9, ASU 7, ISU/HOU/BYU 6, BAY/kU 5, CIN 4, KSU 3
BAMA 93, UGA 77, TAMU 71, LSU 66, OU 62, TEX 60, UF 49, AUB 42, TENN 39, OLE MISS 34, MIZ 23
All 16 "Big 12" have 141 vs. 616 for only these 11 SEC teams
The worst of these 11 SEC (MIZ) is better than the best of the Big 12 (UTAH)
MIZ has as many as the bottom 5 Big 12 schools *combined*
The five Big 8 teams (CU, OKST, ISU, kU, KSU) have 32 total
It was surprising to me how poorly the Pac 12 schools have recruited. They fit in well here.
I think Big 12 football is going to be fun as hell to watch. I just don't think they should automatically be included at the expense of the 11th or 12th ranked team in the country and certainly don't think they deserve a bye for playing these schedules.
But in the discussion in Gabe's "TEN THOUGHTS," I suggested that giving the Big 12 an auto-bid and bye in the playoffs was more like giving a AAA team a bye into the Divisional round of the MLB playoffs than it was giving the NFC West a playoff spot and supported that opinion with the assertion that the talent disparity is so great that somewhere between 9 or 12 SEC teams would be favored to win the Big 12.
I added-up the last four recruiting classes. Of course this is not equal to the current rosters but this was easier to compile. The results are pretty staggering, so I thought I'd share.
Total 4 and 5 stars signed in the four classes from 2021-2024:
UTAH 17, TCU 16, TTU 14, UCF 13, WVU 11, UA 10, OKST/COL 9, ASU 7, ISU/HOU/BYU 6, BAY/kU 5, CIN 4, KSU 3
BAMA 93, UGA 77, TAMU 71, LSU 66, OU 62, TEX 60, UF 49, AUB 42, TENN 39, OLE MISS 34, MIZ 23
All 16 "Big 12" have 141 vs. 616 for only these 11 SEC teams
The worst of these 11 SEC (MIZ) is better than the best of the Big 12 (UTAH)
MIZ has as many as the bottom 5 Big 12 schools *combined*
The five Big 8 teams (CU, OKST, ISU, kU, KSU) have 32 total
It was surprising to me how poorly the Pac 12 schools have recruited. They fit in well here.
I think Big 12 football is going to be fun as hell to watch. I just don't think they should automatically be included at the expense of the 11th or 12th ranked team in the country and certainly don't think they deserve a bye for playing these schedules.
