The Big 12 will not make a recommendation to the College Football Playoff committee in the event of a tie between TCU and Baylor, David Ubben of FOX Sports Southwest is reporting, with quotes from conference commissioner Bob Bowlsby.
Big 12 wouldn’t recommend either Baylor or TCU to Playoff committee
However, it apparently would submit the Bears as its champion, in the event of a tie.
Cooper Neill
This news adds to a report from ESPN’s Jake Trotter, who tweeted the conference would submit the head-to-head winner (in this case, Baylor) to the Playoff as the Big 12 champion in the event of a tie. So, basically, the Big 12 would enter head-to-head winner Baylor as its single champion, but would not lobby for Baylor to be Playoff-bound over TCU.
The two teams appear likely to be the subjects of an intense debate down the stretch.
Baylor and TCU currently stand tied on top of the conference standings, with 8-1 overall records and a 5-1 records in conference play. The Horned Frogs’ lone loss came to the Bears, a 61-58 defeat after a frenetic late comeback. Baylor’s only loss came against West Virginia in a 41-27 road defeat.
College Football Playoff
The news seems to help TCU, although there was never a guarantee the committee would have listened to the conference. Baylor would have been the conference’s recommendation if there would have been such a thing, and if both teams win out, the Frogs will have the significantly better loss of the two teams.
The Bears have Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Kansas State left on the schedule, while TCU plays Kansas, Texas and Iowa State.
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Update: Trotter adds further explanation of the apparent dispute.
To clarify again, the Big 12 will be asked by committee to submit ONE representative champion, as the other conferences do...
— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) November 11, 2014 In 11-1 TCU/Baylor scenario, that would be Baylor, because of head-to-head tiebreaker, which would also be assured of CFB bowl...
— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) November 11, 2014 The committee COULD use that as a factor in determining playoff. But ultimately, committee will choose four teams however they see fit
— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) November 11, 2014 See More:
