Big 12 commissioner says he would have voted TCU for Playoff over Baylor
Bob Bowlsby would have liked both teams in, but said he believed the Horned Frogs had the best chance of staying in the top four.
Ohio State ended up beating out Baylor and TCU for the fourth spot in the inaugural College Football Playoff, at least in part due to the Big 12’s lack of a championship game. Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby has since come under fire from TCU and Baylor fans for failing to put the conference in good playoff position, either by having enough teams to have a championship or by stumping for the Bears, who beat the Horned Frogs.
Monday, Bowlsby was asked an impossible question on The Dan Patrick Show -- who would have he voted for at the fourth spot? Here’s how he responded:
TCU. The only reason I say that -- Baylor beat them head-to-head and whether they would win ... -- the only reason I say that is because I thought they were in better position to stay in there.
Having said that, I think that the committee got it right in having Baylor five and TCU six. It was the right thing to do, and I say it probably would have been TCU simply because they were in a better position to be in, and with Ohio State’s win I think it would have been difficult for Baylor to jump over them.
I think it isn’t just a TCU-Baylor comparison, it’s a Baylor-Ohio State, it’s a Baylor-Florida State, it’s a TCU-Florida State. The only reason I say that is not because of anything between our two schools, I just think that they had a better chance of staying in, and that’s why I think we were so surprised, because the committee made a statement by making them third, ahead of an undefeated Florida State. It seemed like they were better positioned to have a chance to stay there.
In a perfect situation, I thought Baylor and TCU were both good enough to go in.
In the interview, Bowlsby said the Big 12 may have a conference title game “down the road,” but rejected it for now because it would create an unfair advantage for whichever team lost the regular season matchup between the two title squads. Bowlsby expressed concern that an undefeated team could become “damaged goods” by losing a title game, but admitted that the playoff’s first selections suggest a 13-game resume is superior to a 12-game one.
Saturday night, Baylor head coach Art Briles gave Bowlsby a piece of his mind.
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