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09/21 05:10 CDT Big 12 is on the rise, landing 3 teams in top 15 of AP Top 25
and jockeying for multiple CFP bids
Big 12 is on the rise, landing 3 teams in top 15 of AP Top 25 and jockeying for
multiple CFP bids
By ERIC OLSON
AP College Football Writer
The early storylines in college football already seem unforgettable: Michigan's
double Hail Mary win. Oregon's shocking loss at Oklahoma State. North Carolina
State's loss when it had the ball and the lead with 10 seconds left. Texas
supplanting Ohio State at No. 1 after an extraordinary rally. An AI-doctored
video about the Longhorns coach. The Big Ten vs. the SEC, again. Lane Kiffin.
Pause for a moment to consider the thrill ride ahead in the Big 12.
The conference on Sunday put three teams into the top 15 of The Associated
Press Top 25 for the first time this season and has four ranked in all.
No. 9 BYU has its highest ranking since it popped into the top 10 for one week
late last season. No. 11 Texas Tech and No. 15 Utah also have their highest
rankings of the season. Houston is No. 25 and four other Big 12 teams are
receiving votes.
Now in its third season since Oklahoma and Texas bolted to the SEC, the Big 12
has found traction with Texas Tech, BYU and Utah in its top tier and, as of
Sunday, sitting in the top 12 of the ESPN power index.
There is a real possibility the Big 12 will get two teams in the College
Football Playoff for the first time. That would be a major milestone for a
conference that hasn't won a national championship since 2005 and has had just
three current members in the playoff since it started in 2014. The lone Big 12
team that reached the CFP title game, TCU in 2022, got blown out by 58 points.
A big part of the post-2023 Big 12 is the shedding of the conference's
reputation as a place where offenses roam free and playing defense is merely a
suggestion. In 2023, the Big 12 had nine teams in the top 35 in total offense
but only one in the top 35 in total defense.
Through Week 3, six Big 12 teams are in the top 35 in total defense and a
seventh is 36th; eight teams are in the top 35 in total offense.
The balance showed up in the Big 12's first two conference games. BYU took
control late to beat Arizona 28-17 in Week 2 and Texas Tech edged Houston 28-26
on Friday after narrowly keeping Conner Weigman out of the end zone on a
2-point conversion try with 49 seconds left.
Last season, 29 of 72 Big 12 games (40%) were decided by one score, and 62 of
147 (42%) have been one-score games since the 2024 restructuring, according to
Sportradar.
In 2024, nine Big 12 teams went into the final week of the regular season
mathematically alive for one of the two spots in the conference championship
game and the possibility of an eight-team tie for first place existed.
By comparison, 2025 was calm, with Texas Tech and BYU going into their final
regular-season games having already clinched spots in the title game, which
Tech won. Still, eight teams were within three games of those two teams.
Expect more of the same as the season unfolds.
Group of Six scramble
With no Group of Six team having cracked the Top 25 through four polls, Boise State would be the projected G6 representative in the CFP as of today because it is receiving the most votes among the teams outside the power conferences. That said, this season could be just as entertaining as 2025 in the race for the G6 bid. Boise State's close game with Oregon doesn't look quite as good after the Ducks' loss at Oklahoma State, and the Broncos certainly weren't dominant in their win over South Dakota of the Championship Subdivision on Saturday. At least a half-dozen other teams bear watching. North Dakota State is 4-0 in its first year in the Bowl Subdivision, and only one team has played the Bison closer than 21 points. South Florida is 3-0 for the first time since 2002 under first-year coach Brian Hartline. James Madison, one of two G6 playoff teams last year, hasn't missed a beat in the transition from Bob Chesney to Billy Napier and is 3-0 after an impressive road win over San Diego State. Tulsa is 3-0 and can match its 2025 win total with a win at Arkansas this week. Western Michigan is 2-1 because of that extra-second loss at Michigan and New Mexico played Oklahoma within 14-6 on the road in its only loss.
SEC vs. Big Ten The two juggernaut conferences have a number of interesting games this week, including No. 1 Texas at No. 14 Tennessee, No. 4 Mississippi at No. 21 Florida, No. 19 Missouri at No. 24 Mississippi State and No. 23 Texas A&M at No. 10 LSU. The Big Ten showcase game is No. 20 Oregon at No. 12 Southern California, which has lost its last four games against the Ducks. No. 17 Iowa also visits No. 18 Michigan and these are not your usual Hawkeyes: 111 points through three games is Iowa's most since 2003.
Extra points CJ Bailey's ill-timed and game-turning end-zone fumble in NC State's 35-31 loss to Vanderbilt was not a one-off. Since 2024, his first season, Bailey has put the ball on the ground 14 times, third-most among active FBS players, according to Sportradar. His seven lost fumbles are tied for fifth-most. ... Oregon scored on 12 of its 13 possessions in its 84-0 rout of Portland State. The Ducks would have gone 13 for 13, but Dylan Raiola's 38-yard touchdown pass to Messiah Hampton in the third quarter was nullified by offsetting penalties and they ended up punting. ___ Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP's full college football coverage here
Group of Six scramble
With no Group of Six team having cracked the Top 25 through four polls, Boise State would be the projected G6 representative in the CFP as of today because it is receiving the most votes among the teams outside the power conferences. That said, this season could be just as entertaining as 2025 in the race for the G6 bid. Boise State's close game with Oregon doesn't look quite as good after the Ducks' loss at Oklahoma State, and the Broncos certainly weren't dominant in their win over South Dakota of the Championship Subdivision on Saturday. At least a half-dozen other teams bear watching. North Dakota State is 4-0 in its first year in the Bowl Subdivision, and only one team has played the Bison closer than 21 points. South Florida is 3-0 for the first time since 2002 under first-year coach Brian Hartline. James Madison, one of two G6 playoff teams last year, hasn't missed a beat in the transition from Bob Chesney to Billy Napier and is 3-0 after an impressive road win over San Diego State. Tulsa is 3-0 and can match its 2025 win total with a win at Arkansas this week. Western Michigan is 2-1 because of that extra-second loss at Michigan and New Mexico played Oklahoma within 14-6 on the road in its only loss.
SEC vs. Big Ten The two juggernaut conferences have a number of interesting games this week, including No. 1 Texas at No. 14 Tennessee, No. 4 Mississippi at No. 21 Florida, No. 19 Missouri at No. 24 Mississippi State and No. 23 Texas A&M at No. 10 LSU. The Big Ten showcase game is No. 20 Oregon at No. 12 Southern California, which has lost its last four games against the Ducks. No. 17 Iowa also visits No. 18 Michigan and these are not your usual Hawkeyes: 111 points through three games is Iowa's most since 2003.
Extra points CJ Bailey's ill-timed and game-turning end-zone fumble in NC State's 35-31 loss to Vanderbilt was not a one-off. Since 2024, his first season, Bailey has put the ball on the ground 14 times, third-most among active FBS players, according to Sportradar. His seven lost fumbles are tied for fifth-most. ... Oregon scored on 12 of its 13 possessions in its 84-0 rout of Portland State. The Ducks would have gone 13 for 13, but Dylan Raiola's 38-yard touchdown pass to Messiah Hampton in the third quarter was nullified by offsetting penalties and they ended up punting. ___ Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP's full college football coverage here
