The Big XII lost huge teams in the last 6 years. Texas A&M, Nebraska, and Missouri. Then they lost Colorado. Dropping the conference down to just 8 teams. West Virginia and TCU were added to try and stop the bleeding (which are two perfect additions by the conference).
Here in 2016, conference champions have an easier path to the College Football Playoff. The Big XII does not have a conference championship game because the NCAA requires a conference to have 12 teams to hold a championship game. Oklahoma suffered from not having a conference game this last year. Oklahoma held the #3 spot in the Playoff rankings going into week 14. After week 14, conference championship week, Michigan State jumped Oklahoma and the Sooners dropped to #4. Just ask TCU and Baylor how great being named co-champions back in 2015 helped their College Playoff chances.
Rumors have been swirling about who the Big XII plans on adding to the conference. Houston and Memphis have been the 2 teams most media outlets are reporting to join the Big 12. There are also some rumblings about Cincinnati, UCF, BYU, and Colorado State.
All of these teams make sense. Houston would add another team in Texas, but that could end up being a good rival for Oklahoma or Texas. BYU is a football team that always gives P5 teams problems. The Cougars have had at least 8 wins in the past 5 seasons. They're crazy Mormon but a good team with a good rival in Utah. Cincinnati would get the Big XII into Ohio, which surprisingly has a lot of football talent. The Bearcats would give West Virginia a natural rival. UCF gets the Big XII into Florida. The Knights have been up and down in the last few years, but Orlando is central to a lot of talent that would help the conference. Finally, Colorado State, this seems like a way to get the state of Colorado back. Colorado State has had some recent success, and getting out of the Mountain West would improve the Colorado-Colorado State rivalry. Any wins over the Pac 12 in Big XII country is a win in recruiting for the conference.
I would love for the Big XII to call up Boise State to add the Broncos. How awesome would it be to see TCU and Boise State battle it out every year after the battles in the WAC and MWC?! But honestly, I just want to see that beautiful blue field on TV more.
Who else do you want to see in the Big XII? Hit me up in the comments below.
Alty
@ericaltenhof
Houston would be a strong play. Give them the financial backing to hold on to Hermann and possibly maintain their strong run. The spitefulness in me wants CSU in there just to stick it to Colorado as well
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