Sirhornsalot
**The Official Horn Sports Landscaper and Landscap
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So getting tired of hearing this . . .
http://espn.go.com/blog/big12/post/_/id/99828/null
Soft nonconference scheduling leaves Big 12 with little margin for error
Last season’s Big 12 nonconference slate featured four marquee matchups that placed the league in the national spotlight. Collectively, the conference gained respect and performed valiantly. But ultimately, West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Texas and Kansas State came up just short of toppling Alabama, Florida State, UCLA and Auburn, depriving the Big 12 of a signature nonconference win to slap on its résumé for the playoff selection committee.
This offseason, the Big 12 has gnashed its teeth trying to determine why it was the only major conference left out of the playoff even with a pair of worthy 11-1 squads. The lack of a conference title game. The lack of a 13th game. The lack of a One True Champion.
But with apologies to eight-win Minnesota, and seven-win Maryland, Iowa and Tennessee, nothing injured the Big 12 more last year when it came to making the playoff than its failure to produce a single noteworthy victory during the nonconference.
Which brings us to the upcoming season.
The Big 12 has gone soft with its nonconference scheduling again, leaving the league with even less margin for error.
Last year at least the conference had several opportunities to garner high-profile wins. This year, those opportunities are few.
Minnesota, Maryland, Iowa and Tennessee are back on the slate. And Texas Tech will have another crack against Arkansas. But Texas’ opening weekend trip to Notre Dame figures to be the Big 12’s only chance of landing a win against a top 15 opponent. And should the Longhorns fail to pull off the upset in South Bend, the Big 12 could be in the same predicament as last year when playoff deliberations begin.
"The better schedules we can play in the nonconference, generally speaking, the better off we are," Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby told reporters during Big 12 spring meetings last month. "We want to make sure we're matching up against the best in the country, because that's the way you demonstrate that you deserve to be in the playoff."
The Big 12, however, is going to have a difficult time achieving that in 2015.
Oklahoma and Texas are the only Big 12 schools without an FCS opponent on their schedule. And the toughest nonconference team the trio of Baylor, Kansas State and Oklahoma State will face might just be Louisiana Tech. Meanwhile, a sampling of showdowns from the other Power 5 conferences includes Oregon-Michigan State, Wisconsin-Alabama, Texas A&M-Arizona State and Louisville-Auburn.
Because it doesn’t have a 13th game or a conference championship, the Big 12 — fair or not — already seems to be operating at a disadvantage in the eyes of the playoff committee.
Nonconference scheduling is just one more area where the league is going to be working from behind the 8-ball.
"There's just no question that the committee compares those non-conference schedules,†playoff executive director Bill Hancock recently told ESPN’s Heather Dinich. “Teams who want to be in this playoff are going to have to prove themselves with their schedules.â€
For that reason, with only eight games in-conference, the SEC and ACC have adopted mandates, which require their schools add at least one Power 5 conference opponent in the nonconference.
Bowlsby said the Big 12 has deliberated on ways to improve its nonconference scheduling, from implementing a Power 5 mandate, to eliminating FCS games. But at last month's spring meetings, the status quo won out, for now.
"I really do believe that nonconference scheduling should reside with the institution. They know best what they think it takes to get their team ready for the [conference] season,†Bowlsby said. "Having said that, we have talked about the very real circumstance of a situation where you have a weak schedule and you've got two teams that are about the same, and one played a good nonconference schedule and one played a poor nonconference schedule.
“I don't think there's any question the one with the good nonconference schedule is going to get in.â€
That’s why Baylor could finally be coming around to upgrading its scheduling. Athletic director Ian McCaw indicated last month that the Bears are on their way to boosting their nonconference schedules from 2016-2020.
Still, that's not going to help the Big 12 with the committee in 2015.
Without a notable nonconference win, the Big 12's margin for error was slim last year.
With a weak nonconference schedule this year, those margins will be even slimmer.
http://espn.go.com/blog/big12/post/_/id/99828/null
Soft nonconference scheduling leaves Big 12 with little margin for error
Last season’s Big 12 nonconference slate featured four marquee matchups that placed the league in the national spotlight. Collectively, the conference gained respect and performed valiantly. But ultimately, West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Texas and Kansas State came up just short of toppling Alabama, Florida State, UCLA and Auburn, depriving the Big 12 of a signature nonconference win to slap on its résumé for the playoff selection committee.
This offseason, the Big 12 has gnashed its teeth trying to determine why it was the only major conference left out of the playoff even with a pair of worthy 11-1 squads. The lack of a conference title game. The lack of a 13th game. The lack of a One True Champion.
But with apologies to eight-win Minnesota, and seven-win Maryland, Iowa and Tennessee, nothing injured the Big 12 more last year when it came to making the playoff than its failure to produce a single noteworthy victory during the nonconference.
Which brings us to the upcoming season.
The Big 12 has gone soft with its nonconference scheduling again, leaving the league with even less margin for error.
Last year at least the conference had several opportunities to garner high-profile wins. This year, those opportunities are few.
Minnesota, Maryland, Iowa and Tennessee are back on the slate. And Texas Tech will have another crack against Arkansas. But Texas’ opening weekend trip to Notre Dame figures to be the Big 12’s only chance of landing a win against a top 15 opponent. And should the Longhorns fail to pull off the upset in South Bend, the Big 12 could be in the same predicament as last year when playoff deliberations begin.
"The better schedules we can play in the nonconference, generally speaking, the better off we are," Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby told reporters during Big 12 spring meetings last month. "We want to make sure we're matching up against the best in the country, because that's the way you demonstrate that you deserve to be in the playoff."
The Big 12, however, is going to have a difficult time achieving that in 2015.
Oklahoma and Texas are the only Big 12 schools without an FCS opponent on their schedule. And the toughest nonconference team the trio of Baylor, Kansas State and Oklahoma State will face might just be Louisiana Tech. Meanwhile, a sampling of showdowns from the other Power 5 conferences includes Oregon-Michigan State, Wisconsin-Alabama, Texas A&M-Arizona State and Louisville-Auburn.
Because it doesn’t have a 13th game or a conference championship, the Big 12 — fair or not — already seems to be operating at a disadvantage in the eyes of the playoff committee.
Nonconference scheduling is just one more area where the league is going to be working from behind the 8-ball.
"There's just no question that the committee compares those non-conference schedules,†playoff executive director Bill Hancock recently told ESPN’s Heather Dinich. “Teams who want to be in this playoff are going to have to prove themselves with their schedules.â€
For that reason, with only eight games in-conference, the SEC and ACC have adopted mandates, which require their schools add at least one Power 5 conference opponent in the nonconference.
Bowlsby said the Big 12 has deliberated on ways to improve its nonconference scheduling, from implementing a Power 5 mandate, to eliminating FCS games. But at last month's spring meetings, the status quo won out, for now.
"I really do believe that nonconference scheduling should reside with the institution. They know best what they think it takes to get their team ready for the [conference] season,†Bowlsby said. "Having said that, we have talked about the very real circumstance of a situation where you have a weak schedule and you've got two teams that are about the same, and one played a good nonconference schedule and one played a poor nonconference schedule.
“I don't think there's any question the one with the good nonconference schedule is going to get in.â€
That’s why Baylor could finally be coming around to upgrading its scheduling. Athletic director Ian McCaw indicated last month that the Bears are on their way to boosting their nonconference schedules from 2016-2020.
Still, that's not going to help the Big 12 with the committee in 2015.
Without a notable nonconference win, the Big 12's margin for error was slim last year.
With a weak nonconference schedule this year, those margins will be even slimmer.
