Big 12 football is feeling a bit different now that Texas and Oklahoma have left for the Southeastern Conference.
However, no one could have predicted some of the surprising results early in the season that might affect whether the Big 12 can send more than one team to the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.
Teams like No. 18 Utah (4-1, 1-1 Big 12), No. 20 Kansas State (4-1, 1-1), and Oklahoma State (3-2, 0-2), which were seen as favorites in the new 16-team Big 12, have already suffered league losses before even reaching October.
Some of these losses happened when the teams faced each other. Oklahoma State fell out of the Top 25 this week after losing to Utah 22-19 at home and Kansas State 42-20 on the road.
Kansas State also faced a tough loss, getting beaten 38-9 by No. 17 BYU, while Utah lost at home to Arizona 23-10.
Currently, unbeaten BYU (5-0), a stronger Colorado team, and Texas Tech are leading the conference standings at 2-0 in league play. No. 16 Iowa State is the only other unbeaten team in the Big 12, with Arizona and West Virginia both at 1-0.
There’s still a long season ahead, but it’s already looking like the Big 12 might only have one team making it to the playoffs in this expanded format.
