The Big 12 came away from the 2021 season with the second-highest winning percentage of all ten conferences and the independents collectively. They were second only to the SEC in winning percentage and fared far better than the Pac-12, which had the worst winning percentage as a conference in the football bowl subdivision (FBS).
Unfortunately for the Big 12, though, 2021 was the second season in a row they were kept out of the College Football Playoff. Depth and parity prevented Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, or Baylor from making a run in either of the last two seasons. With the competitiveness in the league heading into 2022, there’s the possibility that the Big 12 will miss out again.
And for better or worse, College Football Playoff appearances and national championships are how conferences are judged. That’s why the SEC is viewed in such high regard. Because they own nine national championships since 2009 and the last three, each of which has been won by three different teams.
While Oklahoma has made the College Football Playoff as the Big 12’s lone representative in the postseason, the Sooners are 0-4 and haven’t been able to break through into the championship game. That’s a big reason why the Sooners and the Big 12 are viewed in a lesser light than several of the other Power Five conferences.
Over at ESPN, their college football analysts discussed the 2022 season, and one of the questions they asked was, “which conference has the most to prove in 2022?” With the Pac-12 sitting there with the worst winning percentage in the nation in 2021, Ryan McGee went with the Big 12.
The Big 12 has made the CFP four times, and it was Oklahoma all four times. The Sooners missed out two years in a row, and no one else managed to step up, even when handed opportunities to do so as the Big 12 vanished. And spoiler alert: Oklahoma has one boot out the door. If this group is going to truly stay relevant in the future, it needs to prove it can do so without the Sooners carrying them in the Schooner. – McGee, ESPN
Sure, the Big 12 hasn’t been able to find themself in a championship game in the College Football Playoff era. But at the same time, they’ve been as competitive as anyone else in their efforts. Aside from Clemson, the rest of the country is chasing what the SEC is producing year in and year out. And with three teams with more than 11 wins in 2021, the Big 12 is doing just fine for itself.
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