3. No, the Big 12 isn’t getting into the College Football Playoff, but …
There’s no dogging how much fun this Iowa State season has been – it really would be amazing for the program if it could come up with the Big 12 Championship – and Oklahoma really is improving as the season is going on.
But there’s a hard ceiling on how close the Big 12 can get to the College Football Playoff top four, even with Iowa State moving up to No. 7 this week.
For Oklahoma or Iowa State to get in, the Big 12 Championship winner would have to win in a total annihilation – as in a 2014 Big Ten championship-like Ohio State 59-0 win over Wisconsin – that makes it look like the CFP needs to take a Big 12 champ.
However, the College Football Playoff has never taken a two-loss team.
For the Big 12 champ to push through the rock-hard two-loss team ceiling, Alabama would have to blowout Florida, Notre Dame would have to roll through Clemson, Ohio State would need to be stunned, and the committee would have to like a Big 12 team over a possible unbeaten Pac-12 champ, a one-loss Texas A&M, a one-loss Big Ten champions Northwestern – if it beats OSU – a possible unbeaten Cincinnati and – don’t laugh too hard, considering the Sun Belt was 3-0 against the Big 12 – an unbeaten Coastal Carolina.
It’s not 100% totally out of the question for the Big 12, but it’s close.
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