By: Ryan Moreland (@ryanmoreland)
The Big XII has vastly improved from last season, which means there are far more contenders for the conference championship and the playoff race. Let’s take a quick look at how teams make the playoffs before we get caught up on where the Big XII is right now.
How to Make the Playoffs
The top three teams from each conference will automatically earn a playoff spot. After that, there will be a league-wide vote on who the last four teams should be. If there is a tie within the top three teams, the following tiebreakers will be used (in order) to break the tie.
| Order | Tiebreaker |
| 1 | Conference Record |
| 2 | Head-to-Head |
| 3 | Record vs common conference opponents |
| 4 | Point differential vs common conference opponents |
| 5 | Record vs common overall opponents |
| 6 | Point differential vs common overall opponents |
| 7 | Overall record |
| 8 | Overall point differential |
Conference Standings
| Rank | Team | Overall Record | Team Record |
| 1 | Texas | 2-2 | 2-0 |
| 2 | West Virginia | 3-1 | 2-1 |
| 3 | Baylor | 2-2 | 1-1 |
| 4 | Cincinnati | 2-2 | 1-1 |
| 5 | Colorado | 2-2 | 0-1 |
| 6 | Texas A&M | 1-3 | 0-2 |
Texas sits at the top of the conference right now as the only team without a conference loss. They have complete control over their destiny, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Texas has head-to-head wins over West Virginia and Baylor, but they still have to play Cincinnati, Colorado, and Texas A&M. However, for right now, they are leading the race.
West Virginia no longer controls their own destiny for a conference title (they would need Texas to stumble down the stretch), but they have firm control over their route to the playoffs. West Virginia has already beaten Cincinnati and Colorado and would, therefore, win any tie with both teams. The Mountaineers still have to play Baylor and Texas A&M, so the job isn’t done. But they have put themselves in a strong position for playoff contention.
Baylor and Cincinnati come into Week 5 tied. However, Baylor holds the tiebreaker at this point thanks to point differential against common conference opponents. (The only team they had in common was Texas A&M. Cincy beat them by 28 and Baylor beat the Aggies by 31. Thus, Baylor gets the tiebreaker). That tiebreaker will not last because these two teams will play each other soon, but that is why the Bears are above the Bearcats for now. Both teams have lost a game to one of the top 2 teams in the conference, which makes their hunt for a conference title a little more difficult. However, both are in control of their playoff hopes right now. As long as they keep winning games, they will play in the postseason.
Colorado has only played one conference game so far and that was a loss to West Virginia. Over the next four weeks, they will play every other conference rival. Thanks to this, they are still in the driver’s seat. If they go undefeated the next four weeks the worst they can finish is 2nd. However, they will have tough tests in the coming weeks. The Buffaloes were a pretty popular preseason pick for a conference contender though, so they should be ready for the challenge.
Texas A&M has not started conference play the way they had hoped. They have losses to Baylor and Cincinnati so far. The good news is their playoff hopes are still alive. If they win out they would improve to 3-2 in conference play with some key head-to-head tiebreakers. The bad news is they have some tough competition left. The Aggies still have to play West Virginia, Colorado, and Texas. Winning all three games gives them great odds at a playoff push, but losing just one could spell the end of the road for A&M.
Big Games in the Big XII This Week
Colorado at Texas A&M
Tuesday, 8:30 P.M. CST on YouTube
Both teams are still searching for their first conference win and one of them will get it this week. Will Colorado live up to the preseason hype and get right back in the thick of the playoff race? Or will Texas A&M going to make a statement this week? This is the only Big XII conference game this week, so don’t miss it.
