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Big 12 football is already under siege in 2016, and right now the last team the conference wants to see as champion is sitting atop the standings.
The Big 12 is a mess. Just one big, sloppy joe spilled on the white carpet mess.
Texas is reeling after a promising start to the season. TCU already has two losses, including a conference loss to so-so Oklahoma. Naturally Kansas State, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State are all doing their typical middling, while Kansas and Iowa State are once again dwelling in the Big 12 basement.
That leaves three teams with a real shot (as things stand right now) at winning the Big 12 championship – Oklahoma, West Virginia and (cringes and coughs)…Baylor.
Standings via ESPN.com
Let’s be clear on this. Baylor cannot win the Big 12 championship this year. Oh sure, technically they can, but it’s the last thing college football and the Big 12 need at this point.
Commissioner Bob Bowlsby and the tailored suits in the Big 12 offices had better hope that someone – anyone – in the conference beats Baylor, and soon. The longer the Bears stay undefeated, the more confidence they’ll gain.
To have a school who had to oust their head coach, athletic director and university president after a series of sexual assault allegations (I believe 12 was the last count) and Title IX lawsuits (we’re up to four with the latest one) become conference champs and have a legitimate shot at the College Football Playoff would be like handing the weekly free ice cream coupon to the class bully.
Look, I understand…if Baylor wins their games and other people lose, they are the champs. This isn’t about the mathematics, it’s about the ethics. The fact that they are even playing football at all this year should be enough.
Baylor isn’t supposed to be good after all they endured. They should be playing iron man football like the Texas State Armadillos, looking for a kicker from the girl’s soccer squad, and hoping for a tie in Week 12 against Texas Tech.
It’s not any deep-rooted hatred for Baylor or their current players driving this narrative, it’s just a matter of conscience. The price Baylor paid for their transgressions should have more steep, and because it wasn’t the Bears are now set up to possibly mock those who had admonished them.
What remains for the three current contenders?
Oklahoma has games remaining against Texas Tech, Kansas, Iowa State, Baylor, West Virginia and Oklahoma State. There are two or three possible losses (Baylor, Oklahoma State, and maybe WVU) in there for this version of the Sooners.
West Virginia (the least probable champion of the three) has to face Texas Tech, TCU, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa State and the finale against Baylor. There’s a lot of tough football there remaining for the Mountaineers who had an early bye week this year.
On the flip side, Baylor will face Kansas, Texas, TCU, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Texas Tech and West Virginia. Outside of the annual scrap with TCU, a very favorable schedule for the No. 11 Bears.
With all three teams set to play each other, there’s no promises that another tie isn’t possible in the Big 12. While that might drive Bowlsby absolutely bananas, it would certainly insure that no one from the conference gets a playoff invitation.
Predictions?
The only one of those three teams with a genuine shot at running the table or escaping with just one conference loss is Baylor. That’s what makes this scenario so unappealing.
College football needs a team like Kansas or Texas to pull a rabbit out of the hat and upset the Bears before they gain any more momentum (it would also be a nice way for Charlie Strong to keep his employment for one more possible year).
If college football wants to push the idea that sexual assault and the mindset of any behavior resembling or leading up to sexual assault is not acceptable in any form, then Baylor cannot be rewarded this season, regardless of how well they play.
Make it happen Jayhawks (just don’t rely on the kicker, please).
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