Are Texas Tech and BYU both playoff teams, regardless of Saturday? Big 12 makes case

PROVO — BYU is one win away from a conference title, and presumably with such, one away from the College Football Playoff.

But what if the Cougars (11-1, 8-1 Big 12) didn't have to win Saturday against No. 5 Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship game (10 a.m. MST, ABC) to get into the 12-team playoff bracket?

That's the argument that was made during Monday's pre-game conference call with both coaches and Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, who stepped off the sideline to make the case for his conference as a multi-bid league.

Yormark claimed that BYU's body of work is being "undervalued" by the selection committee at No. 11.

He also specifically took aim at Notre Dame, where BYU has a better overall record, a better strength of record, and a higher strength of schedule than the Fighting Irish and their two losses to teams currently ranked No. 12 (Miami) and No. 3 (Texas A&M) by a total of 4 points.

The Cougars, who stayed at No. 11 in this week's Associated Press Top 25 rankings, are the lowest-ranked one-loss team by the selection committee and also trail 10-2 Oklahoma and 10-2 Alabama. The former has a loss to 9-3 Texas, and the latter a loss to 5-7 Florida State — both of whom rank well behind BYU's lone loss.

"Let's not look at logos; let's look at resumes," Yormark said. "Any blind resume comparison has BYU in the top 10. No questions about it."

One can argue that Yormark's politicking has come too late, and that a move that only began to sprout publicly as recently as Friday should've been put in place throughout the College Football Playoff selection committee's first initial rankings Nov. 4.

In that regard, BYU has had some help for a bit longer — in the form of its Saturday opponent.

The Red Raiders, led by a public outcry from head coach Joey McGuire have maintained both teams — BYU and Texas Tech — are Playoff-deserving for at least a week, with McGuire publicly calling the committee to task before last week's game against West Virginia (which the Red Raiders won, 49-0).

"I think, without a doubt, we both should be in the playoffs — no matter what happens on Saturday," McGuire said unequivocally. "I think we both have earned the right. I think however you look at it, they're discounting both of us when you talk about where we're ranked.

"We're as good as anybody in the country, and we're going to put on a great game."

Sitake, for his part, added that both teams remain undervalued by the committee, and that Texas Tech should be in contention for a top-four Playoff berth — or higher.

Look no further than the Red Raiders' 29-7 win over the current No. 11 team in the country back on Nov. 8.

"We didn't show up at our best," Sitake said of the Cougars' loss in Lubbock. "A lot of that had to do with Texas Tech.

"Texas Tech's a complete team with a great coach, a great coaching staff, and all three phases play amazing football," he added. "I think they're the best team in the country."

Regardless of politicking, Sitake and McGuire both hope to take the decision out of the committee's hands for one of their teams with a win in the conference title game.

The five highest-ranked conference champions earn an automatic bid to the Playoff, meaning at least one of them will likely be guaranteed a berth after Saturday's game at what is expected to be a sold-out 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium, the home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.

Just like the former rising star Texas high school football coach and his opponent from the west coast predicted weeks ago.

"When Joey and I had dinner, we talked about this; we talked about playing each other in the championship game," Sitake said. "We manifested it.

"Their team is a reflection of him," he added, "and the sportsmanship they have. When we were shaking hands after the game, they said, we'll see you guys in a few weeks. They basically respected us enough to know that we were going to get back to this game (in Arlington)."

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