Oklahoma State HC Mike Gundy: Big 12 Parity Good for Playoff Chances
Over the next few years, the Big 12 could be one of the most competitive conferences from top to bottom, and that could be perfect for Oklahoma State.
In Thursday’s press conference, OSU coach Mike Gundy discussed how the Big 12's parity is particularly helpful in the 12-team playoff era and beyond. While having a conference that beats itself up was a significant problem in the four-team and BCS era, it could become a luxury under the new format.
“When it moves in that direction, in my opinion, a competitive conference, which will allow teams to get in if they so-called beat up on each other,” Gundy said. “I think it’s gonna be more profitable for the committee when they look at that side of it compared to a league that maybe has two teams that’s dominated it, and then you get the question mark of, ‘OK, if we have a league that has two teams that’s dominated this league over a five or six-year period, how do we know that those teams are any good?’”
That issue has contributed to some of the skepticism around the Big 12 throughout the four-team playoff era and even kept Florida State out last season despite being the ACC champion with a 13-0 record. While Oklahoma won the conference for six straight seasons, it did not win a playoff game in any of its appearances, which hurt the conference’s image as it looked to be on the level of the SEC and other power conferences.
In 2023, the Big 12 had six teams win at least two-thirds of their conference games. In a 12-team playoff, that could lead to a slew of at-large bids if teams can take care of business in the nonconference.
Although teams will need to be near the top of the conference to truly have an opportunity to get into the playoff, having more than two or three teams legitimately in that discussion in November could be what pushes the Big 12 into the same tier as the Big Ten and SEC.
“I think it’ll be beneficial for this league to be competitive on an annual basis,” Gundy said. “It’ll change. There’s teams that’ll have down years and teams that’ll have good years, and so it could vary a little bit. But if you’re competitive through the middle of the league, from a strength standpoint, I think it’s gonna benefit it when it comes to the committee, and they make those decisions.”
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IVAN WHITE
Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.