TCU #3?

The CFB rankings are out and TCU is #3. Surprising. They jumped Florida State. Alabama remains #1, then Oregon followed by TCU and FSU.

I agree once you’ve got the top four teams, you’ve got the cream included. If you got to four super conferences with a conference title game, you’ve included the top eight. More than enough.

College football is not college basketball and anything more than an eight team playoff becomes too much of a logistical nightmare to attempt. As it is said, amateurs talk strategy while professionals talk logistics.

Time to put my tinfoil hat on.
From 2005 to 2010 the MWC met every metric to be included as an Automatic Qualifier conference per BCS rules. I totally believe ESPN and the so called Power 5 conferences conspired to blow up the MWC by poaching Utah and TCU. Once Utah and TCU were gone the MWC no longer met the BCS criteria. BYU said screw it and went Indy, leaving the MWC to backfill with the dregs of college football... Utah St, San Jose St and Hawaii. In 2009 ESPN and the BCS conspired to put match up TCU and Boise St in the Fiesta Bowl because they were terrified of another Utah/Bama debacle X2. There was no way in hell they were going to allow two BCS schools to get beat that year by non BCS schools. I have no love for this crappy system or ESPN.

The Big 12 conference powers-that-be are so chicken-ess. They announce on Monday that if Baylor and TCU end up with the same record, they’ll be “co-champions.” When everyone - at least everyone in a real conference - knows that when there’s a 2-way tie and a head-to-head result to look to, the outcome on the field determines the champion.

Your outrage is a bit misguided. The Big 12 recognizes any team who finishes in a first-place tie as conference co-champion. There are established tie-breaking procedures for determining the ONE team who gets to represent the Big 12 as its champion. The tie-breaking rules are basically the same as the other conferences use when they don't have a conference championship game and which were used by the other power conferences before they adopted conference championship games. The tie-breaker for a two-way tie is head-to-head results.

at least everyone in a real conference

In my book, a "real" conference is one in which everyone plays everyone else.

All of this was to make sure that the selection committee doesn’t lose face - and, at the same time, exclude the Big 12 - if they want to take TCU instead of Baylor.

The selection committee is under no obligation to take a conference champion. Their mission is to match the four best teams.

This announcement is a total non-issue.

If TCU wins on Saturday (and given they play the hapless ISU, it's likely), there will be a tie for the Big 12 title. If Baylor beats K-State, TCU and Baylor tie but TCU is securely in the playoff and Baylor has to sweat it out. Depending on other games, Baylor could sneak in despite its abysmal OOC schedule. If K-State beats Baylor (and I think they do), K-State shares the title with TCU. Again, TCU is in the playoff and K-State would need a lot of help to make it despite their 10-2 record.

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