What can the Big 12 do to stop the Big Ten, SEC from pushing for more Playoff bids?: Big 12 mailbag

Big 12 action is underway, and its already as unpredictable as we all predicted.

Good time for a mailbag.

(Note: Submitted questions have been lightly edited for length and clarity.) The rumors are flying that the Big Ten and SEC are teaming up to try to secure four College Football Playoff autobids for their conferences.

Part of me wonders if its a negotiation tactic to get three per conference, but overall this just feels like a really bad thing for the sport overall.

What would you be doing if you were Brett Yormark in this situation? Harold L.

I dont like the push for multiple automatic bids in the Playoff one bit.

The Big Ten and SEC far outpace the rest of the conferences in revenue.

They wield more power and influence, evidenced by their successful effort to get larger shares of the Playoff revenue starting in 2026.

And, deserving or not, the Big Ten and SEC are probably going to get most of the at-large bids in the 12-team version of the Playoff anyway.

The Big Ten and SEC pushing for more automatic bids shouldnt be surprising, but its also wholly unnecessary, and frankly unfair, to cement favored status in this way.

Advertisement But its not foreign to college football: in the Bowl Championship Series era, six conferences had automatic qualifying bids to the premier bowl games over the rest of the conferences.

Still, its anti-competitive.

The NFL doesnt put it in writing that the NFC East or AFC North must get more playoff bids than the NFC South or AFC East.

The Texas state high school playoffs dont dictate which districts can have more playoff bids than the other, even if one district is loaded and one isnt (every district gets four).

If the SEC and Big Ten take up eight combined spots in an expanded 14-team Playoff field, thats more than half of the Playoff reserved for two of the 10 conferences.

Its baloney.

Let those teams earn it on the field (which they probably will anyway through at-large bids).

But lets try to keep some semblance of fairness without tilting things so heavily in the direction of two conferences at the expense of everyone else.

Im not sure what Yormark or ACC commissioner Jim Phillips can do because, well, the Big Ten and SEC have decision-making powers over the future Playoff format, according to Yahoo Sports.

Its a troubling path were headed down.

Its unclear what can be done to stop it, but I hope someone does.

Lets get through a few years of the 12-team Playoff which should be great before we start tinkering with the format.

Khan Can Kansas State and Avery Johnson pass the ball well enough to play from behind? They look excellent when games are close or they have the lead but things got real rough, real quick against BYU .

Chris H.

The win over Oklahoma State last Saturday felt like a critical step forward.

I was in Manhattan, Kansas, to witness the best game of Johnsons young career, and one that could have a springboard effect.

Head coach Chris Klieman said Johnson had one of his best days of practice leading up, and it encouraged the offense to be more aggressive against the Pokes, relying less on a potent ground attack to set the tone and instead throwing more on early downs.

Johnson was 14 for 23 on first and second down, racking up 230 of his career-best 259 passing yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

That game plan put Oklahoma States defense on its heels and forced them into more man-to-man coverage, which then opened running lanes for K-State.

The Wildcats posted a season-high 300 total rushing yards, including a season-high 187 yards from running back DJ Giddens .

Advertisement Everyone knows Kansas State can run the ball with Johnson, Giddens and Dylan Edwards .

But prior to Saturday, they were leaning too much on the run to open up the pass game, and not trusting Johnsons arm to win them games.

That flipped against Oklahoma State.

Johnson is still evolving as a passer and opposing defenses will adjust, but the proof of concept should make K-States offense more dangerous.

Williams How does Iowa State s path to a conference championship look? Can the conference get two teams into the Playoff? Jeremy B.

The Cyclones once again have the best defense in the Big 12, allowing 4.2 yards per play, and the offense has more than enough talent to complement it.

Quarterback Rocco Becht is completing better than 66 percent of his throws at 8.4 yards per attempt, and Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins are one of the better receiving duos in college football.

It will likely come down to the final weeks of the regular season: at Utah, home against Kansas State.

The Cyclones probably have to split those two at the very least, but Ill be surprised if they arent in the mix entering that stretch.

As far as getting two teams in, its still too early to tell.

A two-loss second-place team should have a strong case, but three losses might be too many.

Considering BYU and Iowa State are the leagues only remaining teams that are undefeated overall, a two-loss runner-up is asking a lot.

Williams With Texas Tech finding a way to win even if its ugly, what do you think the ceiling and floor look like for the Red Raiders at this point? Tom J.

The ceiling looks much higher now that the Red Raiders have won three in a row.

Sitting at 2-0 in Big 12 play, Texas Tech has every reason to believe it can be in the mix for a spot in the conference title game in November.

But a few things need to happen.

The Red Raiders need some injury luck, which theyve been on the wrong side of in recent years particularly at quarterback.

Keeping Behren Morton and, more importantly, star running back Tahj Brooks healthy is critical.

Defensively, the Red Raiders must be better.

Theyre allowing 6.4 yards per play (tied for worst in the Big 12) and are giving up a league-high 34.4 points per game.

Theyre also poor on third down (43.5 percent conversion rate allowed, 15th in the league) and need to pressure the quarterback more.

Their 30.5 percent pressure rate, per Pro Football Focus, is second-to-last in the league.

Advertisement The floor for Texas Tech (4-1), if it doesnt get that fixed, might be around six wins.

The back half of the schedule isnt daunting, but there are some challenges like this weekend at Arizona, back-to-back road games against TCU and Iowa State and November home games against Colorado and West Virginia .

The two games left that look most like wins right now are Baylor and Oklahoma State.

Khan Lets talk about BYU.

David P.

How bout those Cougars? Credit to head coach Kalani Sitake, who has BYU at 5-0 and atop the Big 12 standings heading into a bye week.

The team is playing really solid defense and has been outstanding on special teams, including a pair of return touchdowns.

The offense is getting just enough from quarterback Jake Retzlaff and receivers Chase Roberts and Darius Lassiter .

Is it sustainable? Arizona comes to Provo after the bye and BYU plays at Utah in November, but the schedule looks tolerable, with no Iowa State or the potent offenses of Texas Tech and Colorado.

I dont expect the Cougars to run the table, but the fast start could be enough to keep them in it.

Williams Will Colorado go to the bowl game this year? Grzegorz K.

I think so.

The overtime win against Baylor was a horseshoe-out-the-rear-end miracle, but the road victory over UCF was arguably the best the Buffs have played under Deion Sanders.

There are tough games against Kansas State, at Arizona and vs.

Utah ahead, but Colorado is already at 4-1.

Even if they were to drop all three of those and Im not saying thats a given I expect they can get two from Cincinnati and Oklahoma State at home and Texas Tech and Kansas on the road.

So long as Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter stay healthy.

Williams Cincinnati over/under 5.5 wins for the season? Have you seen enough to believe the Bearcats are on the right track? Harold L.

Your mileage will probably vary depending how you already feel about head coach Scott Satterfield.

On one hand, doubters can point to a brutal collapse at home to Pitt, a porous defense, and the fact that Houston remains the only Big 12 opponent Cincinnati has beaten through a season-and-a-half.

On the other hand, this years squad is a couple of plays away from being 5-0, the talent level is clearly improved over last season, and landing quarterback Brendan Sorsby out of the portal looks like one of the best transfers of the entire offseason.

The kid can play, and still has a couple years of eligibility.

Id take the over on 5.5 wins.

Cincinnati has to go 3-4 the rest of the way against a competitive but not unbearable schedule, including home games against Arizona State , West Virginia and TCU.

The offense has made significant strides in year two under Satterfield in terms of personnel and production; the defense remains a massive work in progress, but is in its first season under new defensive coordinator Tyson Veidt.

If the Bearcats do in fact make a bowl game, that would signal genuine momentum for Satterfield entering the offseason.

However, if they fail to reach six wins and bowl eligibility, there will be a lot of pressure on Satterfield entering year three.

Williams Advertisement Is there anything Houston can do on offense to not look so ...

abysmal? Deplorable? Lamentable? Noah A.

Improving personnel is the biggest part of this equation, but that will take time.

Houston lost impact players on offense to the transfer portal like receivers Matthew Golden (Texas) and Sam Brown ( Miami ).

The Cougars also lost four of five starting offensive linemen, one to the NFL Draft, one to eligibility and two to the portal.

Houston brought in 63 new scholarship players this offseason, including 36 transfers, but finding impact players of that caliber to fill those vacancies isnt easy, especially at a place like Houston, which doesnt have massive NIL resources.

Theres also an execution issue.

After losing to Iowa State, coach Willie Fritz said the Cougars may have to simplify the offensive playbook because players werent properly executing the called plays.

The scheme change has also proved to be an awkward fit for quarterback Donovan Smith .

Houston is running the ball more and throwing a lot less.

Last year the Cougars averaged 34 pass attempts per game; this year theyre averaging 24.8.

When Smith has been at his best, whether at Houston or Texas Tech, it has typically been when hes throwing it early and often.

Its a new staff and a lot of new players.

Clearly, theres a steep learning curve here on both ends of the spectrum, but the Big 12 isnt forgiving.

So the Cougars will have to take their licks for a while.

Khan Why is no one talking about Jack Bech nationally? Is it just because TCU is currently middling? Taylor M.

The answer to your second question is yes, unfortunately, but Im glad you asked the first one.

Bech has been incredible this season, averaging eight-plus catches and 159 yards a game against FBS opponents.

(He had two catches for 11 yards in the 45-0 blowout of Long Island.) Quarterback Josh Hoover has been slinging it, and the 6-foot-2 Bech has been his favorite target: Bechs 129.4 yards per game ranks fourth in FBS.

The former four-star prospect and LSU transfer is healthy, in his second year in TCUs system, and Hoover is looking sharp all of it adds up to a breakout season.

Williams Is there any hope for Kansas to salvage this season? Im not ready for basketball season yet but struggling to find reason to believe in KU football.

David W.

Im not sure I have much hope to dole out.

Its obvious by now that the transition at offensive coordinator from Andy Kotelnicki to Jeff Grimes is having a pronounced impact, and mainly on quarterback Jalon Daniels .

A healthy Daniels was supposed to be the key for Kansas.

Maybe hes not feeling 100 percent, but he hasnt missed any games and has struggled mightily.

The redshirt junior is completing 53.1 percent of his passes for 6.2 yards per attempt, both of which rank last in the Big 12 among qualified passers.

His eight interceptions are tied for second-worst in FBS.

He cant stop giving the ball away.

Running back Devin Neal is having another solid season and averaging more than 17 carries a game; backup Daniel Hishaw Jr.

is averaging 6.9 yards per carry.

The defense is middle of the pack in the Big 12.

The biggest issue has been a struggling quarterback.

Advertisement Its possible Daniels can round into form and the switch to Grimes will click, but the schedule doesnt let up, including a five-week stretch at Kansas State, vs.

Iowa State, at BYU and vs.

Colorado.

So ...

it might be time to get ready for hoops season.

Williams (Photo: John Rivera / Icon Sportswire via Getty).

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