The 2021-22 College Football season is 16 days away. There are many interesting storylines happening, from teams having to forfeit if they can’t play a game due to COVID issues to the massive issue in the Big 12 conference.
Oklahoma and Texas want out! The story broke earlier this year that the two schools wanted to leave the Big 12 and joined the already loaded SEC. Last month, the board of regents for both schools unanimously voted to accept invitations to join the SEC. The approval now brings the SEC to 16 teams.
While the move is official, Oklahoma and Texas will remain in the Big 12 through June 30, 2025. That’s when the current deal in the Big 12 media rights expires. The two schools could attempt to leave sooner. For that to happen, each university would need to pay a penalty of at least $75-$80 million to break the current agreement. Another option for both universities is that the Big 12 dissolves before the contract expires. What this means for the Big 12 remains to be seen. Will Iowa State want to join, let’s say the BIG 10? The landscape of college football is changing, and it may be time for a change in the playoff system.
For the Big 12, Kansas plays first on September 3 against South Dakota. The next day will see the rest of the conference play.
Iowa State vs. Northern Iowa, Kansas State vs. Stanford, Oklahoma vs. Tulane, West Virginia vs. Maryland, Texas vs. Louisiana, Texas Tech vs. Houston, Oklahoma State vs. Missouri State, Baylor vs. Texas State, and finally TCU vs. Duquesne.
The Big 12 has four teams in the preseason Top 25 (No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 8 Iowa State, No. 19 Texas, and No. 22 Oklahoma State). The Sooners went 9-2 last year, including a 55-20 victory in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic against Florida. Two of the Sooners games were canceled due to COVID (Baylor and West Virginia).
Iowa State finished 9-3 last year, including a 34-17 Fiesta Bowl victory over Oregon, while Oklahoma State (8-3) 37-37 Cheez-It Bowl win against Miami (FL), and Texas (7-3) 55-23 Alamo Bowl win against Colorado are all looking to improve from a year ago. TCU and West Virginia both finished 6-4 last year. West Virginia didn’t play in a bowl game last year, but TCU won the Liberty Bowl 24-21 against Army. Kansas State (4-6), Texas Tech (4-6), Baylor (2-7), and Kansas (0-9) will look to turn things around this season.
