Brett Yormark - 'No way' should Group of 5 champ outrank Big 12's - ESPN

FORT WORTH, Texas — Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark clearly expressed his displeasure about the College Football Playoff rankings while insisting Wednesday that his conference's champion should get a first-round bye over any Group of 5 champion.

Arizona State and Iowa State, the 10-2 teams that will play in the Big 12 championship game Saturday, are outside the top 12 in the latest CFP rankings and behind three SEC teams with three losses: No. 11 Alabama, No. 13 Ole Miss and No. 14 South Carolina. The Sun Devils are 15th and the Cyclones 16th.

«The [selection] committee continues to show time and time again that they are paying attention to logos versus résumés,» Yormark said to open a nearly four-minute statement during a Zoom call to preview the Big 12 title game.

The Big 12 is below No. 10 Boise State (11-1) from the Mountain West Conference. The Broncos, who play No. 20 UNLV on Friday night in the MWC title game, have a 10-game winning streak since a 37-34 loss on a last-second field goal at top-ranked Oregon, their only Power 4 opponent.

The five highest-ranked conference champs in the selection committee's final top 25 ranking Sunday are guaranteed playoff spots, and the top four getting first-round byes. There are now four potential conference champions ahead of the Big 12, which in current projected pairings will be the No. 12 seed and must play a first-round game on the road.

«Strength of schedule should matter and wins against Power 4 opponents should matter — 74% of the Big 12 wins were against Power 4 opponents this season,» Yormark said. «Meanwhile, the Group of 5 is 11-80.… In no way should a Group of 5 champion be ranked above our champion.»

Yormark repeated that last line for emphasis and said strength