Kansas State’s path to title game unclear as Big 12 works to clarify tiebreaker rules
The path to the Big 12 championship game is no longer clear for Kansas State ... or any other football team in the conference.
Just when it seemed like many had figured out the league’s new tiebreaker rules, and how they applied to a logjam of teams at the top of the standings, it turns out the Big 12 may attempt to “clarify” those rules in a way that will put added emphasis on head-to-head results.
Berry Tramel, of Sellout Crowd, reported Tuesday that the Big 12 plans to “clarify” its tiebreaker rules in a way that could potentially benefit Oklahoma State if the Cowboys end up in a three-way tie for second place along with Kansas State and Oklahoma.
Big 12 tiebreaker rules, as currently written on the league’s web site, seem to favor K-State or Oklahoma in that scenario. What struck many as odd about that tiebreaker is that Oklahoma State owns head-to-head victories over both K-State and OU. How could the Cowboys lose that tiebreaker?
Well, because K-State and Oklahoma didn’t play this season. So, unlike a two-way tiebreaker, there are no head-to-head results to use among that trio of teams. The tiebreaker, as currently written, would instead go to record against the next-highest-placed common opponent in the standings, which would almost certainly be Iowa State or Kansas.
Strange as it sounds, the Wildcats may trump both OSU (lost at Iowa State) and OU (lost at Kansas) by beating their two main rivals at the end of the regular season. There is also a scenario in which the Sooners finish on top if KU falls down the league standings.
According to Tramel, the Big 12 may not have properly described its tiebreaker rules and now intends to “clarify” the situation. The end result would make it so a team such as Oklahoma State, which beat every team it ended up tied with in the standings, would hold a tiebreaker advantage.
Some could view that as a rule change more than a rule clarification. Fans of any team that misses out on the Big 12 championship game because of any alteration to the tiebreakers will be howling mad.
The Big 12 did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment, but K-State athletic director Gene Taylor confirmed that the conference office is scheduled to discuss the matter with Big 12 athletic directors during a meeting on Wednesday.
As of now, it is unclear exactly what will be discussed.
Big 12 tiebreakers are a hot topic at the moment because the conference switched to an unbalanced schedule after BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF joined the league this season. With 14 teams, it was no longer possible for the conference to continue its round-robin schedule.
Texas currently sits all alone in first place at 6-1 of the Big 12 standings, while four teams (Iowa State, K-State, OSU, OU) are tied for second at 5-2. Kansas, Texas Tech and West Virginia also still have hope of winning a conference championship, as they are tied at 4-3.
Should every home team in the Big 12 win this weekend, there is a scenario in which eight teams could potentially finish tied for first place at 6-3.
Good luck sorting that out.
K-State appeared to have little hope of defending its conference title when it lost at Texas two weeks ago. But the Wildcats gained several realistic paths to AT&T Stadium after Oklahoma State fell back to the pack with a surprising loss at UCF.
Anything can happen over the final two weeks of the season. So it may be too early to cry foul about tiebreakers.
But one thing is for sure: Oklahoma State stands to gain the most from any rule clarification, and K-State and Oklahoma would suddenly face a more difficult path to the conference championship game.
