Big 12 coaches unanimously back 24-team College Football Playoff, would consider adding 10th conference game

FRISCO, Texas -- Big 12 football coaches became the fourth major group to receive a presentation from the College Football Playoff staff at their annual spring meetings. CFP staff members went in bracing for a fight.

Days earlier, many of the same staff members spoke to SEC coaches at its spring meetings. A meeting that was supposed to last 90 minutes pushed an additional hour, sources told CBS Sports' Brandon Marcello. The scene could not have been more different among Big 12 coaches.

The group listened attentively and learned about the CFP's process and selection criteria. At the end of it, the coaches voted unanimously to support a 24-team College Football Playoff field.

"I think 24 would be a great size," Houston coach Willie Fritz said. "It would give a lot of meaning to late-season games."

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During their conversations, the Big 12 was presented with a model for what the CFP would have looked like at 24 teams. The league would have been among the biggest beneficiaries with a projected five teams in the field. In the 12-team system, the league fielded only one playoff team: No. 4 Texas Tech.

In fact, 15 of 16 Big 12 squads would have made the 24-team playoff had it existed since 2014, Kansas being the only exception. Texas Tech was the only other team that would not have made multiple playoff appearances. The average Big 12 team would have three appearances, with Oklahoma State at six and Utah at eight.

The 24-team playoff has become the top consideration across most of college football. In the past weeks, the American Football Coaches Association recommended a 24-team postseason. ACC commissioner Jim Phillips and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti both strongly advocated for the change. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey remains a lone holdout, with the league favoring a 16-game field.

"If we had a 24-team format last year, we would have had five schools in, and I think that's a good thing for the Big 12," Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said. "Having said that, that would require us to give up our championship game, and our championship is very valuable to us."

If the field expanded to 24 teams, the Big 12 indicated that it could consider adding a 10th conference game. The league believes that it could help set up additional member schools to make an expanded field. It would also provide much-needed television inventory and, hopefully, more revenue.

"I think there's a lot of merit involved with that," Fritz said. "The CFP staff really went over in great detail how they make decisions and there were a lot of teams that were on the bubble this last year. I think for 24 it would be fantastic if you're playing an extra quality game, like 10 in the Big 12, that would help you get in and be one of the 24 teams."

Responding to the SEC

The Big 12 was top of mind at SEC meetings, where conference coaches complained that the CFP Committee failed to account for strength of schedule. Their argument was that No. 4 Texas Tech and No. 12 BYU should both have been penalized further for their strength of schedule.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian took an apparent shot at Texas Tech at a donor event last week, claiming that his team could go undefeated against their schedule with their backups. Red Raiders coach Joey McGuire went scorched-earth in response, offering to buy out Texas's season opener and host them in Lubbock instead.

"It's nice to be talked about, but it's all noise at the end of the day," Yormark said.

For all the bellyaching, the SEC was heavily represented in the CFP. Out of seven available at-large spots, the SEC claimed four. The other three admissions were No. 2 Ohio State, No. 5 Oregon and No. 10 Miami. The Big 12 did not have an at-large, and in fact has not received a single at-large in the 12-team CFP. Only one of the seven SEC teams in the field reached the national semifinals.

"The SEC is a great conference, and I understand where they're coming from," McGuire said. "But I think people are discounting our schedules and the teams we play. We've got a great conference top to bottom… all the stats you bring up, you can play in your favor and we can also."

BYU finished No. 12 in the final CFP ranking last season, the second team out of the field at 11-2. Texas was one spot behind at 9-3. Vanderbilt was another spot behind the Longhorns at 10-2, but with a head-to-head loss. The Cougars ranked No. 8 in strength of record, making BYU the most underranked team in the top 15 by that metric. If Texas had jumped BYU in the rankings, they would still have been stuck behind Miami and Notre Dame.

When asked about criticism from SEC coaches, Cougars coach Kalani Sitake shrugged it off. In his mind, all of the teams on the bubble -- especially his -- should have simply won more games.

That's the beauty of the 24-team playoff, to him. More games means all this talk simply moves to the field.