Respect on our names? Big 12 coaches seem unsure of what acclaim unbeatens deserve

Here is just another example of why Bruce Feldman of The Athletic is one of the very best in the business. He has not only made it a career breaking college football news but does a fantastic job of gathering his sources to answer some of the game's most hard-hitting questions. His latest tries to answer why, when it comes to the Power Four leagues, the Big 12 always seems to come in fourth.

Entering Week 10 of the 2024 season, the Big 12 has two undefeated teams in the No. 9 BYU Cougars and the No. 11 Iowa State Cyclones. While BYU is on a bye ahead of the latest rendition of the Holy War with arch-rival Utah, the Clones have a tough home game vs. a Texas Tech Red Raiders team trying to get to bowl eligibility. These undefeated teams are good, but we still have questions.

This quote from an anonymous Big 12 assistant probably does the best job of explaining why that is.

“For the most part, our schools aren’t winning many head-to-head battles with the superpowers of the Big Ten and SEC, and even the big-brand schools of the ACC. That’s a perception, but it’s also rooted in reality.”

We knew that the Big 12 losing Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC was going to create an interesting power void at the top of the league. Any number of teams had the opportunity to seize it, but it has not been what we expected. While Iowa State and Kansas State were seen as Big 12 contenders to start the year, BYU was very much slept on, as well as most of us choosing to overlook Colorado.

It is perception, and somewhat reality, that has the Big 12 coming up fourth with the other leagues.

Why Big 12 undefeated teams do not seem to be getting any real respect

In Feldman's post, there was praise for the players on the BYU roster more than anything. This is because BYU has a national fanbase because of its LDS connections. Like Iowa State is under Matt Campbell, they are well-coached under Kalani Sitake. Unfortunately, while Iowa State has been a Big 12 contender for the better part of a decade now, it is only year two that BYU has been in the league.

In a way, I think we are all hoping that one of these teams emerges as a newfound Big 12 power in the expanded College Football Playoff era. However, since none of them have the robust histories of excellence like Oklahoma and Texas did in the former iteration of the league, it feels like we are quick to dunk on a quality Big 12 team every time they lose. It is why this league may only get one team in.

Eventually, water will find its level in this new and exciting era of college football. As the anonymous coach said above, it will require the best teams in the new Big 12 to go out and beat the biggest and baddest teams in the other Power Four leagues. The league can earn a ton of respect if whoever ends up getting a first-round bye to the quarterfinals ends up upsetting the No. 5 seed.

While BYU and Iowa State look to be very good, they are going to have to keep earning it each week.