What's this? The Big 12 is practically a heartbeat away from having a team ranked No. 1 in the nation for the first time since Oklahoma in 2011. And the team currently in the top spot isn't from the SEC or Big Ten. Have we entered an alternate universe?
No, college football just seems to be overly chaotic this year — it's rather reminiscent of the 2007 campaign, also known as "the Year of the Upset." The Miami Hurricanes are No. 1 for the first time since 2002, and they are followed by BYU who hasn't been this high since it won the national title in 1984.
Of course, the Cougars weren't members of the Big 12 then but now that conference is reaping the benefits of having invested in the former Mountain West program as well as others from the Pac-12 and the American Athletic. The Week 7 poll features five schools from the Big 12 including three in the Top 10 — No. 2 BYU, No. 8 Texas Tech, No. 10 Utah, No. 14 Houston and No. 25 Arizona — that's the most the conference has had in almost a year and it's a clear threat to the SEC's former stranglehold.
The Big 12 is the SEC's biggest threat in 2026 not the Big Ten
The SEC still has nine teams in the Top 25 but its first representative doesn't appear until No. 5 with Georgia. The conference certainly deserves significant representation but it feels like a good chunk of the teams still in the poll are just there by default — No. 18 LSU, No. 19 Texas, No. 20 Florida and No. 22 Missouri.
If there's anything the SEC should've learned from the first two editions of the 12-team playoff, quantity over quality doesn't result in championships. In 2024, it got three teams in the bracket and none reached the national championship game. Last year it got five participants and still none played for the title. Each time only one SEC team reached the semifinals.
Now, the Big 12 didn't get to the semifinal in those years either but after six weeks this season, it looks to possess just as many possible national title contenders as the SEC. That's a good thing for college football too.
With No. 3 Ohio State losing its starting QB in Julian Sayin, the Big Ten may have to lean on a weaker Indiana (No. 6) and a totally unproven yet undefeated UCLA (No. 9) to bring home a fourth consecutive national championship. The Big 12 could step into the void with BYU, Texas Tech and possibly Utah to create a truly chaotic buffer to the SEC's path.
There are no undefeated SEC teams left and the Big 12 has three. Before the SEC loyalists start throwing the schedule quality out there, your conference is being rewarded for cannibalizing itself when the Big 12, Pac-12 and ACC were always punished in the past for the very same thing. Now top Big 12 teams are handling business, you should keep that same energy when your resilient SEC darlings have to face their annual cupcake FCS opponent in November.
If it turns out the Big 12 gets more than one representative into the 12-team playoff, and they're ranked high, SEC teams should be worried about having to travel to those campuses in the first round. Even on neutral turf, chances of an SEC loss are elevated (just ask Texas in 2024 facing Arizona State). The Big 12 is scrappy and it's essentially playing with house money with all the expectations sitting on the SEC's shoulders.
Fans should be rooting for the Big 12 too. SEC and Big Ten dominance (and dissatisfaction) is what directly led to the recently announced (and poorly received) 24-team CFP expansion. Indiana's incredible turnaround and feel-good title run last year just veiled the hyperspeed march this sport is on towards monotony. We need the Big 12 to succeed lest the Power Four be further relegated to just the Power Two.
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