That title is not intended as a slight to Lance Leipold‘s Kansas Jayhawks, who were the highest rated Big 12 team in ESPN’s updated Football Power Index. The Jayhawks checked in at No. 15, seven spots ahead of their Sunflower State rival No. 22 Kansas State.
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In a world where Texas and Oklahoma don’t leave the Big 12, George Kliavkoff doesn’t completely bungle managing the Pac-12, and realignment doesn’t burn as hot as it did in 2021 and 2022, maybe Texas has to play Kansas and Kansas State in 2024. Maybe ESPN’s FPI would call it one of the “biggest games on the schedule based on combined ratings.” Maybe we’d be analyzing the Longhorns’ win streak against the Wildcats and the oddity of having to play KU either in Arrowhead Stadium or the local MLS stadium.
But Texas and Oklahoma did leave the Big 12, realignment burned, Kliavkoff bungled, and Texas is heading to the SEC. Instead of being part of a league with just three top 25 teams in FPI in KU, KSU, and Arizona, the SEC has six of the top 10 and 11 of the top 25 in FPI.
SEC conference games make up 13 of the list of 20 “biggest games,” with Texas’ home tilt against Georgia checking in larger than the rest. Plus, SEC schools are involved in 16 of the 20, with non-conference battles like Texas at Michigan, Georgia vs. Clemson, and Notre Dame at Texas A&M making the list.
The Big 12? None of their contests are in the list of 20.
FPI is not a perfect system. Last year in the preseason, USC was No. 7 and finished No. 18. TCU, coming off a national championship game appearance, started No. 17 and ended No. 26. Both of those teams registered disappointing campaigns and combined to go 13-12, which indicates that FPI doesn’t factor in wins and losses like human polls do. Even this year, Florida sits at No. 20 as their projected win-loss record is 5.9-6.1.
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But it’s what we’ve got here in the preseason as we sit 88 (Barryn Sorrell) days from kickoff, and it tells an obvious tale. While the state of Kansas is carrying the banner for the Big 12 right now, the SEC is arguably doing the same for college football with must-see games between teams that ESPN’s FPI finds to be of a different quality here in the lead up to the 2024 campaign.
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