The Big 12 enters the 2017 season looking to prove a few things. In three years of the College Football Playoff, the league has had only one playoff qualifier (Oklahoma in 2015, which took a 37-17 rout at Clemson’s hands in the Orange Bowl). Commissioner Bob Bowlsby and the rest of the 10-team league hope to buck that trend this season.
To do so, the league reinstated its championship game for the first time since 2010. The Big 12 does not have divisions, but its top two finishers will qualify for the league title game. It will ensure a rematch, as the league will keep its round-robin schedule, and the Big 12 hopes it won’t backfire by creating an upset that keeps its champion out of the College Football Playoff again.