2024 Big 12 Tiers

[cfbandyman]

Going to do a lil of this again, and let's see where this goes!

S Tier (Elite)
Utah really did well, probably most complete so far
KU - Played pretty well but against a pretty meh team. Still, good
K-State - First half jitters gave way to second half improvement. Gotta do better vs Tulane
Okie State - Second best overall win? SDSU is no joke, and OSU made it pretty easy.

A Tier (Good but not quite there)
TCU - Impressive first win, even if Stanford doesn't care.
UCF - Overall pretty good so far
Zona State - Impressive win for a team everyone said was to suck. Yes it's Wyoming but that was an ass kicking.

B Tier (Good but flawed)
Zona - Offense great, defense, uh, better wake up
Baylor - Not sold yet on them improving but good win regardless
ISU - It's UND, not NDSU, but that was a lethargic offensive outing

C Tier (Mid)
Colorado - Ok maybe they should flip with ISU but I think NDSU got robbed a bit, I don't believe in them. Nubbs will actually be a tough out for them.
Cincy - Struggles against Towson not a good sign.
BYU - I mean not bad, but also not great.

D Tier (Bad)
WVU - I get Penn State is good, but that was underwhelming for a team that should be moving forward
TT - Woof, they were lucky to win, maybe a long year in Lubbock

F Tier (Ass)
Houston - Really could be FF tier, ass ass.

[sonofdaxjones]

WVU looked like they didn't really even want to be there.

[wetwillie]

I think Utah might be in a class of their own right now.

[cfbandyman]

WVU looked like they didn't really even want to be there.

Yeah they really didn't. The weather delay didn't help, but they were already being broken before then.

I think Utah might be in a class of their own right now.

Pretty close, but also hard to really tell after one game.

[ben ji]

I think Utah might be in a class of their own right now.

I think they might be better than us right now but we will be better then them come Dr pepper time.

[cfbandyman]

After Week 2!

S Tier (Elite)
Utah - With Rising this is a very good team, without him they are just a bit better than ok. They need him healthy.
K-State - First half jitters gave way to second half improvement, again. Improvements in play calling and secondary are a must vs Zona.
Okie State - Big win, I think Arkansas is pretty solid. Took all game but it shows resiliency. They get a small break with Tulsa before Utah/K-State back to back. Win both and it's their conference to lose. 

A Tier (Good but not quite there)
TCU - Still doing ok, UCF is a big game in this early season of establishing the pecking order.
UCF - Computers love em, maybe got something cooking? Fellow A-tier TCU win may move them up.
Zona State - Almost gave it up but still, overall very impressed for ASU, probably given they were voted to be so bad I'm giving them the benefits. Beating a meh SEC team doesn't move the needle much but still, nice win
ISU - Beat your rival in the road on a last second FG? You get rewarded.

B Tier (Good but flawed)
Zona - My feelings still feel the same in terms of this is meh+ Zona team. They could be the other wildcats but I don't know if they got the juice on the road.
KU - Well that train got derailed quick. Whether it's play calls or Daniels QB play, not a big vote of confidence right now.
BYU - Ugly win but on the road and against an SMU team that wants to be good so bad, I'll give BYU the bump

C Tier (Mid)
Baylor - Was looking bad for them until Rising went out. Utah is good but Baylor is very meh.
WVU - Much needed bounce back against a meh team. Beat Pitt and WVU maybe has figured this out.

D Tier (Bad)
Colorado - Yikes, that wasn't even close. Do that again and it's to the F tier.
Cincy - Sucks to not been able to hold on, waivered about moving them down but if anything proves to me Cincy is not quite there.

F Tier (Ass)
TT - Seriously going to be a long year, losing on the road to a decent opponent is one thing, to lose bad isn't
Houston - You can't lose you're way out of assland, but that was significantly impressive to play OU that hard @OU. Win next week and they aren't here.

[pissclams]

ksu should be b-tier bro

[OB_Won]

ksu should be b-tier bro

I'd go with A tier. Tulane had new coach, RS freshman QB who was 3rd string after spring ball, 4 new starters on offensive line. . . .  lots of doubt we are "elite". Diced through the air, zero pass rush, lackluster offense.

[wetwillie]

Tug your balls, we are the class of the big 12.

[Rage Against the McKee]

Yeah, I don't see a loss on the schedule.

[cfbandyman]

Week 3:

S Tier (Elite)
Utah - Same week, same story, will need Cam back or else I think OSU takes em
K-State - Big improvement on defense, and the offense is still a work in progress.
Okie State - Easy win at Tulsa, huge showdown vs Utah this week. 

A Tier (Good but not quite there)
UCF - A close win on the road is still not quite good enough for S tier, but they are kings of the A. Another win they are S, as crazy as it sounds
Zona State - Looked a little rough, but still a win on the road is nice. Easily the biggest surprise. UCF second biggest
ISU - BYE
BYU - Another roadie win, will give em the bump. Shock KSU and they will trend up more

B Tier (Good but flawed)
TCU - Sucks to drop being that close, but dems the breaks
Baylor - That was a dominant get back game, will give em a rise up.

C Tier (Mid)
Zona - My feelings were confirmed, this is a pedestrian team right now.
Colorado - OK, dominant win at CSU, still flawed and mid but that was a good win
Cincy - Another road win moves you up

D Tier (Bad)
KU - Woof, UNLV isn't that bad, but this is a team that is reeling. Gonna have to improve or else this is a lost season. Third biggest surprise of the season
WVU - Well they didn't beat Pitt, this isn't that bad of a team, but not good
TT - OK, it's North Texas, but that was a good righting of the ship, bump
Houston - It's Rice, but still played OU hard, and then whipped Rice, trending in the right direction

F Tier (Ass)
None, this week

[Stevesie60]

Hey Bandyman, big Bandyfan here. Which tier would you put Tulane in?

[cfbandyman]

Hey Bandyman, big Bandyfan here. Which tier would you put Tulane in?

Two loses would make them hard to be higher than C tier, right now they'd be D. Probably as the season shakes out B tier. I think WV is the fairest comparison rn, a team with not a great record but also not that bad.

[Cartierfor3]

I might bump Texas Technical up a tier but overall this is nice work

[deputy dawg]

Not shocked that UCF is moving up.  Not shocked that KU is moving down.

[highway61]

Kelly Ford has UCF with the best projected record in the big 12. Based mostly on week strength of schedule.

[pissclams]

seeing our ad astra bros the ku rayhawks ranked that far down brings a tier to my eye

[meow meow]

ku couldn't even fill children's mercy friday night, not sure ku karla will come to arrowhead for all the chardonnay in the metro

[michigancat]

Did I see correctly that UNLV is in the top 25 for the first time in program history? That's pretty crazy! But at least KU lost to a ranked team

[michigancat]

https://x.com/GuyFieri/status/1835520747646726307

[Stevesie60]

Kelly Ford has UCF with the best projected record in the big 12. Based mostly on week strength of schedule.

I saw that. Surely it's because they have locked in one win already whereas no other team has, right?

[ChiComCat]

Kelly Ford has UCF with the best projected record in the big 12. Based mostly on week strength of schedule.

I saw that. Surely it's because they have locked in one win already whereas no other team has, right?

Their conference slate seems fairly soft but the B12 has 4 ranked teams and an unbalanced schedule now so maybe everyone's looks fairly soft.

[cfbandyman]

Kelly Ford has UCF with the best projected record in the big 12. Based mostly on week strength of schedule.

I saw that. Surely it's because they have locked in one win already whereas no other team has, right?

Definitely don't hurt, but their schedule is pretty soft til the end.

I might bump Texas Technical up a tier but overall this is nice work

   I think for me TT needing OT to beat Abilene Christian, while a win, is pretty rough. Maybe they are more truly C but I think a combo of them supposed to be improved and just yeah, getting smacked by a fairly good but not that good Wazzu team has me soured on them.


Off topic, and while this is mostly how I see it, and "gut" based while also records based. I do try and using things like home, away, margin of victory, rivalry, etc to kinda graduate things a bit, but this isn't formulaic at all. It's kinda like dropping TCU, if that game was reversed, and that FG went in, I probably don't rise TCU to S, but I don't drop UCF to B cause of the whole being at home vs road. I view home a FG (or more) of an advantage not too dissimilar to the NFL (though I tend to think it's much higher for college vs NFL). So close wins at home I see as essentially a loss in terms of advancement, but a close loss on the road is also win without any benefits from it. You also don't get penalized for close wins though, and same you can't advance or playing a good opponent close and losing. I only didn't rise UCF just cause it's a little smoke and mirrors for me given who they have played, but at some point computer ratings, and actual record can't be denied.

Like Houston last week to this week, I see it as signs of improvement and getting that win you duly erased that awful loss and you get out of the cellar, for example.

Perception definitely drives this, with S tier being who should be good, but also as time goes on perception has to turn into reality, so it fades as more results come in. I don't expect UCF to be in the CCG, but I think the 3 S tier teams have a pretty equal shot at it, and if UCF keeps winning well they need to given their credit. It's kinda like KU, I like many others though this was their year to have a pretty legit (and technically still do) shot at the CCG, but clearly the results aren't there right now. Let's say they won both @Illinois by like 3 and UNLV by like 3, they'd be S tier cause they can't drop, but kinda like how I hint at Utah needs Cam, or we need to keep improving on offense, once they slip that demotion will come swift. I would probably be saying they are the weakest S tier team, and waiting to drop. Zona is probably the other example of this.