Texas Tech head coach calls out conference bias, says 'Let's fight it out on the field'
When one thinks about college football conferences, the ones that come to mind are the juggernauts, the vaunted SEC, or the Big Ten with its stranglehold across the nation. Conferences like the ACC or the Big 12 are often seen as second-tier conferences. Well, Texas Tech's head coach, Joey McGuire, thinks that bias is misleading and outdated. Here is what McGuire had to say about conference bias during an interview with SiriusXM's College Sports Radio.
"“I think you’ve got to earn it on the field and if you’re a conference champion, you should be in, and then everything after that, we’ve got to figure out who the best teams are to get in the playoffs. It’s not who the best teams are in certain conferences. It’s who the best teams are in the country. If you’re not going to say that you’re going to have automatic qualifiers for every Power Four conference and it’s all equal, then, man, let us do it on the field. If you win your conference, you’re in, and then find the best teams that way. I think that’s the way we should do it.Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire
“We’ve got to take some of the bias out of conferences – that, ‘This is a tougher conference because of this and this and this.’ Let’s fight it out on the field. I’m all for that. If we win the Big 12, then we should be in the playoffs.”
NEW: Joey McGuire on College Football Playoff format:
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“We’ve got to take some of the bias out of conferences – that, ‘This is a tougher conference because of this and this and this.’ Let’s fight it out on the field.”
(via @SXMCollege) https://t.co/xKGf4fpdGn pic.twitter.com/aTles6dwFk
While it makes sense what McGuire is saying, the data still supports the fact that the Big Ten and SEC have owned college football for the last two decades. With the integration of the NIL program, some of the strengths of the SEC have waned a bit as other big schools can now venture south and pull elite players out of the SEC's backyard. McGuire has embraced another new aspect of college football, the transfer portal. Bringing in 21 game-ready players with experience has transformed the Red Raiders into a true contender that may just find themselves standing across the field against an SEC or Big Ten team. If things go according to plan, McGuire could very well get that fight on the field he says he wants.
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-e01c17fcdae4e0dd656bdc7ca6585efc-53691679a614377a6a1b52f78beac8fb.jpeg "Jerred Johnson")
Jerred Johnson has served in the United States military for over 23 years. He has a Bachelors in Marketing, a Masters in Management and is in the final phases of completing his Doctorate in Business Administration.