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Big 12: Data indicates better chance of reaching CFP with title game

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said the conference's consultant has numbers to prove the league would have a greater chance of making the College Football Playoff with a title game.

The 10-team Big 12 currently has its football members play nine conference games (one against every other team) and the league doesn't have a title game. That regular season format would change too under the scenario that improves the Big 12's chances according to the data. From ESPN:

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said the analytics firm the league recently hired, Navigate Research, revealed that a 12-team league with an eight-game conference schedule and a championship game was the best model for putting a team in the CFP.

The ACC, Big Ten and SEC currently have eight league games per team. Pac-12 teams play nine games and a title game. Big 12 coaches are expected to view the data this week as the league's spring meetings commence in Phoenix, and while we'll likely get a better idea of the data as the week goes on, it's fair to wonder if a two-year sample size is enough to make judgments.

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It's likely that Navigate looked at past college football seasons in the BCS era before the CFP started in 2014, but the BCS years don't translate well to the CFP years. While the BCS had a computer element, the playoff is determined entirely by a human panel. And as we know, past results aren't always the best predictors of future success.

Any future expansion plans would likely (and finally) gain steam at the meetings as well, especially if the majority of league members feel the benefits of expanding to 12 teams outweigh the current status quo. Two more teams in the conference would mean revenues split 12 ways instead of 10, but Bowlsby said that the conference's television deals could change if the format of the conference is tweaked.

After the conference was shut out of the inaugural playoff, Oklahoma made the field in 2015 and lost to Clemson in the Orange Bowl.

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!