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ESPN polled the 65 coaches from the Power Five conferences (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12, SEC) last month about whether the preferred to play a schedule against only other Power Five conferences or not. The good news is that the majority of the Big XII is in favor of giving fans the matchups that they would love to see. However, you may be a bit surprised at who was for and who was against it.
Big XII Coaches On Playing Only Power Five Conference Teams
| Coach | For | Against |
| Art Briles | X | |
| Mike Gundy | X | |
| Dana Holgorsen | X | |
| Kliff Kingsbury | X | |
| Gary Patterson | X | |
| Paul Rhoads | X | |
| Bill Snyder | X | |
| Bob Stoops | X | |
| Charlie Strong | X | |
| Charlie Weis | X |
Its interesting to me to see guys like Holgorsen, Rhoads, and Weis, (all of them feeling heat to succeed this season) are in favor of playing only against the top conferences, instead of the WAC, MAC, Conference USA, or Sun Belt, in addition to their conference schedule. Meanwhile Charlie Strong wants no part of such scheduling.
Of course the coaches feel like they have legitimate reasons for not wanting to step up to the big boys week in and week out. In the ESPN article, Bill Snyder states that the city of Manhattan relies heavily on seven home games per season to boost the economy and playing only Power Five teams would not allow them to have seven home games. Charlie Strong said that Texas is committed to playing five teams from the state of Texas in Austin each season. Looks like the Stronghorns are gonna be all about the weak schedule.
While I can somewhat see Snyder's point in the matter I call total bull crap on Charlie Strong. All coaches talk a big game but when it comes down to it, this survey shows that not all coaches are willing to put their money where their mouth is. At the end of the day it appears that while some coaches are interested in pursing national titles and elite competition, while others are more concerned with keeping their job security.
As for the question itself, although it was hypothetical, it isn't too far outside of the realm of possibility. With the college football playoff set to begin this season (and expansion to at least eight teams is just a matter of time) the necessity of an undefeated season has come to an end. One of the arguments against a playoff was that it would make the regular season irrelevant. That doesn't have to be the case though. Florida vs. Texas, Oregon vs. Oklahoma, and Ohio State vs. Oklahoma State with a possible playoff berths on the line. Who wouldn't want to tune into that?