BYU, bias, and the dangers of what we refuse to see

The CFP Is Biased. So Are We.

I am a BYU football fan for life. I love the Cougars. I believe in the program, the culture, the discipline, and what those players built this season. And I also believe they were not given a fair shake by the College Football Playoff Committee.

Not because we are victims. We do not live there.

But because bias is real.

Conference bias. Branding bias. Money bias. Prestige bias. Viewership bias. Power bias. The same few programs always seem to get the benefit of the doubt. The rest fight uphill for respect.

BYU lost two games to a Texas Tech team that I truly believe is going to shock people. They are built to win at the highest level. They are fast. Violent. Disciplined. Dangerous. That loss will age well. I believe that.

And yet the rhetoric did not stay consistent.

When Alabama was losing by 21 in the SEC Championship, Kirk Herbstreit said they should not be punished for even playing in the conference title game. I agree with that logic in principle. But that same grace did not extend to BYU when they got smashed by a Texas Tech team that most people still refuse to take seriously.

At the same time, I understand the Vegas argument. If BYU plays Notre Dame or Miami on a neutral field, who is favored? Who gets the benefit of the doubt? That matters in these rooms. I get that too.

But then things get even stranger.

Notre Dame opts out of bowl games based on how they feel. Some call it principle. Some call it entitlement. Either way, the system bends around certain programs and hardens against others.

The truth is simple. The College Football Playoff system is broken. And all of us are operating inside a broken system.

Now here is the real pivot.

Because I do not just write about sports. I write about the mind.

If we are willing to admit the system is biased, we also have to ask a harder question.

Where am I biased against myself?

Where do I selectively ignore the truth in my own life?

Where do I protect my comfort instead of my growth?

Maybe it is in finances. You know exactly what needs to change, but you keep avoiding the numbers.

Maybe it is in your health. You know the habits that are killing your energy, but you keep saying next week.

Maybe it is in your spirituality. You go through the motions but avoid the real work of surrender and alignment.

Maybe it is in your identity. You still live under labels that were handed to you years ago.

I still remember being told in 11th grade that I was not a runner. That I was not athletic. That sentence sat in my nervous system for years.

That was a bias.

Not a truth.

Nobody is a runner until they start running.

And nobody is free until they start questioning the lies they accepted as facts.

The CFP may be broken. But we do not have to be.

The real danger is not that others underestimate you.

The real danger is when you start believing them.

So today, in honor of the Cougars, I am challenging you to do one thing that breaks a personal bias you have been carrying. One small act that moves you closer to the person you were designed to be.

Train when you feel tired.

Speak when you usually stay quiet.

Show up when your mind tells you to hide.

Go Cougs for life.

And yes, they are going to smack Georgia Tech in the Pop Tarts Bowl. You heard it here first.