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ARLINGTON, Texas — Kind of a weird week in the Big 12, yeah? One of the conference’s former flagship programs (Texas) is playing for the SEC championship in its first season away from the Big 12. One team it passed over (SMU) is ranked higher than any of its current members and will contend for an ACC championship. Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark publicly squabbled with the College Football Playoff committee and Group of Five competition on two separate occasions. Saturday’s conference championship game at AT&T Stadium yielded an announced attendance of 55,889, which, outside of the COVID-19-impacted 2020 season, was the lowest in the event’s 28-year history; last year’s, between Texas and Oklahoma State, drew a record 84,523 for what it’s worth. The secondary ticket market get-in price for the Big 12 championship game was as low as $16 on Saturday morning, according to Vivid Seats, and their cheapest SEC championship game tickets started at $110. And, yet, Arizona State gave the Big 12 a reason to cheer. The Sun Devils (11-2) throttled Iowa State, 45-19, to win the Big 12 championship in their first season as a member after the Pac-12 folded. Senior running back Cam Skattebo (208 total yards, 3 touchdowns) rumbled up and down the field, paced a blowout and helped give the Big 12 exactly what it needs: a team that looks like it might be worthy of a top-four playoff seed. “We’re 11-1 with our starting quarterbacking, having beat four ranked teams, having won the Big 12 championship,” head coach Kenny Dillingham said. “I think there should be a real chance we get a first-round bye, and I definitely think we should host a game.” Wouldn’t that be something? Yormark, before Saturday’s game, said that the conference is “building something special.” He talked up the conference’s “magical” November in which half the league remained in contention for a title game berth and a four-way tiebreaker (which also included BYU and Colorado) was called upon to decide Saturday’s matchup. Still, the Big 12 lacked a marquee contender this season. The kind that looks like a legitimate perennial postseason player. Like, say, a Texas or Oklahoma. The Longhorns and Sooners combined for five of the Big 12′s six playoff appearances under the original four-team format before they jumped to the SEC prior to this season. Texas will play for a top-four playoff seed on Saturday against Georgia in the SEC championship game. Oklahoma is, well, at least in better shape than their in-state rival Oklahoma State still in the Big 12. Internally, BYU had a chance to plant its flag this season but floundered late; Colorado has star power, a baseline of success but no serious postseason berth to show for it; TCU could’ve been in the driver’s seat after its CFP berth two years ago but is just 13-11 since. “I think, within time, you’re going to find that certain schools will distance themselves from others,” Yormark said. “I think that’s the evolution we’re going to go through. Parity and depth right now is what I’m selling, candidly, but moving forward I think it might be a little different.” Arizona State, in Year 1 of the new-look Big 12 and the expanded playoff, might’ve been the first to raise its hand. The Sun Devils were picked to finish dead last in the conference’s preseason poll but won five straight games to finish the regular season and force their way to JerryWorld. Dillingham, 34, is a rising star. Freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt (219 yards, 4 total touchdowns) is too. Skattebo — who surpassed 2,000 scrimmage yards on Saturday — is “the best player in the nation,” according to his quarterback. Their collective performance Saturday left no doubt that they belong in the CFP. It’s just a matter of whether they’ve done enough to convince the committee that they belong in that cushy top four where Yormark believes they do. The Sun Devils, ranked No. 15 in last Tuesday’s playoff poll, could certainly still be seeded No. 12 in Sunday’s final playoff bracket as the fifth highest-ranked conference champion. The four highest-ranked conference champions — who, according to the most recent rankings, are the winners of the SEC, Big Ten, ACC and Boise State of the Mountain West — will receive first-round byes. Boise State (No. 10) beat UNLV in the MWC championship game on Friday night to secure safe passage into the playoff. Yormark teed off on the selection committee on Wednesday and argued that no Group of Five team should be ranked higher than the Big 12 champion. He doubled down on Saturday, referenced his conference’s strength of schedule and claimed that there’s “no comparison” between the Big 12 and “any G5 conference champion.” The Sun Devils might have a chance to prove that a truth. If they remain the No. 12 seed and if Boise State remains the No. 4 seed, the two would be in line to meet in the quarterfinals if Arizona State wins its first-round game on the road. If their blowout win versus Iowa State sways the committee enough to move them above Boise State and into a top-four seed in Sunday’s final rankings, that same aforementioned quarterfinal Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty and Skattebo rank No. 1 and No. 2 in all-purpose yards per game this season. Jeanty is a Heisman Trophy candidate, though Yormark said Saturday that he doesn’t think “there’s any competition” for the award with Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter also a finalist. Yeah, if you hadn’t noticed, he’s not too fond of anything that has to do with the Group of Five right now. He’ll see which side of the argument the playoff committee falls on come Sunday. The Sun Devils, at least, made it interesting. “I do think we need to have a really thoughtful conversation [about] the selection committee and how the ranking is being done,” Yormark said. “Again, look at resumes. Look at data. The data doesn’t lie. So we’ll see where that goes.” ©2024 The Dallas Morning News. Visit dallasnews.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.None'We need new leadership': Atlantic Liberal caucus calls for Trudeau's resignation
President Jimmy Carter recognized there was political value for a young congressman to be seen in proximity to the president. President Jimmy Carter, with U.S. Rep. John Cavanaugh right behind him as Carter suggested, is greeted on the tarmac by Gen. Richard H. Ellis after exiting Air Force One at SAC on Oct 22, 1977. So as Air Force One landed at Offutt Air Force Base in 1977 during Carter’s first presidential visit to the state, he offered Omaha congressman John Cavanaugh a little advice just before they exited the plane. “Stay close, John,” he said. Sure enough, the hundreds who had gathered on the tarmac to greet the president also saw Cavanaugh right in Carter’s shadow, which got Cavanaugh featured in news photos from the day. President Jimmy Carter never enjoyed much electoral success in Nebraska. The Democrat lost to Omaha native Gerald Ford in 1976 and conservative icon Ronald Reagan in 1980. But both during his four years as president and his many years after as an international champion of peace, the modest peanut farmer from Georgia gained a lot of admirers. Cavanaugh and other Nebraskans who met Carter described the former president — who died Sunday, according to his son and multiple news reports — as a kind and genuine man with a personality that sparkled as much as his signature wide-toothed grin. “What a wonderful person,” recalled Cavanaugh, a Democrat whose two terms in the House of Representatives coincided with Carter’s 1977-1981 term as president. Preston Love Jr. of Omaha also mourned Carter’s death at age 100. The North Omaha civic leader and recent Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate had the chance to meet the former president at Carter's home in 1983 as a then-staffer for Rev. Jesse Jackson. “I mourn the fact that he, to this date, has not received his due — as president, and for his post presidential exploits, which have been enormous,” Love said in 2023. Amanda Brewer, Habitat for Humanity of Omaha CEO, met Carter while volunteering to help build a Habitat home in Georgia in 1998 — an encounter that helped to inspire her to a career with the charity. "I think his legacy, and inspiration to me, is that everyone has the ability to make a difference," she said. U.S. Rep. Don Bacon offered prayers Sunday for Carter's family. "From his time as a naval officer, then as a state senator and Governor of Georgia, and finally as President, Jimmy Carter gave a lifetime of service. After serving our country, he set the standard of post-political life with his service to Habitat for Humanity. Carter first came to Nebraska during campaign trips in 1975 and 1976. He had been doing a lot of campaigning across the Missouri River for the Iowa caucuses, the first test of the presidential election cycle. In fact, Carter ultimately wrote the book on how to use early success in Iowa and New Hampshire to propel a bid for a presidential party nomination. Carter was elected in November 1976, though in Nebraska incumbent Ford pulled in 59% of the vote and prevailed in 89 of the state’s 93 counties. Carter that spring also narrowly finished second to Frank Church of Idaho in the Nebraska Democratic primary. Carter’s first visit to the state as president came on Oct. 22, 1977, when he flew into Omaha to tour the Strategic Air Command headquarters at Offutt. At the time, tensions with the Soviet Union were high. The chance that a nuclear war could be waged one day from SAC’s bunker south of Omaha was very real. Carter received a tour of both the underground command post and the doomsday plane that could launch the nation’s nuclear arsenal in a time of emergency. He also picked up the “red phone” and spoke a message of thanks to SAC servicemen around the globe for their work to prevent “the possible destruction of our nation.” At the time, there was a little internal tension within SAC, too. Carter had recently canceled the B-1 bomber program, which was strongly supported by Gen. Richard H. Ellis, the SAC Commander. Carter didn’t back off the decision. He was focused on reducing the deficit at a time of high inflation. He felt the B-1 had been made obsolete by the development of accurate cruise missiles that could fly the same speed and distance and a new generation of B-2 stealth bombers that was on the drawing table. A display at SAC headquarters had included a model of the B-1. Before the president’s visit, it was replaced with a model of a B-52. Carter also toured a B-52 on the Offutt runway. (Reagan as president revived the B-1.) Cavanaugh was given the opportunity to fly into Omaha with Carter. The two talked about depressed farm prices, a chief concern in Nebraska, and the president’s energy bill during the flight. Carter stopped in Nebraska again during a cross-country flight on June 10, 1980, to tour tornado-ravaged Grand Island. A week earlier, a freakish storm sent at least seven tornadoes descending on the city, killing five, injuring 200 and destroying or damaging nearly a third of the city. Touring the devastation with then-Gov. Charles Thone, Carter’s motorcade stopped in front of what had once been the home of Del Kosmicki. The Grand Island man told the president everyone was working together in the recovery. Carter then crossed the street and stood atop the foundation of another former home to speak. Against a backdrop of shattered houses and stripped-bare trees, he told those gathered that God had blessed them by minimizing the damage. He encouraged them to keep their selfless attitudes during the rebuilding to come. "He was very genuine and sincere," Kosmicki told the Grand Island Independent. "I thought he did a really good job." Reagan’s Nebraska campaign chair called Carter’s visit an election-year political stunt. But Thone, a Republican, defended it as a sincere effort by the president to buoy spirits in the city. Later that year, Reagan swept Nebraska with 65% of the vote. Reagan’s landslide victory nationally sent Carter back to his farm in Plains, Georgia. But the loss certainly didn't send Carter into retirement. Carter worked for decades as an international ambassador for peace and human rights, creating an all-new model for post-presidential life. Love had the chance to meet Carter in Plains in 1983. At the time, Love was the lone staffer to Rev. Jesse Jackson as he registered voters in the South and laid the groundwork for Jackson's bid for president in 1988. Carter and his wife Rosalynn were gracious hosts, Love said, providing insight into the presidency and its history and even giving the visitors a tour of the peanut operation. “While President Carter encouraged Rev. Jackson to pursue a run for president, he was very clear and forthright about the pitfalls and the realities of doing such,” Love said. “I felt after meeting him in that situation, a tremendous like and respect for the man.” Amanda Brewer, left, with Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter and Brewer's mother, Kathy Jedlicka. Brewer recalled Carter as a down-to-earth and compassionate man when she met him in 1998 while she and her mom volunteered at a Habitat home in Americus, Georgia, near Plains. Carter and his wife, who died in November 2023, had fully embraced the charity. They became among its biggest advocates and fundraisers, and even picked up hammers and saws themselves. That day, the Carters were going around thanking all the volunteers. "He used his influence, rolled up his sleeves and was willing to do the work," Brewer said. "His values aligned with Habitat's values of putting your faith in action and doing something to make the world a better place." As president, Carter will likely be best known for brokering the peace deal between Egypt and Israel. It was a prelude to his work once out of office. Cavanaugh was present on the White House lawn when the parties signed the Camp David Accords. Carter won the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize "for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development." But Cavanaugh said Carter actually accomplished a lot domestically, much of it overshadowed by the Iran hostage crisis and continued economic problems that largely doomed his re-election bid. With his high ethics, Carter was also the right man to lead the nation into the post-Watergate era, Cavanaugh said. “He was always kind, hard-working and thoughtful,” Cavanaugh said. “He was just a sweetheart.” President Jimmy Carter shakes hands during a visit at Offutt Air Force base on Oct. 22, 1977. Capt. David L. Young gives a tour of a B-52 to President Jimmy Carter at Offutt Air Force Base on Oct. 22, 1977. President Jimmy Carter visits Strategic Air Command on Oct 22, 1977. 1977: SAC Commander-in-Chief Gen. Richard H. Ellis leads President Jimmy Carter past experts who man the command post console at Offutt Air Force Base. President Jimmy Carter speaks at the Grand Island airport on June 10, 1980. From left are Nebraska Gov. Charles Thone, Maj. Gen. Edward Binder of the Nebraska National Guard and Grand Island Mayor Bob Kriz. Carter's visit came after seven tornadoes touched down in or near the city, killing five people and injuring 200 on the night of June 3. President Jimmy Carter gives a speech near the destroyed home of Dennis Williams home at 707 Joehnck Road in Grand Island on June 10, 1980. Seven tornadoes touched down in or near the city that, killing five people and injuring 200. President Jimmy Carter gives a speech near the destroyed home of Dennis Williams home at 707 Joehnck Road in Grand Island on June 10, 1980. Seven tornadoes touched down in or near the city that, killing five people and injuring 200. Grand Island Mayor Bob Kriz, Nebraska Gov. Charles Thone and Jimmy Carter at the Grand Generation Center on June 10, 1980. Seven tornadoes touched down in or near the city that, killing five people and injuring 200. Former President Jimmy Carter receives an honorary degree from Creighton University in September 1987. Jimmy Carter speaks in Omaha on June 6th, 1975 during his run for president. President Jimmy Carter, with U.S. Rep. John Cavanaugh right behind him as Carter suggested, is greeted on the tarmac after exiting Air Force One at SAC on Oct 22, 1977. cordes@owh.com , 402-444-1130, twitter.com/henrycordes Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.Guardiola denies rift with De Bruyne during Man City's dramatic slump