Some Big 12 AD's considering Texas Tech boycott after Brendan Sorsby ruling

Texas Tech seems intent on burning down college football.

In case you've missed it, Brendan Sorsby has been embroiled in legal action over his pursuit of eligibility following groundbreaking news that the former Hoosier and Bearcat bet on his own games.

Sorsby transferred to Texas Tech this past summer, reportedly signing a deal that will pay him around $5 million for his final year of eligibility in college football. But this gambling scandal has suddenly threatened to end his college career and, in turn, decimate the Red Raiders' odds of repeating as Big 12 champions.

Monday changed all that, with a judge (residing in Lubbock, Texas) handing down a decision to grant Texas Tech their request for an injunction against the NCAA. The result is that Sorsby will be able to play this season - at least for now - after previously being indefinitely banned.

The move is already sending shockwaves through college football, and specifically the Big 12.

Just two weeks ago, the Big 12 held their spring business meetings down in Frisco, Texas, and Sorsby was a topic of conversation there. Gene Taylor, the athletics director for Kansas State, was surprisingly candid when asked if a reprieve for Sorsby would make Kansas State think twice about playing Texas Tech:

We've had some serious conversation about it. There is still a lot to be discussed. We aren't scheduled to play them this year, but it's something we have to look at from a college football perspective. This is greater than the Big 12.

Flash forward to today, just a few hours after Sorsby - whose attorneys have presented his gambling habits as a case of addiction and a medical condition - was effectively cleared on all counts. Taylor's response was decidedly less measured:

It's f****** bulls***. I know the kid has a problem. Well, get well and focus on your problem. It is absolutely devastating for him to be able to play when every other sport, no matter the level, deems an athlete ineligible or they are punished severely for betting on their team.

Taylor isn't the only one, either. One anonymous Big 12 athletics director described this decision as the "lowest point in my time in college sports" and said Texas Tech "should be ashamed of itself."

Additionally, the Georgia athletics director - who also happens to sit on the NCAA's Football Oversight Committee - publicly wondered if Georgia should commit to not scheduling Texas Tech in any sport, not just football.

Arizona State is currently scheduled to travel to Lubbock on October 17 this year to play the Red Raiders. They were the only team to beat Texas Tech in the regular season last year, doing so at home and temporarily damaging the Red Raiders' playoff hopes.

With both programs welcoming in new quarterbacks in the transfer portal, and both expected to be among the top contenders in the Big 12 this year, that mid-October date was circled by many as a prime matchup this season.

Now, it will be interesting to see if the Sun Devils, and athletics director Graham Rossini, look to pursue any sort of boycott in response to this landmark decision.

Regardless of whether or not that game ends up being played, the implications of this decision are likely to have serious ramifications for the Big 12 and the overall landscape of college football.