Copyright Salt Lake City Deseret News
Last weekend’s top-10 matchup between the Big 12’s two highest-ranked schools — Texas Tech and BYU — turned into a one-sided result, as the Red Raiders blitzed the Cougars, 29-7. It made one thing clear: everyone is chasing the Red Raiders this season. Texas Tech isn’t perfect — the Red Raiders lost to Arizona State, and their red-zone offense leaves plenty to be desired — but they are clearly the team to beat in the Big 12 chase for a College Football Playoff spot. BYU has some retooling to do, and the Cougars hope that last year’s November stumbles don’t happen again. In 2024, the Cougars went into November with an unbeaten record, just like this season, but they lost twice and missed out on the Big 12 championship game, due to tiebreakers. While BYU still controls its own destiny, the Cougars will need to win all three of their remaining games to ensure they are in Arlington for the conference title game this year, and after Saturday’s humbling result, that’s hardly a given. Here’s how the Big 12 stacks up through 11 weeks in the 2025 season. 1. Texas Tech Red Raiders (9-1, 6-1) Previous ranking: No. 2 (⬆️ 1) Last week: Beat BYU, 29-7 Next game: Saturday vs. UCF, 1:30 p.m. MST (Fox) The Red Raiders understood the assignment. With “College GameDay” in town, Texas Tech followed the lead of its shutdown defense to a convincing victory over previously unbeaten BYU. It could have been a lot worse — the Red Raiders settled for five field goals in the top-10 matchup. Texas Tech will be heavy favorites in its final two games at home against UCF and on the road at West Virginia. As long as the Red Raiders take care of business, they’ll be in the Big 12 championship game — and perhaps playing for a first-round playoff bye. 2. BYU Cougars (8-1, 5-1) Previous ranking: No. 1 (⬇️ 1) Last week: Lost to Texas Tech, 29-7 Next game: Saturday vs. TCU, 8:15 p.m. MST (ESPN) Fair or not, the chatter about BYU being a “fraud” will be out there after this disastrous outing. The Cougars’ offense and special teams let them down, while BYU’s defense at least gave them a chance to stick around — the Cougars only trailed 13-0 at halftime despite getting completely outplayed. There’s a chance that these two teams could meet again in the Big 12 title game, and there’s a lot to learn from it for the Cougars. Can BYU avoid letting the loss linger into this week? While TCU has been up and down this season, the Horned Frogs present a difficult challenge for a Cougars program that will need to bounce back strong. It precedes a road visit to Cincinnati, too, a game that is sure to have a major impact on the conference chase. 3. Utah Utes (7-2, 4-2) Previous ranking: No. 3 (no change) Last week: Bye Next game: Saturday at Baylor, 5 p.m. MST (ESPN2) It was a good bye week for the Utes — as good as bye weeks can get, probably. Utah was ranked No. 13 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings that came out, giving hope that the Utes can work their way into a playoff spot with a strong finish, and an early November bye allowed Utah to rest up and get healthy. Will the Utes show any rust coming off the bye week? Utah is favored to win at Baylor, a team the Utes have beaten two straight years. The Bears struggle defensively, but their offense is among the Big 12’s best, though it will be hard-pressed to keep pace with a Utah offense that is humming. 4. Cincinnati Bearcats (7-2, 5-1) Previous ranking: No. 4 (no change) Last week: Bye Next game: Saturday vs. Arizona, 10 a.m. MST (FS1) Come Saturday, we’ll find out if the Bearcats have recovered from a humbling 31-point loss at Utah two weekends ago. While Cincinnati is still right in the thick of the Big 12 race, that loss complicates matters for the Bearcats. If Cincinnati wins out, though, it would be in the Big 12 championship game — like BYU and Texas Tech, the Bearcats control their destiny as one of three Big 12 teams with one loss in conference play. Cincinnati can’t afford to look past a now bowl-eligible Arizona squad this weekend before hosting BYU the next week. 5. Arizona State Sun Devils (6-3, 4-2) Previous ranking: No. 5 (no change) Last week: Bye Next game: Saturday vs. West Virginia, 11 a.m. MST (TNT) There were a lot of bye weeks for the top teams in the Big 12 last week, and that included Arizona State. The Sun Devils, despite some up and down play, are still in contention to defend their league title, though they’ll have to do it without quarterback Sam Leavitt, who’s lost for the season. Fortunately for Arizona State, it will be a sizable favorite in Saturday’s matchup with the Mountaineers. After a difficult string of games that included losses to Utah and Houston and wins over Texas Tech and Iowa State, can the Sun Devils put West Virginia away early and earn a double-digit win for the first time in league play? 6. Houston Cougars (8-2, 5-2) Previous ranking: No. 7 (⬆️ 1) Last week: Beat UCF, 30-27 Next game: Nov. 22 vs. TCU, TBD (TBD) Give Houston credit, even though the Cougars haven’t looked as sharp the past two weeks and were coming off a crushing loss to West Virginia, Houston was able to rally past UCF. It keeps the Cougars in the Big 12 conversation, even if they’ll need help. The bye week comes at a good time, seemingly. Houston finishes up the season with games at home against TCU and at Baylor, two winnable but potentially difficult games. It keeps the hope alive in Houston for a couple more weeks. 7. Arizona Wildcats (6-3, 3-3) Previous ranking: No. 9 (⬆️ 2) Last week: Beat Kansas, 24-20 Next game: Saturday at Cincinnati, 10 a.m. MST (FS1) No matter what, Arizona will be going bowling in Brent Brennan’s second year as the Wildcats’ head coach. Thanks to a last-minute touchdown, Arizona was able to beat Kansas and clinch that sixth victory, already two more than the Wildcats had a year ago. Even though it’s essentially out of the conference race, Arizona has the chance to play spoiler over the final few weeks. The Wildcats nearly upset BYU earlier this year, and on Saturday, they’ll get their shot at Cincinnati. Arizona State waits in the season finale, too. 8. TCU Horned Frogs (6-3, 3-3) Previous ranking: No. 6 (⬇️ 2) Last week: Lost to Iowa State, 20-17 Next game: Saturday at BYU, 8:15 p.m. MST (ESPN) TCU missed out on a golden opportunity to stay in the conference race and now is unlikely to make a push for it, after picking up its third Big 12 loss of the year. The Horned Frogs held an 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but Iowa State rallied and handed TCU its second loss in conference play where the Horned Frogs had a lead in the fourth. Will TCU play spoiler against BYU this week? While the Horned Frogs have wilted in the last couple of years when they’ve had the chance to earn a signature win, TCU has won five straight games in its series with BYU, dating back to its Mountain West days in the late 2000s. 9. Baylor Bears (5-4, 3-3) Previous ranking: No. 8 (⬇️ 1) Last week: Bye Next game: Saturday vs. Utah, 5 p.m. MST (ESPN2) Baylor has the feel of a mid-tier level Big 12 program. The Bears haven’t won more than two straight games at a time this season, and they just aren’t a complete enough team to seriously challenge for the conference crown. That doesn’t suit Baylor too well as it welcomes a Utah program this week that is on a tear. While the Bears’ offense is plenty potent, Baylor’s defense has been porous yet again and is likely to be gashed by an explosive Utah attack. If Baylor loses this weekend, it will need a win at Arizona or at home vs. Houston in the final two weeks of the regular season to become bowl eligible. 10. Iowa State Cyclones (6-4, 3-4) Previous ranking: No. 11 (⬆️ 1) Last week: Beat TCU, 20-17 Next game: Nov. 22 vs. Kansas, TBD (TBD) That was a much-needed victory for Matt Campbell and Iowa State. The Cyclones snapped a four-game losing streak by rallying in the fourth quarter to earn a road victory over TCU. While it wasn’t a pretty day for Iowa State offensively, the Cyclones did enough to earn the win. Now, the Cyclones get a bye before they finish up the season with a home game against Kansas in two weeks, followed by a Thanksgiving week matchup at Oklahoma State. Both of those games are absolutely winnable for Iowa State, and while the Cyclones are out of the Big 12 race, they still have a shot at eight or nine wins this year, counting bowl season. 11. Kansas State Wildcats (4-5, 3-3) Previous ranking: No. 10 (⬇️ 1) Last week: Bye Next game: Saturday at Oklahoma State, 10 a.m. MST (ESPNU) After a disastrous start to the season, it’s a bit surprising that the Wildcats are still in the hunt to become bowl eligible. Even after losing to Texas Tech in its most recent game ahead of a bye last week, Kansas State can still clinch bowl eligibility with wins in two of its final three games. The first should be a victory, as the Wildcats take on one-win Oklahoma State this weekend. Kansas State then travels to Utah, where it will be a heavy underdog, before hosting moribund Colorado in the season finale. As long as the Wildcats don’t falter against an inferior opponent, that should give them just enough wins to make the postseason. 12. West Virginia Mountaineers (4-6, 2-5) Previous ranking: No. 13 (⬆️ 1) Last week: Beat Colorado, 29-22 Next game: Saturday at Arizona State, 11 a.m. MST (TNT) After five straight losses, West Virginia has shown a competitive spirit the past two weeks in a pair of victories. The Mountaineers first beat then-ranked Houston, and they followed that with a tough victory over the Buffaloes. That may be all the victories West Virginia gets this season, as they play at Arizona State this weekend and host league leader Texas Tech in the season finale. The way the Mountaineers have been able to be competitive after such a long period of struggling, though, should bring some optimism that Rich Rodriguez can eventually turn things around. 13. Kansas Jayhawks (5-5, 3-4) Previous ranking: No. 12 (⬇️ 1) Last week: Lost Arizona, 24-20 Next game: Nov. 22 at Iowa State, TBD (TBD) It’s been a difficult stretch for Kansas in recent weeks, as the Jayhawks lost for the fourth time in five games when Arizona rallied past Kansas in the final minute. That squandered perhaps the Jayhawks’ best chance to become bowl eligible. Following a bye this week, Kansas finishes the year with a game at Iowa State, followed by hosting Utah. The Jayhawks could easily lose both games and, for a second straight season, come up just short of becoming bowl eligible. 14. UCF Knights (4-5, 1-5) Previous ranking: No. 14 (no change) Last week: Lost to Houston, 30-27 Next game: Saturday at Texas Tech, 1:30 p.m. MST (Fox) The rough times continued for UCF last week, as they were competitive with Houston, an upper-tier Big 12 team this season, but the Knights couldn’t hold onto a three-point lead going into the fourth quarter. That is now five losses in the last six games for UCF. Their toughest test comes this week, as the Knights travel to Lubbock to face a Texas Tech team fresh off a beatdown of BYU. This has “blowout” written all over it. To qualify for a bowl, UCF is going to need at least one upset the rest of the way, as the Knights host Oklahoma State after the Texas Tech game, then finish the year at BYU. 15. Oklahoma State Cowboys (1-8, 0-6) Previous ranking: No. 15 (no change) Last week: Bye Next game: Saturday vs. Kansas State, 10 a.m. MST (ESPNU) Good news: the Cowboys didn’t lose last week. A bye week provided Oklahoma State the chance to reset ahead of the team’s final three games of a lost season. All six of the Cowboys’ Big 12 losses have been by double digits so far, and that could well happen again this week when Kansas State comes to town. Oklahoma State’s best chance for a Big 12 win comes next week, when the Cowboys visit UCF. 16. Colorado Buffaloes (3-7, 1-6) Previous ranking: No. 16 (no change) Last week: Lost to West Virginia, 29-22 Next game: Nov. 22 vs. Arizona State, TBD (TBD) Well, at least this time Colorado was competitive, as the Buffaloes dropped their fifth game in six tries in a seven-point loss at West Virginia. The Buffaloes trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half and kept within striking distance in the second half, but it wasn’t enough with freshman quarterback Julian Lewis leading the offense. Making the postseason is already out of the question for Colorado. After a bye week, can the Buffaloes earn one more win to at least build some momentum going into the offseason? It’s a big ask, considering the Buffaloes have a home game against Arizona State and a road matchup at Kansas State remaining.
