Saturday was a miserable day for both BYU and Utah fans.
The Cougars’ perfect season was spoiled by a humbling 17-13 loss to Kansas, who entered the game with a 3-6 record, while the Utes were dealt a 49-24 defeat, their sixth-straight loss, by surging Colorado.
This weekend, though, there’s a reason for BYU fans to not only cheer for the Cougars in the important Big 12 matchup at Arizona State, but hope for a Utah victory over Iowa State as well.
Why is that?
Big 12 championship berth-clinching scenarios in Week 13
Two teams — BYU and Colorado — each have a scenario to clinch a spot in the Big 12 championship this week, as the league outlined in its weekly football notes.
For BYU to clinch a berth in the Big 12 championship game in Week 13:
- BYU must beat Arizona State AND
- Utah must beat Iowa State
For Colorado to clinch a berth in the Big 12 championship game in Week 13:
- Colorado must beat Kansas AND
- BYU must beat Arizona State AND
- Utah must beat Iowa State
Why would BYU clinch a Big 12 championship game berth in this scenario?
At 6-1 in Big 12 play, the Cougars are tied with Colorado atop the Big 12 standings and are one game ahead of Arizona State and Iowa State, who are both 5-2 in conference action.
A BYU win over Arizona State — they play at 1:30 p.m. MST Saturday on ESPN — would give the Cougars the head-to-head tiebreaker over Arizona State and a two-game lead on the Sun Devils in league play.
If Utah were to beat Iowa State — they play at 5:30 p.m. MST Saturday on Fox — that would give the Cyclones their third conference loss, and BYU would also have a two-game lead on Iowa State in conference play.
As a result, the Cougars would be 7-1 in Big 12 play and have at least a two-game lead over everyone in the conference but Colorado with one week left in the regular season, clinching a spot for BYU in the Big 12 championship game.
For Colorado, it’s a similar scenario, just with an extra game that has to be considered — both BYU and Utah would need to win, in addition to the Buffaloes, for Colorado to have a two-game lead over everyone but BYU with one week remaining in the regular season, thus clinching a berth in the Big 12 championship game.
Current Big 12 standings
With two weeks left in the regular season, there are nine Big 12 teams within two games of the league lead in the conference standings.
The winner of the Big 12 title game also earns an automatic spot in the College Football Playoff.
Here’s a look at the current conference standings, and who’s still mathematically in contention to earn a spot in the league’s championship game:
- BYU — 6-1
- Colorado — 6-1
- Arizona State — 5-2
- Iowa State — 5-2
- Baylor — 4-3
- Kansas State — 4-3
- TCU — 4-3
- Texas Tech — 4-3
- West Virginia — 4-3
What happens if BYU loses?
If the Cougars lose to Arizona State this weekend, the tiebreakers aren’t in favor of BYU making it to the Big 12 championship game — not only would the Cougars lose the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Sun Devils, they would need to beat Houston in the regular-season finale and require multiple upsets to occur in Week 14 to make the league championship game.
If BYU beats Arizona State on Saturday, it’s likely that the Cougars will be headed to the Big 12 championship game.
There are scenarios, though, where BYU would still have to wait until the final week of the season to clinch a spot in the Big 12 championship game, even with a victory over the Sun Devils.
It should be noted that BYU controls its own destiny — if the Cougars win their final two games, they will play in the Big 12 championship game.
With Utah’s help, that clinching berth could come a week sooner.
