PHOENIX – Utah strengthened its hold in the Big 12 football standings with a convincing win against Cincinnati on Saturday, but with several contenders still fighting for a spot in the conference championship game, the outcome is far from settled.
With four weeks remaining before the Big 12 Championship game on Dec. 4 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, seven teams sit within two games of the conference lead.
No. 3 Utah (8-0, 5-0 Big 12) emerged from Saturday’s games as the conference’s lone undefeated team after defeating the Bearcats, 49-25, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. The No. 3 ranking is the Utes’ highest since on Oct. 18, 2015. Utah achieved its highest ranking ever after the 2008 season by defeating Alabama 31-17 in the Sugar Bowl to rise to No. 2.
No. 7 BYU and No. 13 Texas Tech remain one game behind at 4-1 in conference play after beating Arizona, while the No. 24 Wildcats, No. 17 Houston, Baylor and Oklahoma State are all tied at 3-2 in conference play.
The remaining schedule presents several opportunities for contenders to improve their positions, while others face increasingly difficult paths to the title game.
Utah entered Saturday facing a Cincinnati team that had handed Texas Tech its first loss of the season a week earlier. The Utes avoided a similar upset, building a commanding 42-6 halftime lead behind quarterback Devon Dampier and a defense that scored twice.
Dampier threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns, while Utah finished with 534 yards of total offense. The victory moved the Utes up three spots in the Associated Press Top 25 and set up one of the conference’s most consequential remaining matchups.
Utah hosts No. 7 BYU on Saturday in the Holy War, with the Cougars looking to tie their rivals in conference losses.
BYU narrowly avoided another setback Saturday, defeating Arizona State 27-20 in Provo, Utah. After an upset loss in Orlando to Central Florida last week, the Cougars faced a tough test from the Sun Devils, who started freshmen Jake Fette at quarterback and Cardae Mack at running back.
Despite recording six first-half sacks, BYU struggled to put Arizona State away. The Cougars needed a late 95-yard touchdown drive to preserve their advantage, securing a victory that kept them tied with Texas Tech for second place.
“There’s things we need to improve on,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake told reporters following the victory. “We’ll celebrate this and figure things out and try to get back on it and improve for next week, because we’ll need to be for that one.”
The Cougars’ next opponent presents a significantly greater challenge. A victory over Utah would give BYU a head-to-head advantage over the Utes and potentially create a three-way tie near the top of the conference standings, depending on Texas Tech’s result against West Virginia.
Texas Tech, meanwhile, rebounded from its first defeat with a 34-26 comeback victory over Arizona, handing the Wildcats their second conference loss.
The Red Raiders trailed 17-10 at halftime before quarterback Tommy Castellanos helped turn the game around. Castellanos threw two touchdown passes and rushed for 117 yards, while Texas Tech accumulated 328 rushing yards.
Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita threw for 417 yards, but the Wildcats managed just 12 net rushing yards against the Red Raiders’ defense. Texas Tech’s victory moved it to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in Big 12 play, strengthening its position in the conference race.
The result was particularly damaging for Arizona, which fell two games behind Utah and now has conference losses against BYU and Texas Tech. The Wildcats host TCU on Nov. 7 before welcoming Utah to Tucson the following weekend in what will be a critical matchup for their Big 12 and College Football Playoff hopes.
While Arizona faces the conference leader, Texas Tech has a potentially favorable remaining schedule.
The Red Raiders face West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Baylor and TCU, none of which are currently ranked. With either BYU or Utah guaranteed to take a conference loss Saturday, Texas Tech has an opportunity to improve its standing without facing another ranked opponent.
Oklahoma State, however, experienced the weekend’s most damaging upset among the leading contenders.
The Cowboys fell 51-49 at Iowa State on a last-second field goal, dropping to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in conference play. The Cowboys took a 49-48 lead with 53 seconds remaining, but Iowa State drove into field-goal range and Kyle Konrardy converted a 34-yard attempt as time expired.
The loss knocked Oklahoma State out of the AP Top 25 and into a four-way tie for fourth place in the Big 12 standings. The Cowboys still have an opportunity to improve their position when they host Texas Tech on Nov. 14, their only remaining opponent that is currently ranked.
Baylor also remains in contention, although the Bears face one of the most challenging closing schedules among the conference’s contenders.
In their first game under interim coach Joe Klanderman, the Bears defeated UCF 41-9 on Friday, one week after the Knights upset BYU. Quarterback DJ Lagway threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns as Baylor improved to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in conference play.
The Bears host Iowa State before facing three consecutive ranked opponents: No. 7 BYU, No. 13 Texas Tech and No. 17 Houston. Those matchups provide opportunities to gain ground directly against teams ahead of or tied with Baylor, but leave little room for another loss.
Houston, which had a bye over the weekend, could benefit from a considerably easier remaining schedule.
The Cougars (6-2, 3-2 Big 12) have no ranked opponents left with games against Cincinnati, Colorado, West Virginia and Baylor remaining on the slate. However, Houston’s losses to Utah and Texas Tech could prove costly if the conference race ends in a tie requiring head-to-head tiebreakers.
Arizona State, despite falling to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in conference play, could still influence which teams reach Arlington. The Sun Devils host Oklahoma State on Nov. 21 before visiting Arizona for the Territorial Cup on Nov. 28, giving them opportunities to disrupt the championship hopes of two contenders.
With Utah and BYU preparing for the Holy War, Texas Tech navigating a favorable closing stretch and four teams sitting at 3-2, the Big 12 is still up for grabs.
Utah controls the conference lead for now, but Saturday’s rivalry showdown could dramatically alter the standings.
Be the first to comment