The final weekend of the 2025 college football season is right around the corner, and at the bottom of the list, we’ll find out who will be heading to Arlington for next Saturday’s Big 12 championship game.
Texas Tech and BYU have held their own for most of the regular season and are seemingly on a collision course for a rematch of their meeting from a few weeks ago. However, Utah and Arizona State are also still in the race and a little chaos could cause them to ruin the party in Arlington.
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Below, we’ll go over some Big 12 scenarios for this weekend as these four programs try to earn a spot in the league title game.
|
School |
Big 12 record |
Overall record |
|
Texas Tech |
7-1 |
10-1 |
|
BYU |
7-1 |
10-1 |
|
Utah |
6-2 |
9-2 |
|
Arizona State |
6-2 |
8-3 |
|
houston |
5-3 |
8-3 |
|
Arizona |
5-3 |
8-3 |
|
Cincinnati |
5-3 |
7-4 |
|
Iowa State |
4-4 |
7-4 |
|
Kansas State |
4-4 |
5-6 |
|
TCU |
4-4 |
7-4 |
|
Baylor |
3-5 |
5-6 |
|
Kansas |
3-5 |
5-6 |
|
UCF |
2-6 |
5-6 |
|
W.V. |
2-6 |
4-7 |
|
Colorado |
1-7 |
3-8 |
|
Oklahoma State |
0-8 |
1-10 |
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Week 14 Showdown: @ West Virginia, Saturday, 12 pm Eastern Time
Decisive scenarios:
-Gain
–EITHER Arizona State loss
Texas Tech spent big in the transfer portal this past offseason and has seen an immediate return on that investment. The Red Raiders have been Big 12 class all season and are on the verge of sealing their first 11-win campaign since 2008. Their only blemish came on the road at Arizona State in mid-October, but they have bounced back nicely with four straight wins and were ranked No. 5 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.
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Tech’s path to the Big 12 title game is simply to win and win this weekend, but an Arizona State loss would also be enough. West Virginia has been frisky over the last month and has shown signs of improvement toward the end of Rich Rodriguez’s first year in Morgantown, so this road matchup won’t necessarily be a walk in the park for the Red Raiders.
BYU Cougars
Week 14 Showdown: vs. UCF, Saturday, 1 pm ET
Decisive scenarios:
-Gain
–EITHER Arizona State loss
–EITHER Texas Tech defeat + Arizona State victory
Like Texas Tech, BYU is in a win-win situation, but they could use help with a few other scenarios just in case. The Cougars have also topped their Big 12 roster this season, with a 29-7 loss to the Red Raiders a few weeks ago their only setback.
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They’ll face a UCF team that has struggled to compete against the league’s upper tier teams this season, and since it’s 11 a.m. local time, the potential body clock effect could give the Cougars an advantage.
Utah Utes
Week 14 Showdown: @ Kansas, Friday, 12 pm Eastern Time
Week 14 Results Update: Utah beat Kansas 31-21. Now they will have to wait for the results on Friday night and possibly until Saturday. If Arizona State loses on Friday night, Utah will be eliminated from the title game. If Arizona State wins, Utah will be keeping an eye on the scoreboard on Saturday.
Decisive scenarios:
-Victory + Arizona State victory + BYU victory + Texas Tech loss
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Utah fell to Texas Tech and BYU earlier in the season, but has returned to the conference title picture with four straight wins down the stretch. The Utes need to handle business on the road in Lawrence on Friday and need a loss at Tech, a win at ASU and, much to their chagrin, they also need to support hated rival BYU.
Arizona State
Week 14 Showdown: vs. Arizona, Friday, 9 pm ET
Decisive scenarios:
-Victory + loss of Utah + loss of Texas Tech
-EITHER Victory + Texas Tech victory + BYU loss
–EITHER Victory + Utah victory + Texas Tech loss + BYU loss
Friday Afternoon Update: Utah beat Kansas 31-21 in the early Friday window. That eliminates the first deciding scenario above. Arizona State needs a win on Friday night and then a BYU loss to UCF on Saturday afternoon.
Arizona State is the reigning Big 12 champion and still has a chance to return to Arlington next weekend to defend its title. As mentioned above, the Sun Devils are the only team to beat Texas Tech this season and have stayed in the conference title race even with Jeff Sims as the starting quarterback in place of the injured Sam Leavitt.
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ASU’s top priority is beating Arizona in the Territorial Cup rivalry on Friday, a series the Sun Devils have dominated in recent years with six wins in their last eight outings. They’ll know the outcome of the Utah-Kansas game by then and any number of scenarios on Saturday could have them packing their bags for Jerry World next week or being sidelined.