The Big 12 championship game is a rematch of 11-1 teams, yet likely the only way both of them get into the College Football Playoff is if No. 11 BYU beats No. 5 Texas Tech this time.
Texas Tech appears to be a lock for the 12-team playoff no matter what happens Saturday. Win and the Red Raiders, who are of the CFP’s final weekly rankings that come out Tuesday, probably get a first-round bye and go directly to one of the four quarterfinal games.
鈥淏oth programs are not only worthy of competing in the Big 12 title (game), but they both deserve to be in the CFP based on their resumes and their bodies of work,鈥� Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark said Monday. 鈥淭exas Tech鈥檚 terrific season has them firm in the CFP. No doubt. … BYU鈥檚 body of work at 11-1 is being undervalued by the CFP committee.鈥�
on Nov. 8. But the Cougars were No. 11 in last week’s CFP rankings, and there is really no room for them to move up since the seven teams directly ahead of them also won to wrap up the regular season. And when the playoff bracket is put together Sunday, the 11th and 12th slots probably will be filled by two of three conference champions: ACC, American or Sun Belt.
鈥淟et鈥檚 not look at logos, let鈥檚 look at resumes. Any blind resume comparison has BYU in the top 10. No question about it,鈥� Yormark said. 鈥淚n comparison with (No. 9) Notre Dame, as an example, BYU has a better overall record, better strength of record, and better strength of schedule.鈥�
Red Raiders coach Joey McGuire feels the CFP committee has been 鈥渄iscounting鈥� both Big 12 championship contenders in its rankings.
鈥淲e both should be in the playoffs. No matter what happens on Saturday, I think we鈥檝e earned the right,鈥� McGuire said. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e as good as anybody in the country.鈥�
on Friday night opened the way for the Red Raiders to move into the CFP top four.
Texas Tech, one of the six teams that have been part of the Big 12 for all 30 seasons, is in the conference championship game for the first time. So is BYU, which joined the league in 2023 after 12 seasons as an independent.
The Big 12 got one team in the first 12-team playoff last season, when Arizona State was 12th in the final CFP rankings. But the Sun Devils got the No. 4 overall seed and a first-round bye as one of the top four highest ranked conference champions, then lost 39-31 to Texas in in the Peach Bowl quarterfinal game.
That seeding for Arizona State, along with Mountain West champion Boise State being No. 3, led to parameters for this season. While the top five highest ranked conference champions are still guaranteed playoff spots, the seedings will be more straightforward regardless of conference. But with those bottom spots likely filled by lower ranked conference champions, teams outside the top 10 are in a precarious position.
鈥淚鈥檓 not much of a campaign guy for us during the season, but after the season and looking at everything, I do believe that, what commissioner Yormark and what Joey McGuire said, that we are a playoff-contending team,鈥� BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. 鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to both teams representing the Big 12 in this playoff and doing it the right way. But I do know we have some work to do and some improvement to get to.鈥�
After losing in Lubbock, the over TCU, Cincinnati and UCF.
Texas Tech’s only loss was Oct. 18 without injured starting quarterback Behren Morton at Arizona State, which scored the winning touchdown with 34 seconds left right after the Red Raiders had scored two touchdowns in a span of 1 minute, 45 seconds. All of their wins have been by more than 20 points, and they have two shutouts in their current five-game winning streak 鈥� 42-0 over Oklahoma State, and last weekend to wrap up the regular season.
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