No. 11 BYU seeking spot in Big 12 title game and potential rematch against No. 6 Texas Tech

By Canadian Press on November 20, 2025.

Things to watch this week in the Big 12 Conference:

Game of the week

No. 11 BYU (9-1, 6-1 Big 12, No. 11 CFP) at Cincinnati (7-3, 5-2), Saturday, 8 p.m. ET (Fox)

BYU can get into the Big 12 championship game — a potential rematch with No. 6 Texas Tech (10-1, 7-1, No. 5 CFP) — by winning its last two regular-season games at Cincinnati and home against UCF. Freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier, league rushing leader LJ Martin and the Cougars could clinch a spot with a win Saturday as long as Arizona State loses at Colorado and then either No. 13 Utah beats Kansas State, or No. 25 Houston loses to TCU.

The Cougars last November had consecutive losses and were on the short end of a four-team tiebreaker. This time, they rebounded from a 29-7 loss at Tech with a 44-13 win over TCU. Cincinnati was 5-0 in Big 12 play before giving up 75 points (and 955 total yards) in losses to Utah and Arizona.

The undercard

Kansas State (5-5, 4-3) at No. 13 Utah (8-2, 5-2, No. 12 CFP), 4 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

Utah, whose only losses are to Texas Tech and BYU, has won three in a row. With dual-threat quarterback Devon Dampier banged up, the Utes are also utilizing true freshman Byrd Ficklin, who had TD runs of 67 and 74 yards last week at Baylor. K-State, which has won three of its last four games, needs a win to get bowl eligible.

Impact players

— Jeff Sims is the first Arizona State player since 1996 to have at least 175 yards passing and 75 yards rushing in back-to-back games. The Sun Devils (7-3, 5-2) have won both games with the senior transfer from Georgia Tech as their starting quarterback since a foot injury ended Sam Leavitt’s season.

— Noah Fifita became Arizona’s career leader with his 68th touchdown pass last week, and has thrown 123 consecutive passes without an interception. The fourth-year junior’s 24 TD passes this season are one off matching his career high.

Inside the numbers

TCU (6-4, 3-4) is facing ranked opponents in true road games in consecutive weeks for the first time since 1982. After their loss at BYU, the Frogs now go to No. 25 Houston (8-2, 5-2). …. Rocco Becht’s next rushing touchdown will break the Iowa State quarterback record of 19 by Brock Purdy. … Oklahoma State (1-9, 0-7) has lost 16 consecutive regular-season Big 12 games since the start of last season. The Cowboys had lost only 15 league games combined the five seasons before that. They play at UCF (4-6, 1-6).

Title contenders

The six teams still eligible for a berth in the Big 12 title game are Arizona State, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Texas Tech and Utah. BYU and Texas Tech are the only ones that could clinch a spot this weekend. While on an open date, the Red Raiders would get in the Dec. 6 game with a loss by Arizona State and a BYU win, or if Arizona State, BYU and Utah all lose.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Stephen Hawkins, The Associated Press

21
-20