The Big 12’s playoff case got a little louder on TNT Sports, and it came from two former players who see the conference in very different ways.
After West Virginia handled Coastal Carolina on Saturday, the studio crew shifted to the Big 12, where Takeo Spikes laid out a clear prediction for 2026: “This will be the year the Big 12 gets two teams in the College Football Playoff,” Spikes said.
He didn’t stop there. Spikes named Texas Tech and BYU as the two teams he believes can get it done.
His reasoning centered on BYU’s path. “The reason why, BYU lost two times last year to Texas Tech,” Spikes said. “They don’t even play Texas Tech this year.”
That matchup mattered plenty in 2025, when Texas Tech beat BYU twice - once in the regular season and again in the Big 12 Championship Game. With the teams not facing each other in the 2026 regular season, Spikes sees room for both to put together playoff-caliber resumes without having to knock each other down again.
The panel also pointed to BYU’s game against Notre Dame as a major test, not just for the Cougars but for how the Big 12 might be judged when the College Football Playoff selection committee starts stacking teams against each other later this fall.
Victor Cruz had a different Big 12 contender in mind.
“I like Utah,” Cruz said. “I like Devon Dampier. I like them returning 55% of their production from last year.”
When the conversation turned to Utah moving from longtime head coach Kyle Whittingham to Morgan Scalley, Cruz didn’t see that as a major obstacle.
“Is the coach playing in the games?” Cruz responded.
Cruz did raise some questions about Utah’s offense, including continuity and whether the Utes can keep their confidence steady over the course of the season. Even so, he stuck with his belief that Dampier can carry the group through those concerns and keep Utah in the mix.
The exchange stood out because the Big 12 has spent much of the College Football Playoff era trying to shake the idea that it doesn’t stack up with the Big Ten and SEC. Texas Tech and BYU already emerged as the league’s top programs last season, and Spikes believes that kind of top-end strength can finally lead to multiple CFP bids in the 12-team era.
If Cruz’s read on Utah proves right, the Big 12 could have yet another team entering the playoff conversation as the season develops.
In Other News...
BYU Defense Suddenly Faces A Bigger Question After Opening Win
BYUs season started the right way on the scoreboard, but the opener against Utah Tech left the Cougars with an immediate test on defense. Veteran safety Raider Damuni went down with a leg injury and had to be carried off the field, a sobering sight for a unit that was otherwise trying to establish its footing in the first game of 2026. Coach Kalani Sitake said the team is waiting on an MRI to get a clearer read on the injury, which means the full picture is still coming into focus.
The uncertainty lands at a tricky time because BYU was already managing its depth with linebacker Isaiah Glasker held out as a precaution so he could be rested for the next matchup against Arizona. For a defense looking to build momentum off a win, the immediate concern now is how quickly it can get healthy enough to keep its plans intact. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Is Suddenly Right In The Middle Of Big 12 Stakes
The Big 12 race already has the feel of a national conversation, and BYU is right in the middle of it before the season even settles in. On College GameDay, the preseason championship picks split across the board, with some members backing the Cougars and others favoring Texas Tech or West Virginia, a reflection of just how open the league looks at the top. With BYU and Texas Tech the only Big 12 teams starting the year ranked in the top 15, there is a real sense that the conferences playoff hopes could hinge on those two programs living up to the billing.
What makes the noise around BYU so interesting is that it is not coming from the usual conference insiders alone. Nick Saban and Kirk Herbstreit were among the notable voices weighing in on the contenders, adding even more national weight to the discussion about who can actually separate in a crowded league. For BYU, the stakes are bigger than one preseason nod or one early ranking, because the Cougars are suddenly part of the argument over whether the Big 12 can produce more than one legitimate playoff contender. [Read more 🡒]
College GameDay Just Gave BYU Fans A Big 12 Reason To Believe
ESPNs College GameDay season kickoff offered BYU fans a little extra juice before the Big 12 race even got rolling. The panel spent part of the conversation sizing up the conferences best path to the title, with teams like Texas Tech and West Virginia also getting attention in the discussion about prospects and matchups.
For BYU, the encouraging part was seeing the Cougars surface in a room full of national voices as a legitimate contender. Different analysts leaned in different directions on the champion pick, and the split alone says plenty about how open the Big 12 picture looks heading into the season. [Read more 🡒]