A rough Saturday for the Big 12 started with two ranked teams taking losses that could reshape the race near the top.
BYU and Texas Tech both went down, and those defeats helped make Utah’s 21-13 victory over Houston even bigger. Utah’s win kept the conference from having three Big 12 teams ranked in the national top 10 lose on the same day for the first time in league history. BYU dropped 39-31 in double overtime at Central Florida, while Texas Tech fell 37-24 at Cincinnati.
The impact goes beyond one weekend. Those losses likely leave BYU and Texas Tech needing to run the table to stay in the College Football Playoff conversation. Since they don’t meet in the regular season, the path back for both would likely run through the Big 12 Championship Game if they each win out.
The rankings took a hit, too. BYU slid from No. 2 to No. 8 in the Associated Press Top 25 and from No. 3 to No. 9 in the AFCA Coaches Poll. Texas Tech fell from No. 8 to No. 13 in the AP poll and from No. 5 to No. 14 in the coaches poll for Week 9.
Utah moved the other direction in a hurry. The Utes climbed from No. 10 to No. 6 in the AP Top 25 and picked up one first-place vote.
In the AFCA Coaches Poll, Utah jumped from No. 9 to No. 5.
Miami, UCLA and Utah are the only undefeated teams left nationally, and Utah remains the only Big 12 team without a conference loss.
That sets up a conference race that is still wide open. Utah is 4-0 in Big 12 play and 7-0 overall after beating Houston.
Arizona, BYU, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech are all 3-1 in the league after Week 8. Arizona rolled past Iowa State 39-3, and Oklahoma State beat Colorado 57-24 on Saturday.
The schedule now carries even more weight. No.
22 Arizona visits No. 13 Texas Tech on Saturday in one of the biggest Big 12 games of the season.
Utah will try to avoid the same result Texas Tech just suffered at Cincinnati, and BYU travels to Utah on Nov. 7 in what could end up being a defining game in the chase for the Big 12 Championship Game.
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