Just two weeks of the regular season remain in 2024, and we have some massive games on the slate in Week 13.
The margin of error is thinner than ever, as the BYU-Arizona State game is serving as a de facto elimination game for the Big 12 Championship — and, subsequently, the College Football Playoff.
Meanwhile, Colorado is taking its talents to Lawrence, er, Kansas City to take on a red-hot Kansas Jayhawks team with back-to-back wins over ranked opponents.
Here are the top storylines from around the league that you’ll want to follow along with during the action.
Big 12 Game of the Year: BYU at Arizona State
In the preseason, there were plenty of games being tabbed as the Big 12 game to watch in 2024. Utah at Oklahoma State, Arizona at Kansas State, and Oklahoma State at Kansas State were some of the favorite choices among pundits. As it turns out, the biggest game of the season is in Week 13 when No. 14 BYU (9-1) heads to Tempe to take on 21st-ranked Arizona State (8-2).
This is the season’s only matchup involving two of the top four teams in the current Big 12 standings, and it’s going to have quite an impact on the Big 12 race, too. The winner of this game will be in the driver’s seat to make the Big 12 Championship Game. A loss for Arizona State virtually locks them out, while a loss for BYU would make it nearly impossible for the Cougars to find their way in — that is, unless Colorado slips up on the road.
Related: Does Arizona State Controls Its Own Destiny in Big 12 Championship Race?
Everything on the Line in Arrowhead
One of the biggest storylines in college football is what Deion Sanders has been able to do with Colorado since taking the program over two seasons ago. It’s been quite a ride for the Buffs, who were 1-11 the season before Sanders took over and 4-8 in his first year with the program. Now, in Year 2 under his leadership, Colorado is tied for first place in the Big 12 standings and is just two wins away from playing for a Big 12 Championship. A win there would put the Buffaloes into the College Football Playoff — quite the story, right?
Before they can set their sights on that, however, the Buffaloes must get through the Kansas Jayhawks (4-6). On paper, that looks like an easy task, but a deeper look at this team reveals the inherent danger that CU faces when walking into the Sunflower State this weekend. Kansas has beaten Iowa State and BYU in back-to-back weeks and looks like the team that many expected them to be in the preseason. Can they keep their hopes of a bowl berth alive, or will Colorado get one step closer to Arlington?
Important Tiebreakers in Play
The current Big 12 standings look somewhat clear at surface level. With two teams sitting at 6-1, two sitting at 5-2, and another five teams at 4-3, there’s a pretty clear hierarchy heading into Week 13. This league has shown just how chaotic things can get in just one afternoon, however, and should that happen this Saturday, we could be setting up for the wildest finish in Big 12 history.
There are several games to keep track of this week, including a few outside of the aforementioned matchups of BYU-Arizona State and Colorado-Kansas. Iowa State is still within reach of a Big 12 Championship appearance, but to keep their hopes alive, they’ll need to take care of business at Utah this weekend. Kansas State, Baylor, West Virginia, TCU, and Texas Tech are all 4-3 and mathematically in the hunt, but must win out and have both Colorado and BYU lose this weekend.
Even the teams that are out of the race will be important to keep track of, as one of the deciding tiebreaker scenarios comes down to the strength of conference schedule. Wins or losses from every team could play a factor in who advances to Arlington and who doesn’t, should we see a tie. There’s a lot of reason to be invested this weekend if you’re a Big 12 fan, and that includes the games outside of Tempe and Kansas City.
Battling for Bowl Eligibility
Seven Big 12 teams have undetermined bowl eligibility and two weeks left in the regular season. West Virginia and Cincinnati are both 5-5 and need just one win over the next two weeks to make a bowl game. The Mountaineers will host UCF, while the Bearcats are on the road at Kansas State.
Meanwhile, there are five Big 12 teams with 4-6 records that must win out to make it to the postseason:
Those teams are Arizona, Houston, Kansas, UCF, and Utah, and here are each of their opponents this weekend:
Arizona: at TCU
Houston: vs. Baylor
Kansas: vs. Colorado
UCF: at West Virginia
Utah: vs. Iowa State
A loss for any of these teams locks them out of bowl contention, so there’s going to be some urgency for each of them. Unfortunately, there’s going to be at least a couple of losses amongst the group, and they guarantee themselves a 5-7 finish, at best.
