The penultimate week of the regular season football in the Big 12 was about as chaotic as anyone could’ve expected, and it’s set us up for one of the most memorable conference title races in recent memory.
Heading into Week 14, it’s actually possible for an eight-way tie for first place in the final standings — should that happen, I’ll be thankful that I’m not a member of the Big 12 tiebreaker committee.
There are four teams tied atop the Big 12 standings with a 6-2 record, and Week 13 had a lot to do with how things stand with one more week until the Big 12 Championship.
Here’s a look at the biggest winners and losers from one of the most impactful weekends of the entire season.
Winner: Arizona State Football
It got a little hairy there at the end, but Arizona State’s performance against BYU proved that they not only belong in the Big 12 title race — they should probably be the favorite to take home the trophy. Kenny Dillingham’s team has blown their preseason expectations out of the water after being picked to finish dead last in the league, and they are sitting in the catbird seat for a Big 12 Championship appearance. The Sun Devils jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first half on Saturday, and despite a monsterous effort from Keelan Marion and the Cougars, held on for a 28-23 victory.
The win not only put Arizona State in position to play for a Big 12 Championship — it also opened the door for a College Football Playoff berth. ASU moved up to No. 14 in the latest AP Poll and should be right around there in the College Football Playoff rankings after several upsets in the rankings ahead of them. It’s a great time to be a Sun Devil, and now they can focus on getting revenge against their in-state rivals.
Loser: Colorado’s CFP Hopes
It was so much fun to watch Colorado ascend the college football ladder over the last several weeks, but as high as they got, things came crashing down all the more on Saturday with their 37-21 loss to Kansas. The Jayhawks (more on them in a bit) gashed the Buffaloes’ much-improved defense for 522 yards and held the ball for an absurd 40 minutes and 11 seconds. Despite Herculean efforts from Sheduer Sanders (23/29, 266 yds, 3 TD) and Travis Hunter (8 rec, 125 yds, 2 TD), the Buffaloes couldn’t match Kansas on the field, and it likely cost them a chance at a Big 12 Championship and College Football Playoff berth.
The Buffs are still technically tied for first place in the Big 12 standings, but need some help to get to Arlington. CU will need a win over Oklahoma State and a BYU loss (vs. Houston) to get into the Big 12 Championship. Should there be a four-way tie for first place, the Buffs and Cougars will get left out after their losses in Week 13.
Winner: Kansas’ Bowl Hopes
Make no mistake about it: Kansas was all but dead in the water after a 1-5 start. Their 29-27 loss at Kansas State appeared to be the final straw for them, too, as 2-6 meant they would need four straight wins to get to a bowl game — three of which would have to come in consecutive weeks over ranked teams. Well, fast forward to Week 14, and the Jayhawks are one victory away from doing the improbable after their 37-21 shellacking of Colorado. Kansas’ offense has found another gear as of late, and they’ve been nearly impossible to slow down since about the midway point of the season. This past weekend, KU piled up 333 rushing yards, including 207 yards and three touchdowns from Devin Neal, and averaged 6.1 yards per carry against a Colorado team that had just held Utah to 31 yards rushing on 30 attempts the week prior.
After three straight wins over Iowa State, BYU, and Colorado, the Jayhawks have one more game on the schedule — Saturday’s tilt at Baylor (7-4, 5-3). If Kansas can take down the Bears — who’ve won five straight themselves — they’ll lock up a third consecutive bowl berth.
Loser: The SEC’s Grip on College Football
For years, the Southeastern Conference has been considered the premiere conference in college football, and with the additions of Oklahoma and Texas this offseason, there seemed to be only a stronger case for that opinion. As we approach the last weekend of the regular season, however, there’s not much of an argument for the SEC to be anything better than the second-best league in the sport. Texas (10-1) is the only team in the conference with less than two losses, and they’re the only SEC team in the top five, while the Big Ten has three of the top four. Coming into the weekend, they did at least have an argument for depth of national title contenders, as Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Ole Miss were all ranked in the top 10 with 8-2 records.
Then, as the world watched, that argument fell apart. No. 9 Ole Miss went into The Swamp and lost to Florida (6-5), 24-17, giving them their third loss of the year and locking them out of the College Football Playoff discussion. Not to be outdone, however, seventh-ranked Alabama traveled to Norman and got blasted by a 5-5 Oklahoma team, 24-3. Heading into Week 14, the SEC has just three top 10 teams, and the league that looked destined to get six teams into the playoff might have to lobby to get four. Right now, the Big Ten looks like it’s in the best position to win a national championship, which would make it the first time since 2013-14 that the SEC went two years without a title.
Winner: Iowa State
While they barely escaped Salt Lake City with a victory, Iowa State just might be the biggest winner of anyone in the Big 12 after Saturday’s carnage. With both one-loss teams ahead of them dropping a game, the Cyclones have the best odds of anyone (50.78%) of making the Big 12 Championship Game, based on the potential outcomes in Week 14.
With a win over Kansas State, the Cyclones can secure a spot in the Big 12 title game — something that no other team in the league can say. ISU is in one heck of a spot right now considering they lost back-to-back games just a couple of weeks ago. Now, will they take care of business agaisnt Kansas State in a rivalry game? That’s yet to be seen, but heading into the Week, there are 15 other teams in the Big 12 that would trade spots with them in a heartbeat.
