The Big 12 Championship Game featured Texas Tech and BYU on Saturday. Both teams were looking to win their first-ever Big 12 title. The Red Raiders entered the game with an 11-1 record, with their only loss coming at Arizona State. While BYU was also 11-1, with their loss coming at Texas Tech. It was a sell-out crowd on Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, and it was the Red Raiders winning the Big 12 Championship with a 34-7 win over the BYU Cougars.
Here are the top three takeaways from the game.
Turnovers Turn the Tide
When these two teams met last month, it was Texas Tech winning the turnover battle 3-0. Going into this game, BYU had to play the cleaner game to have a chance to win in Arlington. Unfortunately, after a great opening drive that saw the Cougars take it 90 yards down the field on 14 plays and score a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead, But after that, the offense sputtered against one of the top defenses in the country, including four turnovers, which all four coming in the second half.
BYU was only down 13-7 to start the second half, but those four second half turnovers led to 13 points. BYU’s defense actually held its own, but it was just too much from the Red Raiders, especially over the final 30 minutes.
BYU’s first turnover came in the third quarter with BYU trailing 13-7. Tech’s Ben Roberts picked off Bear Bachmeier and one play later, Cameron Dickey ran it in from 10 yards out to put Tech up 21-7 after the two-point conversion was successful. BYU’s offense started to press and never got anything going after that moment.
Tech’s Defense is College Football Playoff Ready
If you’re a college football fan who has yet to really watch Texas Tech, you will see a team that is led by its defense. Jacob Rodriguez was his usual dominant force at linebacker, finishing with a team-best 13 tackles, including one tackle for loss. As a team, the Red Raiders finished with eight tackles for loss and two sacks. Linebacker Ben Roberts added two interceptions of Bear Bachmeier. And the BYU offense couldn’t get anything going on the ground, finishing with just 63 yards on 30 carries. It was an absolutely dominant performance from the Red Raiders, who rank No. 1 in the country in rushing yards allowed per game at 68.9.
This is not to take away from the Red Raiders’ offense, which is efficient as well, but what makes this team a National Title contender is just how dominant the defensive side of the ball has been in Lubbock. And it was on full display on Saturday in Arlington, Texas.
BYU Can Get Back Here
Listen, Texas Tech is having one of those generationally special seasons. Not that they can’t duplicate it again in 2026, but there will be turnover within the Red Raiders program. For BYU, they were predicted to be a middle of the pack team in 2025, especially after they lost quarterback Jake Retzlaff, who withdrew from the University.
But enter true freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier, who exceeded all expectations and put on an amazing show this season. He will be back in 2026, along with some of his top weapons like L.J. Martin and Parker Kingston. Granted, the transfer portal can also open up plenty of opportunities for BYU, who I expect to be a major player, especially after Kalani Sitake turned down Penn State, and is believed to have received more money to work with in NIL spending, which is needed to compete with the big boys in the College Football Playoff.
