Welcome to Tuesday Takes, where I share three observations from around the Big 12. It was another eventful week across the conference, but these are the three storylines that have my attention going into Week 8.
BYU Will Make the CFP
Last week, I told you that BYU was going to beat Notre Dame, and I was right. Well, this week, I am going to tell you that BYU is going to make the College Football Playoff.
After the Cougars won on Saturday, they shot all the way up to No. 2 in the latest AP Poll.
When I look at their remaining schedule, it’s fairly light outside of one game: the Holy War. Their showdown against Utah on November 7 is the only game that worries me. The rest of their schedule includes UCF, Arizona State, Baylor, Kansas and Cincinnati.
Call me crazy, but there is a good chance they go 12-0 or, at the very least, 11-1. Even if they end up sitting at home during conference championship weekend, there is no way in hell the committee leaves out a one-loss Big 12 team with a win over Notre Dame.
BYU is going to the College Football Playoff.
Dave Aranda Is in Trouble
It seems like every single year this topic comes up, and every year it doesn’t end up happening. Dave Aranda has been on the hot seat at Baylor for years, and he always seems to do just enough to save his job.
After a 4-1 start, Baylor entered a stretch of its schedule that looked like a cakewalk compared to what other Big 12 teams were facing. In October, the Bears had Arizona State, TCU, Kansas and UCF. With the way we had seen Baylor play this year, those all looked like very winnable games on paper.
But that’s the problem: Games aren’t played on paper. They’re played on the field.
And this past Saturday, things were definitely ugly on the field against TCU, as Baylor lost 17-6. After watching that performance, I’m not so sure the rest of October is going to be easy for the Bears.
What makes things even scarier is Baylor’s brutal November schedule. The Bears end the regular season against BYU, Texas Tech and Houston.
If Baylor struggles through the rest of October, then I don’t see how Dave Aranda makes it through those final three weeks of the season without his seat becoming scorching hot.
Don’t Sleep on Texas Tech
Even though Texas Tech is a Top 10 team in the country, it feels like the Red Raiders aren’t getting a whole lot of attention — not just nationally, but even within the Big 12, which is crazy.
While BYU and Utah steal many of the headlines, the Red Raiders are quietly 6-0 after their blowout win over Arizona State.
What caught my attention was the way they played that game from the start. All season long, the Red Raiders had gotten off to slow starts in the first half before waking up in the second half and separating themselves.
Well, that didn’t happen against the Sun Devils.
Texas Tech came out firing and played its most complete game of the season. That was the Red Raiders team I had been waiting to see all year long, and we finally got it.
Sure, they may not be as good as they were a year ago, but when they play up to their capabilities, they are just as good as anyone in this conference, including the two teams from Utah.
Don’t sleep on the Red Raiders.
