The Big 12 standings have seven teams that have clinched bowl berths and four others that are one win away from clinching a berth.
In this new era of college football, the bowl games may matter less in 2027. But, winning matters — any win. And with three weeks left in the regular season, there are only so many more chances to claim a win that could mean something to them or to another team.
There are two ranked games this week — Utah at Arizona and Texas Tech at Oklahoma State. So, it’s on to Week 11 and it’s time to point out the three teams that have the most to prove.
Cincinnati
The Cincinnati Bearcats are out of the Big 12 championship game race. But Cincinnati can still reach a bowl game. While those games may not matter as much in the future with the expansion of the College Football Playoff to 24 teams, there are things that matter about these games to coaches.
For instance, bowl teams get 15 extra practices that non-bowl teams down. For those teams that make a bowl game, those practices become a jump-start to player development. Most coaches use the first 10 or 11 practices to give extra reps to young players that will (should?) be back the next season. The rest become full game prep.
For the Bearcats, those extra practices would give head coach Scott Satterfield a chance to continue to build for next season and work to keep the young talent he’s accumulated. Cincinnati is on the road. The Bearcats haven’t won a road game yet. So, the task is easy — prove you can win on the road this week and clinch that bowl berth.
Oklahoma State
The Oklahoma State Cowboys destroyed the Kansas State Wildcats on Saturday and while they didn’t end up in the AP Top 25 or the USA Today Top 25 on Sunday, the Cowboys did end up being ranked No. 25 in the College Football Playoff Top 25 on Tuesday.
So, Saturday’s game against Texas Tech is now a Top 25 game and that’s a huge opportunity for the Cowboys. They have one Top 25 win (vs. Oregon) and a second this late in the season would help boost OSU’s Big 12 Championship game hopes — which need help — and boost their Top 25 ranking in the CFP.
Oklahoma State needs to prove it can handle prosperity. The Cowboys aren’t sneaking up on teams now. Everyone knows who they are and what they do. They must prove it against a team that, frankly, is a mirror image in many ways.
Arizona
The “prove it” here is easy for Arizona — Saturday’s game against Utah is their season when it comes to the Big 12 Championship Game.
The Utes are the No. 2 team in the country after the new College Football Playoff rankings and are on a glide path to the Big 12 Championship game. A loss to Arizona doesn’t really hurt Utah — but it would be a massive help to Arizona. The Wildcats are part of a group of two-win teams that may need multiple tiebreakers to determine if they can get to the Big 12 Title game — assuming one-loss Texas Tech loses at some point.
For Arizona, a win keeps it alive. A loss ends it. The Wildcats need to prove they can rise to the moment. The good news for Arizona is that it’s undefeated at home.
