BYU made the Big 12’s conference championship scenarios pretty straightforward on Saturday night.
A loss by the No. 11 Cougars at Cincinnati could have led to a four-way tie for second in the conference behind Texas Tech. Instead, just three teams remain alive for the conference title heading into the last weekend of the season as BYU won 26-14.
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It was an ugly night for Cincinnati. Bearcats kicker Stephen Rusnak entered the game 23-of-24 on field goal attempts since the start of 2023. He missed three kicks against BYU.
The loss eliminated Cincinnati from Big 12 contention too. After a promising start to the season, the Bearcats have lost two straight and now have three conference losses.
Here’s how the five biggest conference races stand heading into the final weekend of the 2025 regular season. With so many large conferences, nothing is set in stone.
ACC
Most likely matchup: Virginia vs. SMU
The Cavaliers and Mustangs are both in the ACC title game with wins thanks to Georgia Tech’s loss to Pitt on Saturday night. Virginia has Virginia Tech in Week 14 and SMU plays Cal. Even if Pitt beats Miami to force a three-way tie, the Cavaliers and Mustangs are the title game participants.
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Georgia Tech was in the ACC title game with a win over Pitt. Instead, the Yellow Jackets are probably on the wrong side of tiebreakers with the loss. Miami is the top-ranked ACC team in the CFP rankings but needs a lot to go right in Week 14. A lot.
American
Most likely matchup: Tulane vs. North Texas
Navy is probably in trouble if the Midshipmen beat Memphis, the Green Wave beat Charlotte and the Mean Green beat Temple. Tulane is the only American team currently in the CFP rankings and would secure a spot in the title game by virtue of being the highest-ranked team from the conference. That would leave a two-team tie between North Texas and Navy, and the Mean Green beat the Midshipmen earlier this year.
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A loss by one of the three makes the title game matchup straightforward. A loss by two of the three could create a four-team tiebreaker that would take a lot to decipher if Tulane won and both Navy and North Texas lost. What we do know for certain is that ECU lost any real chance it had at the conference title with a loss at UTSA on Saturday.
Big 12
Most likely matchup: Texas Tech vs. BYU
The Red Raiders go to West Virginia and BYU hosts UCF. Both will be heavy favorites. Both are in the title game with a win.
Utah came back to beat Kansas State on Saturday but is on the wrong side of a head-to-head tiebreaker with BYU. Texas Tech misses out on the title game if the Red Raiders lose to the Mountaineers, BYU wins and Arizona State beats Arizona since the Sun Devlls beat the Red Raiders.
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Big Ten
Most likely matchup: Ohio State vs. Indiana
Ohio State is in with a win over Michigan. Indiana is in with a win over Purdue. The Hoosiers are the likelier of the two teams to make the title game given how significant of a favorite they’ll be over the Boilermakers on Friday night.
Oregon needs a Michigan win to make the title game if the Ducks beat Washington. They lose the head-to-head tiebreaker with Indiana. If Oregon doesn’t win and Michigan wins, the Wolverines are in the title game.
If Indiana somehow loses to Purdue, the Hoosiers could miss out on the title game if Michigan beats Ohio State. An Indiana win coupled with an Ohio State loss eliminates the Buckeyes from the title game.
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SEC
Most likely matchup: Texas A&M vs. Alabama
If the Aggies beat Texas, they’re in the SEC title game. If Alabama beats Auburn, it’s in the SEC title game.
The first sentence is self-explanatory. A&M would finish 8-0 in conference play. Alabama would win a three-way tie with Georgia and Ole Miss thanks to their conference opponents’ winning percentage. If Alabama lost and Ole Miss beat Mississippi State, Georgia goes to the SEC title game thanks to its win over the Rebels.
If Texas A&M loses to Texas, the Aggies need Auburn to beat Alabama and Mississippi State to beat Ole Miss. If those things don’t happen with an Aggies loss, Georgia heads to the SEC title game in A&M’s place.
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Winners
TCU: The Horned Frogs ended any chance No. 23 Houston had at the Big 12 title with a 17-14 road win. TCU QB Jake Hoover threw three interceptions, but the Horned Frogs survived after Ethan Sanchez missed a game-tying 38-yard field goal with 46 seconds to go.
The Horned Frogs had 426 total yards but turned the ball over four times. However, Houston was just 4-of-17 on third downs and Conner Weigman threw for 161 yards on 29 pass attempts. TCU hosts Cincinnati in Week 14 with the chance to move to 8-4 on the season.
James Madison: The Dukes kept their long-shot playoff hopes alive with a 24-20 win over Washington State. James Madison could finish 12-1 with a Sun Belt title but may not end up ahead of the American champion in the CFP standings. JMU needs some serious chaos in the American to have a chance at the playoff, but the Dukes are at least doing their part. RB Wayne Knight scored the go-ahead TD on a 58-yard run in the fourth quarter as the Dukes outscored the Cougars 14-3 in the second half.
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Northwestern: The Wildcats are heading to a bowl game after Jack Olsen hit a field goal with less than a minute to go for a 38-35 win over Minnesota. The Golden Gophers had a chance to send the game to overtime, but Brady Denaburg’s kick sailed wide as time expired. QB Preston Stone was 25-of-30 for 305 yards and two touchdowns and Caleb Komolafe rushed 22 times for 129 yards and a score.
Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia: The long shot Heisman campaign for Pavia ratcheted up on Saturday as he threw for a school-record 484 yards in the No. 14 Commodores’ 45-17 win over Kentucky. Pavia begged coach Clark Lea to stay in the game in the second half, though his final pass of the game was an interception. Overall, Pavia finished 33-of-39 passing and threw five touchdowns while also leading the Commodores in rushing with 15 carries for 48 yards and a score.
Losers
Syracuse: It’s always tough when you suffer the worst loss in over 100 years. Before Saturday, Syracuse’s worst loss had been a 66-0 loss to Union in 1893. That mark still stands, but not by much. Syracuse fell 70-7 at Notre Dame on Saturday after the Irish scored their first three touchdowns on two pick-6s and a blocked punt.
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Notre Dame ran fewer than 40 plays and still scored seven offensive touchdowns as Syracuse was hapless in nearly every facet. It’s been a long season in upstate New York and it’s no secret that Syracuse has really struggled since starting QB Steve Angeli suffered an Achilles injury in a win over Clemson. But what happened on Saturday in South Bend was flat out ugly.
Kansas State: The Wildcats took a 12-point lead with seven minutes to go on a 24-yard run by RB Joe Jackson. But as KSU went for two and a 14-point lead, Tao Johnson intercepted QB Avery Johnson and returned the ball for a 2-point conversion for the Utes.
That changed the game. Utah scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes for a 51-47 win over Kansas State. Larry Simmons caught a 20-yard TD from Devon Dampier with 2:47 to go and then Dampier scored on a one-yard run with 56 seconds to go for the go-ahead score before Johnson threw an interception to end the game. The Wildcats wasted an all-time performance from Jackson as he set the school rushing record with 24 carries for 293 yards and three touchdowns. Now, KSU needs to beat Colorado in Week 14 to make a bowl game.
Baylor: The Bears got blown out a day after the school said that coach Dave Aranda would be retained for the 2026 season. Baylor dropped to 3-5 in the Big 12 and 5-6 overall with a 41-17 loss at Arizona. It’s the fourth loss in five games for Baylor and got ugly in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats scored 20 unanswered points. Arizona RB Kedrick Reescano scored three touchdowns on 13 carries and Baylor turned the ball over three times. Now the Bears need to beat Houston in Week 14 to make a bowl game.
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Kansas: It was a rough day for Big 12 teams trying to get bowl eligible. The Jayhawks are also in the 5-6 club after a 38-14 loss at Iowa State on Saturday. The Cyclones jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead that KU quickly cut to three after halftime. From there, ISU scored 21 straight to end the game as Rocco Becht was 18-of-23 for 241 yards and three TDs and RB Carson Hansen rushed 22 times for 120 yards and a score. Like Baylor, Kansas has lost four of its last five games and hosts Utah on Black Friday needing a victory to reach the postseason.
