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It’s been 15 years since BYU last found itself in a conference race this late in the season, but the Cougars are in contention in the Big 12 even after two straight losses.
Going into the final weekend of the regular season, nine teams were in contention to earn a spot in the Big 12 championship, according to the league.
The Deseret News will be updating tiebreaking scenarios throughout the day Saturday as results come in to show who has been eliminated, who’s still in contention and who has clinched a spot in the Big 12 championship on Dec. 7 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
BYU, by virtue of Iowa State’s 29-21 win over Kansas State, is eliminated from the Big 12 championship race.
If BYU beats Houston, Iowa will play Arizona State in the Big 12 championship game.
If BYU loses to Houston, Colorado will play Arizona State in the Big 12 championship game.
Arizona State, by virtue of its victory over Arizona on Saturday and TCU beating Cincinnati, became the first team to clinch its spot in the Big 12 championship.
The Sun Devils, who are the highest ranked Big 12 team in the College Football Playoff rankings at No. 16, finished the year with a 7-2 Big 12 record, and 10-2 overall.
Team — Conf. record — Week 14 opponent/result
Scenario 1: Arizona State, BYU, Colorado and Iowa State all win and finish 7-2 in Big 12 play.
Arizona State vs. Iowa State in the Big 12 championship.
Scenario 2: Arizona State, Colorado and Iowa State win (7-2 in Big 12 play), BYU loses (6-3).
Arizona State vs. Colorado in the Big 12 championship.
Before Iowa State won to eliminate BYU from the race, there was only one scenario now wherein BYU could participate in the Big 12 championship:
In this scenario, there would be a three-way tie atop the Big 12 standings among BYU, Arizona State and Colorado.
How would BYU earn a spot, according to the Big 12 tiebreaker policies?
First, we have to determine one seed from a three-way tie between BYU, Arizona State and Colorado.
“Tiebreaker A — The tied teams will be compared based on their head-to-head record during the season.
With one seed set, now we look at a two-team tiebreaker between BYU and Colorado.
“Tiebreaker A — The tied teams will be compared based on their head-to-head record during the season.”
“Tiebreaker B — The tied teams will be compared based on win percentage against all common conference opponents.”
Team — Conf. record — Week 14 opponent/result
Note: Kansas, Cincinnati, Houston, Arizona, Utah, UCF and Oklahoma State were eliminated prior to this weekend.
How BYU was eliminated: The Cougars were eliminated when Iowa State won.
How Baylor was eliminated: The Bears were eliminated when Arizona State won, ensuring two teams would have a better Big 12 record than Baylor.
How Kansas State was eliminated: The Wildcats were eliminated after Baylor beat Kansas and Texas Tech beat West Virginia on Saturday morning.
How TCU, Texas Tech and West Virginia were eliminated: Colorado’s 52-0 win over Oklahoma State on Friday eliminated all three teams from Big 12 championship contention.