The Big 12’s college football regular season is roughly halfway through with each team having played four conference matchups. With five conference games left on each team’s remaining slate, there is still plenty to be determined with the Iowa State Cyclones and BYU Cougars leading the way. Iowa State is the highest-ranked team in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll checking in at No. 10 overall, BYU is on their heels at No. 12.
Beyond the top two teams in the conference, it is crowded at the top with six teams separated by just a game. One of those teams is the Colorado Buffaloes, who just keep winning football games in an impressive turnaround from Year 1 of the Deion Sanders era. The start of the season was a bit rough but Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter have this team humming along. This week the Buffs take on Cincinnati at home.
Before we dive into Week 9 action, Erick Smith of USA TODAY Sports released his weekly bowl projections. There are two teams from the conference projected to make the College Football Playoffs and one of them is not BYU.
College Football Playoff Projections
Despite a close call the last time out against the UCF Knights, who have been hot and cold, the Iowa State Cyclones are very much in the thick of the CFP chase. They land at No. 11 overall in Smith’s projections and would face the Oregon Ducks in Eugene in the opening round. That is a tough matchup but perhaps they beat the Ducks in a bowl game again, just as they did in the 2020-21 Playstation Fiesta Bowl?
As for the second team in the projections who hails from the Big 12 we have the Kansas State Wildcats. It might surprise some to see BYU get overlooked but the Wildcats are a proven commodity. They get the nod and based on the projection are viewed as the favorite to win the conference. The only argument and a valid one is BYU’s 38-9 win over Kansas State in Provo, Utah, on Sept. 21.
- Iowa State vs Oregon (Campus site CFP first-round matchup)
- Kansas State vs Texas (Fiesta Bowl, CFP quarterfinal matchup)
Big 12 Bowl Projections
Of the 16 teams in the conference, 11 are going bowling according to the latest projections.
- Oklahoma State vs Maryland (Guaranteed Rate Bowl)
- Cincinnati vs Vanderbilt (Liberty Bowl)
- Utah vs Missouri (Las Vegas Bowl)
- Colorado vs Duke (Holiday Bowl)
- Texas Tech vs Pittsburgh (Pop-Tarts Bowl)
- BYU vs Washington State (Alamo Bowl)
- Arizona State vs Tulane (Independence Bowl)
- TCU vs South Carolina (Texas Bowl)
- West Virginia vs Marshall (First Responders Bowl)
Who gets left out of the postseason
The teams that are left out of the postseason projection all share an identical 1-3 conference record. The only team with one conference win that is projected to make the postseason is the Utah Utes, who are currently 4-3 overall. The Oklahoma State Cowboys are the only team in the Big 12 with a conference win at 0-4, were included in the postseason bowl projections. That’s a bold move Cotton, let’s see if it works out for them.
- Houston (2-5, 1-3)
- Baylor (3-4, 1-3)
- Kansas (2-5, 1-3)
- UCF (3-4, 1-3)
- Arizona (3-4, 1-3)
Big 12 standings after Week 8
Updated Standings as of Oct. 23:
| Team | Conference Record | Overall Record |
|---|---|---|
| BYU Cougars | 4-0 | 7-0 |
| Iowa State Cyclones | 4-0 | 7-0 |
| Kansas State Wildcats | 3-1 | 6-1 |
| Texas Tech Red Raiders | 3-1 | 5-2 |
| Cincinnati Bearcats | 3-1 | 5-2 |
| Colorado Buffaloes | 3-1 | 5-2 |
| Arizona State Sun Devils | 2-2 | 5-2 |
| TCU Horned Frogs | 2-2 | 4-3 |
| West Virginia Mountaineers | 2-2 | 3-4 |
| Arizona Wildcats | 1-3 | 3-4 |
| UCF Knights | 1-3 | 3-4 |
| Kansas Jayhawks | 1-3 | 2-5 |
| Utah Utes | 1-3 | 4-3 |
| Baylor Bears | 1-3 | 3-4 |
| Houston Cougars | 1-3 | 2-5 |
| Oklahoma State Cowboys | 0-4 | 3-4 |