Although a long shot, the Utes still have a ways to go to Arlington.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah takes the field for Big-12 football action at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday.
The University of Utah kept its College Football Playoff hopes alive with a 51-47 win over Kansas State on Saturday night.
But with BYU’s win over Cincinnati, the Utes’ chances of making it to the Big 12 title game in Arlington, Texas became more slim.
Texas Tech and BYU are in complete control of their own destiny heading into the final weeks of the 2025 regular season. If both can win out next week, the Cougars and Red Raiders will officially punch their tickets to the Big 12 title game.
That being said, there’s still a long way to go for the Utes to reach Arlington.
Here’s what Utah needs to do to reach the Big 12 Championship Game:
• No. 12 Utah defeated Kansas on the road in Lawrence.
• No. 11 BYU beats UCF in Provo.
• No. 5 Texas Tech lost to West Virginia in Morgantown.
• No. 25 Arizona State won at home against Arizona.
In this scenario, per the Big 12’s tiebreaker rules, the Red Raiders would be eliminated from the Big 12 title race in a potential three-team tiebreaker because their record against common conference opponents has equal playing time.
The Utes won in a tiebreaker over the Sun Devils due to their 42–10 head-to-head win in October.
Utah will then be set for a rematch against in-state rival BYU on Saturday, December 6.
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