Big 12 tiebreakers: Championship Game clinching scenarios in Week 14

The final weekend of the 2025 college football season is upon us and by the end of the slate, we will know will be heading to Arlington for next Saturday’s Big 12 Championship Game.

Texas Tech and BYU have stood above the pack for most the regular season and are seemingly on a collision course for a rematch of their encounter from a few weeks ago in the league title game. However, Utah and Arizona State are still in the race as well and a little bit of chaos could see them crash the party in Arlington.

Below, we’ll go over some Big 12 clinching scenarios for this weekend as these four programs try to earn a spot in the league title game.

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Week 14 Matchup: @ West Virginia, Saturday, 12 p.m. ET

Clinching Scenarios:

-Win
–Or Arizona State loss

Texas Tech spent big in the transfer portal this past offseason and have seen an immediate return on that investment. The Red Raiders have been the class of the Big 12 all season long and are on the verge of sealing their first 11-win campaign since 2008. Their lone blemish came on the road at Arizona State in mid-October, but they’ve recovered nicely with four straight blowout victories and were slotted at No. 5 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.

Tech’s path to the Big 12 title game is simply win-and-in this weekend, but an Arizona State loss would also do the job. West Virginia has been frisky over the past month and has shown signs of improvement towards the end of Rich Rodriguez’s first year back in Morgantown, so this road matchup won’t necessarily be a walk in the park for the Red Raiders.

BYU Cougars

Week 14 Matchup: vs. UCF, Saturday, 1 p.m. ET

Clinching Scenarios:

-Win
–Or Arizona State loss
–Or Texas Tech loss +Arizona State win

Like Texas Tech, BYU is in a win-and-in situation for this weekend, but could be helped out with a few other scenarios just in case. The Cougars have also barreled right through their Big 12 slate this season with a 29-7 loss to the Red Raiders a few weeks ago being their only setback.

They’ll be facing a UCF team that has struggled to compete against the upper tier teams in the league this season and with this being an 11 a.m. kick local time, the potential body clock effect could play into BYU’s advantage.

Utah Utes

Week 14 Matchup: @ Kansas, Friday, 12 p.m. ET

Clinching Scenarios:

-Win + Arizona State win + BYU win + Texas Tech loss

Utah fell to both Texas Tech and BYU earlier in the season, but has pulled itself back into the conference title picture with four straight victories down the stretch. The Utes need to handle business on the road in Lawrence on Friday and need a Tech loss, an ASU win, and much to their chagrin, they need to root for hated rival BYU as well.

Arizona State

Week 14 Matchup: vs. Arizona, Friday, 9 p.m. ET

Clinching Scenarios:

-Win + Utah loss + Texas Tech loss
-Or Win + Texas Tech win + BYU loss
–Or Win + Utah win + Texas Tech loss + BYU loss

Arizona State is the reigning Big 12 champion and it still has an outside shot at returning to Arlington next weekend to defend its title. As mentioned before, the Sun Devils are the only team to have knocked off Texas Tech this season and have kept itself in the conference title race even with Jeff Sims starting at quarterback in place of an injured Sam Leavitt.

ASU’s top priority is beating Arizona in the Territorial Cup rivalry on Friday, a series the Sun Devils have dominated in recent years with six victories in their last eight outings. They’ll know the result of Utah-Kansas game by then any number of scenarios on Saturday could either have them packing their bags for Jerry World next week or leave them out in the cold.