In the first College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday, undefeated BYU slotted in one spot ahead of one-loss Texas Tech. On Saturday, the Red Raiders left no doubt about who should be the favorite to win the Big 12 moving forward.

With “College GameDay” on campus and Patrick Mahomes in attendance, No. 8 Texas Tech put on a show, shutting out No. 7 BYU for the first three quarters of a 29-7 win. The Red Raiders’ dominant defense shut down the Cougars’ top-15 rushing offense, and Texas Tech (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) capitalized on three BYU (8-1, 5-1) turnovers.

Texas Tech’s offense stagnated, but kicker Stone Harrington accounted for more than half of the team’s points by making five field goals.

With the win, three Big 12 teams — Texas Tech, BYU and Cincinnati — all have one conference loss. The top two teams will meet in the Big 12 championship on Dec. 6 with an automatic berth to the College Football Playoff on the line. Our immediate takeaways:

Could Texas Tech be the Big 12’s new juggernaut?

When Texas and Oklahoma exited the Big 12 for the SEC in 2024, the league’s remaining members all looked like they were on equal footing.

So much for that. Texas Tech’s oil money-fueled renaissance has produced a $25 million roster that looks worthy of making the Playoff.

The only question is whether the Red Raiders will be headed there consistently.

The new Big 12 won’t have a king? Texas Tech will have something to say about that over the next few years. The Red Raiders’ $7 million defensive line dominated up front against BYU, and coach Joey McGuire has done an outstanding job of managing his upgraded roster. They’ve maximized their ability and look nothing like the disjointed band of well-paid mercenaries coaches across the Big 12 were quietly hoping they might encounter in Lubbock.

When teams come to Jones AT&T Stadium, all they’re finding is a rude beatdown and a quiet flight home.

The Red Raiders are one of the nation’s best teams. And clearly the class of the Big 12.

Barring an influx of money in a place like Fort Worth, Waco, Stillwater or Salt Lake City, this could be the new normal in the Big 12.

Fans at Texas Tech on Saturday leaned into the program’s status as a big spender. (John E. Moore III / Getty Images)

At full strength, the Red Raiders look like a contender

Texas Tech’s defense was dominant Saturday, but the offense was disjointed. The red zone offense was a disaster. And the Red Raiders still played a mostly uncompetitive game against an undefeated opponent in the top 10.

Saturday’s win gave the Red Raiders an average margin of victory of 30.6 points in their nine wins this season.

Texas Tech’s only loss this season came on the road without starting quarterback Behren Morton against Arizona State. Nursing multiple injuries, Morton finished 17-of-32 for 219 yards and a touchdown Saturday against BYU’s stingy defense.

But even when he missed time against fellow Big 12 contender Utah earlier this season, the Red Raiders rocked Utah, 34-10.

The defensive front is still playing without transfer Skyler Gill-Howard, but week-to-week dominance has been the story of the season in Lubbock. When the Red Raiders are healthy, no one else in the league can keep up.

Life on the edge catches up to BYU

The Cougars spent the first three months of the season testing fate, falling behind to several inferior teams on the road only to rally every time they were pushed. But Lubbock ain’t Boulder or Tucson or even Ames. A double-digit road deficit against the most overwhelming defense in the Big 12 with a true freshman quarterback? That’s fate finally smiling back.

The Cougars were uncharacteristically sloppy throughout the day at Texas Tech. Special teams face-planted in the biggest game the program’s seen in decades. A shanked punt, a muffed punt return attempt and a missed field goal in the first half essentially told the story of what kind of day it was going to be for BYU.

Offensively, quarterback Bear Bachmeier was overwhelmed with the instant pressure the Texas Tech defensive line provided. The true freshman finished 23 for 38 with 188 total yards, a touchdown and an interception. BYU’s defense kept the Cougars from being thoroughly embarrassed with several stops in the red zone.

BYU’s Playoff odds waning

According to our own Austin Mock, the Cougars’ chance at a CFP appearance plummeted to 13 percent with the loss. And the road ahead doesn’t get much easier.

Next week, BYU hosts TCU, which boasts a top-10 passing offense. It’s a game that has all the makings of a potential upset with a potential hangover effect from such a disheartening loss in Lubbock.

A win over TCU sets up potentially the second “game of the year” in the Big 12, BYU at Cincinnati on Nov. 22. Assuming the Bearcats take care of business against Arizona next weekend, both BYU and Cincinnati would go into that matchup of the penultimate week of the regular season 6-1 in conference play. That would make it a de facto play-in game for the Big 12 title game. The CFP committee showed it respected the Big 12 quite a bit in its introductory rankings this week, with three teams in the top 13 in BYU (7), Texas Tech (8) and Utah (13).

The Red Raiders, who will certainly rise in next week’s rankings iteration, now hold tiebreakers over both BYU and Utah and seem a near-lock for a Big 12 Championship Game berth.

Nov 8, 2025

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