Big 12 tiebreaker: Colorado’s route to the conference title game

Colorado has a slim but possible chance of playing in Dallas

Blessed with the opportunity to control their own destiny and play for the Big 12 title in Dallas, the Colorado Buffaloes squandered that chance, losing 37-21 against the Kansas Jayhawks last Saturday.

Now, Colorado will need some help from outside sources to make it to the Big 12 championship on December 7th. The path to a college football playoff spot is still there for the Buffaloes, however unlikely that route is. Here’s what needs to happen and dominos that need to fall for CU to play in Dallas:

First and foremost, Colorado needs to beat Oklahoma State next Friday. If the Pokes can somehow pull off the upset, the Buffs will be mathematically eliminated from playing for the Big 12 title.

After CU (hopefully) beats OSU on Friday, the most straightforward route would be that two of the following things occur:

• Arizona State loses to Arizona (ASU -9)
• Iowa State loses to Kansas State (ISU -2.5)
• BYU loses to Houston (BYU -13.5)

Colorado is locked in to play in Dallas if two of those three teams lose. ASU, BYU, and ISU are all heavy favorites to win next weekend, so the odds will be stacked against CU.

There is another, more complicated scenario that could play out to get Colorado to the title game as well. That would entail:

• BYU loses to Houston
• Texas Tech beats West Virginia

Because Colorado beat TTU and Arizona State and Iowa State lost to the Red Raiders, Colorado would have the tiebreaker and sneak in.

Here’s a more in-depth explainer of the tiebreaker scenarios from the conference itself.

Tl;dr: Root for Houston, K-State and Arizona next weekend. In a season where the Big 12 has been plagued by chaos at every moment, anything can happen. Don’t lose all hope yet Buffs fans!