Big 12's Multi-Team Playoff Hopes Take A Hit After BYU And Texas Tech Lose

After BYU’s big win over Notre Dame, Texas Tech starting 6-0 and Utah thriving under first-year head coach Morgan Scalley, it looked like the Big 12 might finally get multiple teams into the College Football Playoff for the first time since its inception. But those efforts took a pretty big step back today.

The chaos started with No. 8 Texas Tech, who went on the road to Cincinnati as 10.5-point favorites and coming off an offseason of trash talking between the two teams. But the Red Raiders were humbled quickly by the Bearcats, giving up 21 points in the second quarter en route to a 37-24 blowout loss.

But while that may have been the most lopsided outcome of the day, No. 2 BYU would suffer the more stunning one. In one of the most chaotic games of the 2026 season and in recent memory, UCF would take down the Cougars for their first-ever win over a top-five team in school history. It was a hard-fought game that featured numerous strange officiating calls, stranger play calls and ultimately double overtime for the Knights to come out on top in Orlando.

Vacation’s Over. pic.twitter.com/rIo1jYz7N6

— UCF Knights 🌴 (@UCFKnights) October 24, 2026

Trouble Near the Finish Line

Even if No. 10 Utah wins against No. 14 Houston today and stays unbeaten, it’s not going to make the Big 12’s chances of sending multiple teams to the College Football Playoff any better.

Last year BYU went 11-1 in the regular season before losing to Texas Tech in the Big 12 title game, causing them to slip out of the College Football Playoff altogether. Utah lost two games but still wound up losing out to a 3-loss Alabama team. The Red Raiders wound up being the only Big 12 team to represent the conference, and were immediately bounced out by Oregon in the Orange Bowl.

The Big 12 in general has found the College Football Playoff an exceptionally tough nut to crack. During the 10 years of the four-team era they only sent six teams to the tournament and went a combined 1-6. TCU won their only College Football Playoff game in 2022, only to be immediately and historically beaten by Georgia in the national title game.

Since the move to the 12-team format, the Big 12 champion has secured a first round bye twice and lost both.

At 1-8, the conference’s win rate in the College Football Playoff is abysmal. And unfortunately, the Selection Committee could very well use that against the conference when making the final picks if there are any toss-ups between the Big 12 and teams from the other major conferences.

This story was originally published by The Spun on Oct 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.