It's strange how bittersweet BYU's appearance in the Big 12 championship game feels for Cougar fans this season. Sure, as the program's first conference championship game since the turn of the century, the optics of potentially winning the league title in just their third season as a Power Four member make this the most exciting game of the year, and possibly the most exciting in team history (though 1984 might have a thing or two to say about that).
But the national sentiment surrounding the College Football Playoff has weaponized this meeting long before it's even kicked off, declaring that BYU, an 11-1 team whose only loss has come at the hands of this weekend's foe, 4th-ranked Texas Tech in Lubbock, will be denied entry to the 12-team bracket if they fail to take down the Red Raiders this time around.
"BYU controls their own fate," the media has played the song on repeat for weeks. "Win the Big 12 Championship, and you're in, so stop complaining."
Two teams deserving of a Playoff berth will enter this game, but if the Cougars can't take down what may be the toughest team in the nation in Tech, they'll be left off the bouncer's list and forced to stand behind the velvet rope outside the club.
It's true: win, and BYU is in as an automatic qualifier, but so many one-loss SEC and Big Ten teams will be in the 12-team tournament without even qualifying for their own conference championship games. Is that fair? Not by a mile, but it's reality.
This would be the highest attendance for ANY conference championship game in history - not just Big 12.
— Jody S. Laughter∴ (@Lubbockist) December 4, 2025
Big 10 record is 67,842 in 2023 and SEC is 83,091 in 1992. https://t.co/e6tXPqBK6u
So yes, the attendance record-shattering Big 12 Championship Game should be a celebration of one of football's strongest leagues and most passionate fan pools, but instead is a bitter-sweet battle for national relevance. Two giants tied to strings and forced to dance for the College Football Playoff selection committee's amusement.
Wow, bummer much?
As previously mentioned, BYU and Texas Tech have already faced off once before in a Tech-hosted beatdown of their dinner guests that was so dominant and so extreme that it's barred BYU from the top 10 ever since. 29-7 doesn't tell the full story; BYU's offense and special teams were so abhorrent that just 29 points from the home Raiders is actually remarkable.
With that said, don't expect this game to feel anything like the matchup in October.
Texas Tech, led by Heisman-candidate linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, utterly humiliated BYU's offense last time these teams faced off. BYU, a top 10 team in turnover margin, was -3 against the Red Raiders earlier this year. Bear Bachmeier, with that experience under his belt, should arrive in Arlington a touch more prepared this time around.
Last game saw more than 20 3-and-out possessions between the two sides. I expect more offensive fireworks, at least from BYU, now with a fully-healthy LJ Martin and linebacking corps.
Off-the-field chaos and emotions likewise feed into BYU's redemption round on Saturday. Kalani Sitake flirted off and on with Penn State before emphatically declaring that he's staying put in Provo earlier in the week. BYU enters this game with more to lose -- stakes heavier than the Big 12 title alone -- and an unquenchable fire behind their head coach's return.
BYU and Texas Tech. 11 vs 4. Two one-loss teams approaching as adversaries, but united under the Big 12 banner. The winner of this game makes a statement to the nation.