Here's how BYU can clinch a Big 12 championship game berth this weekend

PROVO — When No. 11 BYU travels to Cincinnati in the penultimate game of the 2025 season Saturday, a championship — or at least, a title shot — will be at stake.

Well, sort of.

BYU (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) is one of two teams in the conference (Texas Tech is the other) that can clinch a spot in the Big 12 football championship game Saturday, though both will need some help.

In the Cougars' case, both scenarios involve handing a third straight loss to the Bearcats (7-3, 5-2 Big 12). Beyond that, one of the following scenarios must also occur:

• Arizona State and Houston both lose to Colorado and TCU, respectively
• Arizona State loses to Colorado and Utah beats Kansas State.

A separate matter, of course, is the College Football Playoff selection committee, which will unveil another midseason ranking Tuesday night on ESPN. The committee dropped the Cougars five spots to No. 12 after Texas Tech handed BYU a thumping road loss, slotting the Big 12's second-place team behind a two-loss Notre Dame, Texas and Oklahoma.

As such, some have suggested that BYU may need "style points" to overtake larger brands and SEC programs. But for head coach Kalani Sitake, who has regularly eschewed the idea of running up the score, a 31-point win was enough.

"When I say I don't really pay attention to it, I know it exists, guys; I'm not dumb," Sitake said bluntly Monday after several questions from reporters about style points and margin of victory in a 44-13 win over TCU. "I know all the stuff that is out there. I know what people are saying in the metrics, analytics, style points and all that stuff. My focus isn't on that.

"I understand everything that is out there," he added. "I've got to be focused on everything we can control, and that is playing football."

To that end, the most important game is the next one — and not just because the Bearcats (7-3, 5-2 Big 12) are set to host FOX's "Big Noon Kickoff" pregame show for the first time since Sept. 23, 2023.

That's part of the culture Sitake has built in 10 years coaching his alma mater, starting center Bruce Mitchell noted.

"Nobody's too worried about style points," he said. "We just want to go win games, play BYU football along the way, and that's what we're going to continue to do."

At No. 11 in the most recent Associated Press poll, BYU will be the highest-ranked team to visit Nippert Stadium since No. 6 Houston in 2016. But Cincinnati is just a game back of the Cougars in the Big 12 standings despite a two-game losing skid, and the Bearcats will be honoring 22 seniors as part of their senior recognition.

National accolades and Big 12 honors — like the three BYU received Monday that included Bear Bachmeier's offensive player of the week, Will Ferrin's special teams player of the week, and the BYU defensive line as defensive line of the week — will come with wins.

So, too, will playoff respect.

"It's nice that we're in the mix and people are recognizing what we do," Sitake said. "But what does that matter if we don't go 1-0 this weekend? So my focus and what I'm trying to keep the team focused on is the stuff we can control."

And if BYU wins and the extra help doesn't come from Arizona State, Houston or Utah, the Cougars can always clinch a Big 12 championship game next week against UCF in front of a home crowd.

"I know one thing: If we go out and play our best, then I like our chances," Sitake said. "Until then, I'm not going to sit here and campaign and waste my energy on stuff that I can't control. I don't know all the other (team's) schedules, and I can't speak as an expert because I don't know what everybody's done and who everybody's played. All I know is that in my view … especially this week, then if we take care of business, things should work out in our favor.

"It's hard to talk about three weeks from now when we can't even control what we're doing right now. Let's just go play the game, be at our best, and then see what happens next week."

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