The Big 12 has not disappointed in the chaos department. Before the season, many projected this to be the tighest conference race in all of college football. Thanks to the results from Week 13, we have a total of nine teams that are still alive to play for this conference title. The Big 12 did a nice job condensing the tie-breakers down as much as possible. As for Last Words week 13 picks, we were all over the chaos. Moneylines went a season-best 7-1, against the spread was 5-3. Totals were spilt at 4-4 as well as the locks at 1-1. What games will teams be most thankful for when it is all said and done early Sunday morning when Houston and BYU finish? All lines are courtesy of FanDuel.
Season Totals
Against The Spread: 46-60
Totals: 55-50
Locks: 4-11
Big 12 Week 14 Winners
Oklahoma State (+16.5) At #25 Colorado
Black Friday gifts can be found early with a 10 am local kickoff in Boulder. The first game in the Big 12 week 14 winners could solve plenty of the tie-breakers before dinner time. Deion Sanders’ team is one of four teams with just two conference losses. They welcome the one team still winless in conference play. A Colorado victory all but knocks out any teams with three conference losses. With so much on the line, expect Colorado to handle their business against Oklahoma State. But, Mike Gundy’s squad has shown a little bit of fight in a lost season. In a game that should see plenty of points, the Cowboys sneak in the back door to keep the final score within two scores.
Utah (+9.5) At UCF
With apologies to both of these fan bases, this game is meaningless to anyone else in the conference. It is between two teams that cannot go bowling with a win as both of them are 4-7. When examining the spaghetti board of tiebreakers, the winner of this game has zero impact on any of them. So where does the edge lie? Well, on Monday news broke that Kyle Whittingham will make his coaching decision next year based on what is best for the program.
Whittingham also provided some comments about his defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley which sound like a man who might be coaching his last game on Saturday. The game is in Orlando, but other reports are saying the vibes around the program feel like this is the end. The players certainly will try to send Whittingham off on a good note if the reports are accurate. Black Friday closes the door with an upset according to the sportsbooks and potentially the close to a hall-of-fame career.
West Virginia At Texas Tech (-3.5)
When the Big 12 week 14 winners resume Saturday, both of these teams will already know if they will be eliminated from Big 12 contention. Assuming Colorado handles their business like Last Word expects, these teams will be playing only for pride. With that being the main motivation for these two teams, the Red Raiders will have more to play for than the Mountaineers. Head coach Joey McGuire has been public about how important it is to reach eight regular season wins. For those unaware, the last time Texas Tech hit that number was in 2009. Expect the Red Raiders, in a shootout, to give their home crowd a reason to party in a way they haven’t in 15 years.
Kansas At Baylor (+1.5)
This game is going to get lost in the rivalry week schedule, but this game is a must-see appointment television. No two teams in the Big 12 are hotter than the Jayhawks and the Bears. Kansas has been bulldozing over contender after contender for the last three weeks. Meanwhile, Baylor has completely turned their season around when it looked like it was destined for where Oklahoma State finds themselves. This game will personify a fun and entertaining football game for all football fans. In a game this closely matched between two motivated teams, we are going to ride with the Bears to win a shootout with a last-second field goal.
#16 Arizona State At Arizona (+8.5)
The Big 12 week 14 winners arrive at one of only two true rivalry games on Thanksgiving weekend in the conference. Kenny Dillingham’s team has been the Cinderella sweetheart this season in the Big 12 after being picked dead last in the preseason media poll. The Sun Devils are one of the favorites to make the Big 12 championship with how many tiebreakers favor them. But it is worth noting that this team has been just hanging on in the last three weeks. Specifically in the second half of their last three games, Arizona State has only scored a combined 24 points with a margin of victory of only 19.
Arizona gets to see this school’s greatest receiver one last time. The Tetairoa McMillan and Noah Fifita connection, which dates back to when the two were on the same high school team, will be teammates for the last time. The Wildcats aren’t going bowling, so expect Arizona to deploy the kitchen sink to ruin their rivals’ season. As unlikely as this run has been for Arizona State, it will meet an even more improbable ending with Arizona delivering a last-second touchdown to McMillan to seal the upset outright victory.
TCU (-3.5) At Cincinnati
Both teams have something to play for, even if it doesn’t appear so on paper. TCU will likely know its conference title fate by kickoff but still are striving to close out the season strong with an eighth win. Meanwhile, Cincinnati is trying to secure bowl eligibility after dropping their last four games. For as good as TCU’s offense is, their defense is just as leaky. Cincinnati, when facing a defense without much resistance, has been able to generate some offensive fireworks. With both teams still having more than just pride in this one, the scoreboard will be busy. But it will be the Horned Frogs that prevail on the road as the Bearcats will be left all offseason wondering how Scott Satterfield’s second season fell apart.
#24 Kansas State At #18 Iowa State (-2.5)
It is about time the college football nation is properly introduced to Farmegedon. This year’s edition has the biggest stakes in the history of the game. These teams have played 107 times with Iowa State holding a slim all-time record being 53-50-4. The Cyclones, which won their ninth game last week, are seeking the first ten-win season in program history. Meanwhile, Kansas State pulled itself out of a mini-losing streak with a throttling of Cinncanti last week. It will be a charged atmosphere for the biggest game in the history of Jack Trice Stadium. The Wildcats will not be intimidated by the environment. But with too many inconsistent performances throughout the second half of the season, it is hard to trust Kansas State to be operating cleanly for all four quarters. Matt Campbell’s team scores the biggest win in program history.
Houston (+13.5) At #19 BYU
Assuming the Big 12 week 14 winners pan out how we selected them, BYU will take the field late Saturday night knowing all they have to do is beat Houston and they will be in the conference championship game against Iowa State. The Cougar Bowl represents two teams that have greatly exceeded 2024 expectations. Willie Fritz squeezed the juice out of this roster all season, specifically getting some above-average by his defense. BYU’s second season in the Big 12 has been a massive jump for Kalani Sitake’s team, but they have been stumbling down the stretch. With a very likely “win-an-in” scenario for the home team, BYU will secure the final spot in the conference title game. But, Houston’s defense keeps it close throughout resulting in a low-scoring night at Provo.
