Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- BYU's playoff hopes dim after a 34-7 loss to Texas Tech.
- Despite lobbying from Big 12 peers, BYU's 11-2 record may not suffice.
- Coach Sitake acknowledges Texas Tech's strength; BYU's playoff fate uncertain.
ARLINGTON, Texas — BYU head coach Kalani Sitake had plenty of his Big 12 peers lobbying for his team to make the College Football Playoff, including commissioner Brett Yormark and Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire.
But the 11th-ranked Cougars didn't do much politicking with their play 24 hours before the selection committee seeds the 12-team bracket.
If the "eye test" is what keeps BYU out of the playoff with an 11-2 record, then the Cougars didn't look like much of a CFP team in either of their losses to Texas Tech (12-1).
That's plenty of credit to the Red Raiders, who haven't lost a game with starting quarterback Behren Morton and held BYU to its fewest yards of the season (200) and four fewer rushing yards than the 67 the last time the two teams played.
"I think if you look at what Texas Tech has done, they're the best team in the country for a reason," Sitake said after a 34-7 loss to Texas Tech at AT&T Stadium. "You look at when they're a full-strength team, they're dangerous.
"I'm not on the playoff committee," he added, "but I can tell you one thing: Who has played the best team in the country twice? We have. Does that mean that you're not one of the best 12? I have no idea. I'm not on that committee. I don't make the decisions, but others will find out."
The Cougars' two losses to one opponent made Texas Tech look like the best team in the country, or at least every bit deserving of their top-four ranking that should earn a first-round bye in the playoff when the bracket is released Sunday on ESPN.
But is there a spot in that field for BYU, whose quarterback Bear Bachmeier threw for a season-low 115 yards and two interceptions while at times hobbling on one leg after a first-half lower-leg injury?
"I truly believe the Big 12 deserves two spots in the playoff."
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 6, 2025
Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire makes a case for BYU to be given a spot in the CFP. Do you agree? pic.twitter.com/kMYtvWKyUc
McGuire thinks so, saying the Cougars "deserve" to be in.
"I have so much respect for Kalani," he said unprompted in opening his postgame press conference. "That's a really good football team. I hope the committee looks at it because there are going to be two-loss teams out there, but there's not going to be an 11-2 team. They did a great job throughout the season getting here."
Same for Yormark, who lobbied for the Cougars to start the week and opened his pre-game press conference with a shot at the committee and No. 10 Notre Dame (10-2).
The Irish have a worse overall record, worse strength of schedule, and worse strength of record — but still find themselves one spot ahead of BYU and two up on Miami, whose 10-2 record includes a 27-24 win over Notre Dame back on Aug. 31.
Yormark "hoped" that BYU didn't have to win Saturday to get into the 12-team field. He hoped that the Cougars' resume spoke for itself.
"I would hope that they wouldn't have to convince the selection committee, with a win today, that they deserve to be in the CFP," Yormark said. "But it might take that."
Saturday wasn't very convincing.
BYU totaled 90 yards with a balanced offense that included 4-of-6 passing for 38 yards from Bachmeier, a 22-yard completion from Parker Kingston, and 19 yards on four carries from LJ Martin, including a 10-yard TD run to put Texas Tech in a deficit for just the third time all season.
It was the Cougars' only drive of the first quarter — but also the only one that didn't end in a punt, missed field goal, or four turnovers after BYU's only red-zone chance.
After that drive, BYU totaled just 24 yards in the second quarter, and just 86 yards in the second half.
All of that, of course, against the best team in the country, according to Sitake — and he had his players believing it, too (for good reason).
"To be 11-1 in a Power Four conference is something that's really hard to do," Kingston said. "The fact that we aren't getting the respect that we deserve, or the Big 12 not getting respected, it pisses me off, right? It makes me mad.
"To have the conference championship as the reason why we can't go or get in (to the playoff) is not right. I mean, what's the point of even getting to the conference championship if it hurts your odds of getting into the playoff?"
