Big 12 football standings and title game race, 2026
The Big 12 Championship Game matches the top 2 teams in the conference standings.
16 of 16 teams can still reach the title game.
- In if they win out: Utah
- Alive but need help: BYU, Texas Tech, Houston, Arizona, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Iowa State, Cincinnati, UCF, Arizona State, West Virginia, TCU, Colorado, Kansas State and Kansas
32 conference games left. Based on every possible result of those games.
Standings and projected finish
Ordered by current conference record, with tiebreakers. How ties are broken
| # | Team | Conf | Overall | Projected finish | Title game chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utah8-0 overall · Projected finish: 1st (avg 1.8) | 5-0 | 8-0 | 1stavg 1.8 · 7.7-1.3 conf | 80% |
| 2 | BYUTied with Texas Tech. The next step (SportSource Analytics Team Rating Score) uses data we don't have, so these teams are listed alphabetically.What it takes: Win out, plus a loss by Texas Tech.7-1 overall · Projected finish: 2nd (avg 3.2) | 4-1 | 7-1 | 2ndavg 3.2 · 6.5-2.5 conf | 45% |
| 3 | Texas TechWhat it takes: Win out, plus a loss by BYU.7-1 overall · Projected finish: 3rd (avg 3.6) | 4-1 | 7-1 | 3rdavg 3.6 · 6.5-2.5 conf | 36% |
| 4 | HoustonPlaced by tiebreaker: combined conference win percentage of conference opponents.What it takes: Win out and several results to go its way.6-2 overall · Projected finish: 4th (avg 4.7) | 3-2 | 6-2 | 4thavg 4.7 · 5.9-3.1 conf | 16% |
| 5 | ArizonaPlaced by tiebreaker: combined conference win percentage of conference opponents.What it takes: Win out and several results to go its way.6-2 overall · Projected finish: 5th (avg 5.2) | 3-2 | 6-2 | 5thavg 5.2 · 5.7-3.3 conf | 13% |
| 6 | Oklahoma StatePlaced by tiebreaker: combined conference win percentage of conference opponents.What it takes: Win out and several results to go its way.5-3 overall · Projected finish: 6th (avg 6.2) | 3-2 | 5-3 | 6thavg 6.2 · 5.5-3.5 conf | 5% |
| 7 | BaylorWhat it takes: Win out and several results to go its way.5-3 overall · Projected finish: 7th (avg 7.0) | 3-2 | 5-3 | 7thavg 7.0 · 4.9-4.1 conf | 4% |
| 8 | Iowa StatePlaced by tiebreaker: combined conference win percentage of conference opponents.What it takes: Win out and several results to go its way.4-4 overall · Projected finish: 9th (avg 9.9) | 2-3 | 4-4 | 9thavg 9.9 · 3.8-5.2 conf | <1% |
| 9 | CincinnatiPlaced by tiebreaker: total wins in a 12-game season (one fcs win max).What it takes: Win out and several results to go its way.5-3 overall · Projected finish: 10th (avg 10.2) | 2-3 | 5-3 | 10thavg 10.2 · 3.6-5.4 conf | <1% |
| 10 | UCFPlaced by tiebreaker: combined conference win percentage of conference opponents.What it takes: Win out and several results to go its way.4-4 overall · Projected finish: 8th (avg 9.2) | 2-3 | 4-4 | 8thavg 9.2 · 4.3-4.7 conf | <1% |
| 11 | Arizona StatePlaced by tiebreaker: combined conference win percentage of conference opponents.What it takes: Win out and several results to go its way.4-4 overall · Projected finish: 12th (avg 11.3) | 2-3 | 4-4 | 12thavg 11.3 · 3.5-5.5 conf | <1% |
| 12 | West VirginiaPlaced by tiebreaker: head-to-head result between the tied teams.What it takes: Win out and several results to go its way.5-3 overall · Projected finish: 13th (avg 11.6) | 2-3 | 5-3 | 13thavg 11.6 · 3.2-5.8 conf | <1% |
| 13 | TCUWhat it takes: Win out and several results to go its way.4-4 overall · Projected finish: 11th (avg 10.8) | 2-3 | 4-4 | 11thavg 10.8 · 3.5-5.5 conf | <1% |
| 14 | ColoradoPlaced by tiebreaker: combined conference win percentage of conference opponents.What it takes: Win out and several results to go its way.3-5 overall · Projected finish: 14th (avg 13.6) | 1-4 | 3-5 | 14thavg 13.6 · 2.4-6.6 conf | <1% |
| 15 | Kansas StatePlaced by tiebreaker: head-to-head result between the tied teams.What it takes: Win out and several results to go its way.4-4 overall · Projected finish: 16th (avg 14.0) | 1-4 | 4-4 | 16thavg 14.0 · 2.3-6.7 conf | <1% |
| 16 | KansasWhat it takes: Win out and several results to go its way.3-5 overall · Projected finish: 15th (avg 13.9) | 1-4 | 3-5 | 15thavg 13.9 · 2.5-6.5 conf | <1% |
“In if they win out” means winning every remaining conference game guarantees a spot on record alone. “What it takes” is the simplest set of other results that, along with winning out, guarantees a spot without needing a tiebreaker. Projected finish and title game chance are based on the numbers: we played out the rest of the season 10,000 times, with each game's win chance from the Receipts Rankings model, including home field. Projected finish ranks teams by their average place across those seasons (1st has the best average).
How the standings moved, week by week
Each team's conference place after each week with Big 12 games.
Remaining conference games
Strength of schedule here is the combined current record of the conference opponents each team still plays. 1 is the toughest stretch.
| Team | Still to play | Strength of schedule |
|---|---|---|
| TCU |
| 1Opponents 25-7 |
| Baylor |
| 2Opponents 24-8 |
| West Virginia |
| 3Opponents 24-8 |
| Utah |
| 4Opponents 22-10 |
| BYU |
| 5Opponents 21-11 |
| Kansas |
| 6Opponents 21-11 |
| Arizona |
| 7Opponents 20-12 |
| Cincinnati |
| 8Opponents 20-12 |
| Colorado |
| 9Opponents 19-13 |
| Kansas State |
| 10Opponents 19-13 |
| Texas Tech |
| 11Opponents 19-13 |
| Arizona State |
| 12Opponents 18-14 |
| Houston |
| 13Opponents 18-14 |
| Iowa State |
| 14Opponents 18-14 |
| Oklahoma State |
| 15Opponents 18-14 |
| UCF |
| 16Opponents 14-18 |
How ties are broken
We use the official Big 12 procedure (Big 12 Football Tiebreaker Policy, 2024–Present (big12sports.com)).
Two teams tied
- Head-to-head result between the tied teams
- Win percentage vs. all common conference opponents
- Win percentage vs. the next highest-placed common opponent, proceeding through the standings
- Combined conference win percentage of conference opponents
- Total wins in a 12-game season (one FCS win max)
- SportSource Analytics Team Rating Score
- Coin toss
Three or more teams tied
- Record in games among the tied teams; if not all played, a team that beat all others advances
- Win percentage vs. all common conference opponents
- Record vs. the next highest-placed common opponent, proceeding through the standings
- Combined conference win percentage of conference opponents
- Total wins in a 12-game season (one FCS win max)
- SportSource Analytics Team Rating Score
- Coin toss
Once a step lifts a team out of a tie, it takes the spot and the remaining teams start over. When a group of common opponents is tied in the standings, we use each team's record against that group as a whole.
The SportSource Analytics Team Rating Score isn't public, so we stop before that step.
Our game feed doesn't mark Big 12 games designated as nonconference, or NCAA-exempt games, so all of them are counted.
How the projections work
Each remaining game's win chance comes from the gap between the two teams' Receipts Rankings scores (through 2026-11-01), plus home field. Both were fit to every FBS game played after late October in the 2021–2025 seasons. Ties our data can't break are settled at random in the simulations.