No. 9 BYU becomes lone unbeaten team in Big 12 after No. 11 Iowa State's loss

The last time No. 9 BYU (8-0) was on a bye week, it featured lots of chaos as seven ranked teams lost along with a then unbeaten No. 1 Alabama falling to unranked Vanderbilt.

This time, chaos happened within the conference as No. 11 Iowa State had its first loss of the season against an unranked Texas Tech at home, falling 23-22.

The Cyclones were one of seven unbeaten teams nationally and the only other team in the Big 12 without a loss.

With a win, Iowa State would have been tied for first with BYU in the race to make the Big 12 championship.

With the loss, Iowa State fell into second place because No.17 Kansas State was also upset 24-19 after failing to convert a Hail Mary against unranked Houston.

However, the Red Raiders proved to be a formidable opponent despite being on a two-game losing streak.

On first-and-goal at the 5 yard line, Texas Tech got the game clinching touchdown with only 20 seconds remaining. Tahj Brooks, the Red Raiders leading rusher who rushed for 122 yards, followed his blockers on an outside sweep and walked into the end zone.

Earlier in the drive, Texas Tech was down 22-17 with only 2:11 remaining. However, there wasn’t any panic with the team. Though the drive began with a false start, one of the three that happened this drive, the Red Raiders decided to run the ball on a first-and-15. The play resulted in a 16-yard pickup and showed that Texas Tech was going to be confident and poised the rest of the drive.

In a defining moment of the drive, the Iowa State Cyclones were able to force the Red Raiders into a fourth down situation. With a stop, Texas Tech would only have two timeouts remaining and Iowa State would be in a position to win the game with a first down or punt the ball with less than a minute remaining.

Instead, Texas Tech kept churning out first downs as QB Behren Morton completed an 8-yard pass to Joshua Kelly, his favorite target of the day. Kelly had himself a day as he was able to get eight receptions and 127 yards along with 2 touchdowns.

After that, the Red Raiders had full control and didn’t even need to use one of its two remaining timeouts.

Iowa State had little remaining time left, but still had a chance to drive down and try to get a game-winning field goal. Instead, the Cyclones only had three seconds remaining at its own 37-yard line.

Unable to kick a field goal and being too far away to attempt a Hail Mary, Iowa State tried to pitch it to each other. Ultimately, the Red Raiders clamped up the Cyclones offense and secured the upset.

With both Iowa State and Kansas State losing, BYU is left with a comfortable cushion as the current leader of the Big 12 conference. Barring any losses, BYU is in full control of its road to the Big 12 conference championship.

With the College Football Playoff Committe having its first official rankings releasing on Nov. 5, BYU will be put as one of the four highest rated teams due to the new playoff format.

Meanwhile, Iowa State and Kansas State should have lower rankings in both the official rankings and the AP poll.

Iowa State could still have a real chance at making the conference championship and the College Football Playoff, but winning out is a must for this team. Especially, with the last game of the season coming against a tough Kansas State team that also has a chance of making it to the championship.

Meanwhile, No. 23 Colorado, also on a bye, benefited greatly from both teams losses as it now has an easier road to the conference championship. If Colorado wins out and Iowa State loses once, assuming first-place BYU gets the first spot in the championship, it will have a better conference record than the Kansas State Wildcats, who own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Buffaloes.

BYU, Iowa State and Colorado don't play each other at any point during the regular season, so there is no way for any team to get a head-to-head tiebreaker. This makes the conference record even more important.

Now with firm control of the Big-12, the pressure will ramp up for the Cougars as they travel to face arch-rival Utah in the Holy War. The game will have a 8:15 MT kickoff and will be in Rice Eccles on Nov. 9.

On the same day, Iowa State will seek to get right against the Kansas Jayhawks. Meanwhile, Kansas State enters its last bye week of the season.