"BYU (No. 7) and Texas Tech (No. 8) showed up in the top 10, and Utah sits within striking distance at No. 13. It adds up to make Saturday's matchup between the Cougars and Red Raiders -- perhaps a Big 12 title game preview -- the most consequential in college football. A loss for either team wouldn't necessarily remove it from the playoff conversation but would strike a significant blow and leave little room for error down the stretch."
"There haven't been any wholesale schematic changes, it's just that the Aggies finally added a couple of contributors at wide receiver to give offensive coordinator Collin Klein more juice. Other than that, they've just grown up. A&M's offensive line was a giant weakness at the end of the Jimbo Fisher era, but offensive line coach Adam Cushing has worked wonders, fashioning a group in the running for the Joe Moore Award, which goes to the most outstanding OL unit."
BYU, Texas Tech and Utah's rankings position the Big 12 as an early playoff beneficiary and make the BYU–Texas Tech game crucial for both teams' CFP hopes. A single loss would not automatically eliminate either team but would sharply reduce margin for error late in the season. Other notable matchups include No. 3 Texas A&M at No. 22 Missouri and No. 9 Oregon at No. 20 Iowa, with Iowa showing offensive momentum and Oregon having extra preparation time. Texas A&M improved through receiver additions, stronger offensive line play under Adam Cushing, and more experienced quarterback play.
Read at ESPN.com
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