BYU-Texas Tech
Saturday, Dec. 6
12:05 p.m. Eastern, 9:05 a.m. Pacific
ABC
BYU-Texas Tech is the first game on Championship Saturday. The Big 12 Championship Game starts the final weekend before the revelation of the College Football Playoff field on Sunday.
The College Football Playoff likely has room for only one Big 12 team. Texas Tech comes in as the favorite, and this is a moment for the Red Raiders to confirm their greatness and make their first-ever playoff appearance. If Texas Tech loses, there is an outside chance the Red Raiders could still sneak into the field, but given they are a 12.5-point favorite and playing in a friendly venue (not their home field in Arlington, but still a place where they will have a lot of fans on hand), a loss here would rate as a considerable surprise and a justifiable reason to exclude Tech in favor of Miami, Notre Dame, or an SEC team. BYU and Texas Tech both getting into the field feels like a long shot at this point. Texas Tech does not want to risk losing this game, even though it could potentially make the field even if it falls to BYU.
As for the Cougars, it’s simple: Win and get in, lose and you’re out. It’s a pure playoff game for coach Kalani Sitake’s team, and what adds to the drama of this game is that Sitake chose to stay at BYU after weighing an offer from Penn State. It was believed that the two parties were close, but Sitake took a night to sleep on his decision and ultimately felt he couldn’t leave BYU. This would certainly seem to give BYU players more excitement and motivation surrounding this game. They are going to run through a wall for their coach on Saturday. That, however, won’t be enough to win, as you will see below:
BYU-Texas Tech rematch puts the burden on the underdog
Texas Tech has the upper hand and BYU must change the equation
BYU-Texas Tech is, of course, a rematch of a November game won 29-7 by the Red Raiders. Tech led 26-0 before BYU scored its first and only points midway through the fourth quarter. Texas Tech’s defense set a very high standard, and BYU could never really get anything going on offense until garbage time. BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier is a freshman, and he looked the part against a physical and athletic Texas Tech defense which has been strong and solid all season long. BYU’s defense was actually good against Texas Tech, limiting the Red Raiders to fewer than 30 points even though Tech dominated the game from start to finish. BYU was able to force a lot of Tech field goals, something it will need to do in this game as well. Yet, the thorough nature of Tech’s defensive dominance of BYU a month ago puts all the burden on the Cougars – particularly their offense – to deliver an above-average performance and make this a legitimately close game going into the final minutes.
BYU Cougars-Texas Tech Red Raiders Odds
Hear TJ Rives and Jason Powers break down this game on the 3Dog Thursday Podcast by clicking Play below:
Spread: BYU +12.5 (-105), Texas Tech -12.5 (-115)
Total: 49.5 (Over -110, Under -110)
Underdog moneyline: BYU +400
BYU didn’t look great against UCF last week, but remember: The Cougars were already assured of playing in this game. They will be motivated to play not only for a playoff berth, but for Kalani Sitake. Chances are BYU can make enough adjustments on offense to score some points and keep this game reasonably close. However, Texas Tech has been the best team in the Big 12 for most of the season, and it’s hard to bet against a team which has set a high standard. The lean is to BYU, but maybe wait a quarter to see how the game develops. You could get a better in-game line.