RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Texas Tech Red Raiders running back Cameron Dickey (8) stiff-arms BYU cornerback Therrian Alexander (1) as he runs the ball during the Big 12 championship game held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025.
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Isaac Hale, Deseret News
The countdown to college football season has hit single digits.
There’s just one more week until the 2026 campaign begins, seven days until fans around the country are scheming up excuses to get out of ill-timed family weekend plans for the next four months.
CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford got in the spirit earlier this week, making his preseason bowl projections .
While there are tons of games and plenty of fortunate and unfortunate circumstances to unfold between now and the postseason, these projections provide at least a baseline for outside expectations going into 2026.
What did Crawford project for the Big 12 and its members?
Is BYU projected to make the College Football Playoff?
The past two seasons, the Cougars have been just outside the College Football Playoff picture after going a combined 23-4 in 2024 and 2025.
The next step is to finally break through that threshold and make the playoff, and with a relatively favorable conference schedule and a big-time nonconference matchup with top 5 Notre Dame in October, BYU has the right ingredients in place to make that breakthrough possible.
Crawford predicts the Cougars will indeed make their first CFP appearance, and not even as the Big 12 champion (more on that in a minute).
He projects that BYU will earn the No. 10 seed in the CFP and play at No. 7 seed Indiana in the first round.
That’s where the magic ends, as Crawford predicts the defending national champion Hoosiers will beat the Cougars and move on to a Fiesta Bowl date with No. 2 Oregon.
Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier (4) scores a touchdown during the Las Vegas Bowl against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025.
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Tess Crowley, Deseret News
What bowl is Utah projected to play in?
One of the other teams to watch in the Big 12 this season will be Utah, which is led by first-year coach Morgan Scalley.
Even with the Utes losing a good amount of talent and coaching thanks to the departure of longtime program leader Kyle Whittingham, expectations are high that Scalley and company will be in Big 12 contention and that the results won’t take a dip, with having guys such as Devon Dampier, Wayshawn Parker and Jackson Bennee back helping the transition.
So, what kind of postseason could the Utes be in store for?
Crawford projects that Utah will earn a spot in the Alamo Bowl, one of the Big 12’s premier bowl ties, and face former Pac-12 rival Washington.
The Huskies went 9-4 last season under Jedd Fisch, who’s headed into his third season leading that program.
Texas Tech quarterback Will Hammond (15) leads the team in a chant prior to an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma State, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Lubbock, Texas.
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Chase Seabolt
What are the rest of the Big 12 bowl projections?
In addition to BYU and Utah, Crawford predicts that eight other Big 12 teams will play in the postseason.
That includes defending conference champion Texas Tech also reaching the College Football Playoff, earning the league’s automatic bid as Big 12 champion.
Crawford has the Red Raiders as the No. 6 seed and hosting No. 11 SMU in the CFP’s first round. He also has Texas Tech advancing, moving on to face No. 3 seed Georgia in the Cotton Bowl.
The other seven Big 12 projections are as follows:
Armed Forces Bowl — Kansas State vs. Memphis.
Independence Bowl — West Virginia vs. Tulane.
Cactus Bowl — Arizona State vs. Wisconsin.
Liberty Bowl — Oklahoma State vs. Missouri.
Pop-Tarts Bowl — Houston vs. Louisville.
Sun Bowl — Arizona vs. NC State.
Texas Bowl — TCU vs. Tennessee.
The Big 12 went 4-4 in the bowl season last year, with wins from BYU, Utah, Houston and TCU.
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