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    • No. 6 BYU upset by Kansas: What this means for the Playoff, Big 12 race
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    No. 6 BYU upset by Kansas: What this means for the Playoff, Big 12 race

    Vaseline Posted on

    BYU’s undefeated season has come to an end.

    The No. 6 Cougars suffered a 17-13 home upset by Kansas on Saturday night, dealing a blow to their hopes for the College Football Playoff and the Big 12 title.

    After taking sole possession of first place in the conference, BYU (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) now finds itself tied for first place with No. 17 Colorado (8-2, 6-1). Next week the Cougars travel to Arizona State, which improved to 8-2 after a road upset of Kansas State earlier on Saturday.

    The game turned early in the fourth quarter on a punt by Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels.

    Daniels’ punt bounced off BYU cornerback Evan Johnson’s helmet inside the BYU 10-yard line. BYU cornerback Jakob Robinson tried to quickly jump on the ball, but it squirted out from under him and was recovered by Kansas receiver Quentin Skinner. On the next play, Kansas running back Devin Neal scored on a 3-yard touchdown run to give Kansas the go-ahead start.

    BYU struggled to finish drives and establish a consistent offensive rhythm. The Cougars finished with just 354 total yards and were 3 of 10 on third-down conversion attempts.

    Kansas cornerback Mello Dotson picked off BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff in the end zone with 39 seconds left in the first half, killing a potential BYU scoring drive and leaving the teams tied at 10.

    The Cougars chewed more than 10 minutes off the clock to start the third quarter with a 17-play, 66-yard drive, but settled for a field goal and a 13-10 lead.

    BYU drove into the Kansas red zone in the final minute, but a false start penalty forced BYU into a fourth-and-11 situation. Retzlaff found Chase Roberts, who was tackled three yards short of the first down marker, ending BYU’s last chance to regain the lead.

    Kansas (4-6, 3-4) struggled even more offensively, racking up just 242 yards and going 4-for-12 on third down. But the Jayhawks scored on their opening drive, a 10-play, 84-yard march capped by an 8-yard score run by Neal. The Jayhawks’ defense turned in a solid performance, keeping BYU’s run game in check, collecting five tackles for loss and sacking Retzlaff twice.

    It is the second win in a row for the Jayhawks, who had a difficult 2-6 start to the season. Last week, Kansas upset then-No. 17 Iowa State 45-36 at Arrowhead Stadium.

    Saturday was Kansas’ sixth game of the season, which was decided by single digits, but the first in which the Jayhawks emerged victorious.

    It was BYU’s fifth game this season decided by single digits and the loss came just a week after the Cougars escaped Salt Lake City with their smallest win of the season, a 22-21 nail-biter over rival Utah in the Holy War.

    What BYU’s loss means for the Big 12 title race

    Even with the loss to Kansas, BYU still controls its destiny in the Big 12 title race. If the Cougars win, they will reach the championship game. Same for Colorado.

    But the potential for chaos has only increased, and next week’s matchup between BYU and Arizona State is huge. If Arizona State beats BYU at home, the Sun Devils would move ahead of the Cougars and finish no worse than second in the Big 12 standings.

    If Arizona State wins and Colorado loses to Kansas next weekend, Arizona State would be in first place and Iowa State would move into second place with a win.

    A number of tiebreaker scenarios remain in play for the Big 12 over the final two weeks of the regular season, many of which hinge on a pair of high-stakes games next Saturday: BYU at Arizona State and Colorado at Kansas.

    What BYU’s loss means for the CFP race

    The Cougars may still have a clear (albeit narrower) path to the Playoff, but the loss to Kansas really hurts the Big 12’s hopes of getting multiple schools into the 12-team field. The league’s best (only?) chance was a two-loss Colorado – or possibly Arizona State or Iowa – knocking out an undefeated BYU in the conference championship, which would give the winner an automatic bid and leave the door open for one loss. BYU to get one overall.

    The best the Big 12 can hope for now is a two-loss second-place finish, which could certainly be edged out by, say, a potential horde of two-loss SEC teams depending on how the final few weeks go. There’s still a slim chance the Big 12 dream lands two teams, but the odds took a major hit when BYU stumbled.

    Required reading

    (Photo: Rob Gray / Imagn Images)

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