Week Eight Will Create Some Separation in the Big 12 Conference Standings

Week eight is another critical week for the Big 12 championship race

The fifth week of Big 12 conference play kicks off on Saturday. After four weeks, the race for the conference title is still wide open. There's been a logjam in the middle of the standings since the start of conference play. Week eight could create some separation in the standings. Today, we look at the Big 12 standings scenarios for week eight.

Current Big 12 Standings

Below is a snapshot of the Big 12 standings before week eight.

Scenario #1: BYU Could Move into the Middle Tier with a Win Over Texas Tech

Credit: BYU Photo

BYU is 1-2 in conference and coming off a discouraging loss to TCU. The Red Raiders, who are 2-2 in conference play, are coming off a home loss to reigning Big 12 champion Kansas State. BYU is stuck in the bottom of the logjam in the conference standings. If BYU pulls off the upset against Texas Tech, the Cougars would move into the middle tier of the conference standings with the opportunity to continue moving upward in the coming weeks. A loss would keep BYU towards the bottom of the conference standings for the foreseeable future.

Texas Tech is right in the middle of the conference at 2-2. With a win, Texas Tech would move into the top half.

Scenario #2: West Virginia & Oklahoma State Fight to Stay in the Championship Race

Oklahoma State and West Virginia are both 2-1 in conference play. The winner of this game will remain in contention for the conference championship. The loser won't be eliminated from championship contention yet, but it will get lost in the logjam of two-loss teams for the next few weeks.

Oklahoma State is a team to watch in the conference championship race. The Pokes don't have to play Texas and they host Oklahoma in November. They face all four newcomers in the conference over the next six games. If Oklahoma State beats West Virginia, they could be a win over Oklahoma away from the conference championship game.

Scenario #3: Can a Newcomer Pull Off a Major Upset?

UCF plays at Oklahoma on Saturday as a 17.5-point underdog. Houston hosts Texas as a 23.5-point home underdog. While it might be unlikely, an upset would cause a major shakeup in the conference standings and give the two-loss teams a path to the championship game. 

If both Texas and Oklahoma win, it will create an upper tier in the conference standings consisting of Oklahoma, Texas, Iowa State, the winner of West Virginia-Oklahoma State, and Kansas State (assuming a win over TCU).

Scenario #4: A Proving Ground for TCU Against Kansas State

Last week, TCU looked more like the team that played in the national championship than the team that played the first six games of the season. The Horned Frogs might have found their next star quarterback in redshirt freshman Josh Hoover. On Saturday, a road game at Kansas State will be a proving ground for TCU. Did TCU turn a corner? Or did BYU make TCU look like a world-beater?

Kansas State re-emerged in the conference championship race with the win at Texas Tech last weekend. A win over TCU would cement the Wildcat's spot in the upper tier of the conference standings.

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