By Jacob Seliga
Lead Writer
Week 12 has come and gone. And with it, a fantastic week in the Big 12 Conference.
BYU suffered its first loss, Arizona State stormed into Kansas State and “upset” the Wildcats, and multiple teams positioned themselves into a bowl berth.
With so much impact nationally from the fallout from this past weekend and the major effects it has on this coming one, week 12 was one for the ages.
This is the Big 12 Week in Review.
BYU soaks in their first loss
As most of the country was asleep in the wee hours of Sunday morning, Kansas and BYU were in the midst of a hotly contested showdown.
The Jayhawks needed a victory to keep their bowl hopes alive and the Cougars needed a win to all but solidify an appearance in the conference championship game.
With everything on the line, both teams battled in a snowy Provo, Utah and for the first time this season, the Cougars suffered a setback.
Kansas played far from a perfect game on offense. In fact, it was the Jayhawks' lowest offensive output of the season in yardage and tied for their least amount of points scored in a game.
With the offense led by all-conference running back Devin Neal struggling, it was the defense of Kansas that for the first time all season played up to its potential.
BYU was held to its second lowest yardage amount in a game this season and failed to eclipse 17 points for the first time all year. In fact, the Cougars were held to three points in the second half, their lowest total in a half all season.
This is the second consecutive game where the Cougars offense failed to gain any traction outside of early drives in the game. Jake Retzlaff only passed for 192 yards in his worst start as BYU’s lead quarterback.
The key difference in this matchup was turnovers. Just like the Jayhawks' other three wins, Kansas won the turnover battle after a fumble on a punt by BYU deep in Cougar territory led to what would become the game winning touchdown.
The Cougars now face massive pressure as suddenly their once strong conference championship hopes are in peril as BYU travels to face the hottest team in the conference, Arizona State.
Sun Devils control destiny
If before the season someone was to say that the Arizona State Sun Devils would enter Week 13 controlling their own path to the college football playoff, a conference championship and would be the biggest story in college football, you might’ve looked at them crazy.
But ladies and gentlemen, here they are, the hottest and arguably most dangerous team in the Big 12 Conference.
The Sun Devils rolled into Manhattan on Saturday night and for four quarters dominated then No. 16 Kansas State, 24-14, in a game that wasn’t particularly close.
Arizona State did that without Cam Skattebo at 100 percent and looked rather impressive on offense as Sam Leavitt’s connection with Jordyn Tyson looks like one of the best in the country during the second half of the season.
That leads to Saturday and the biggest Sun Devil home game in a decade as No. 14 BYU comes to town. And with that, comes the pressure of the entire country focusing its eyes on Tempe, Arizona.
The path for Arizona State is as simple as this:
Arizona State wins out, the Sun Devils own the tiebreaker at 7-2 over Iowa State and BYU and finish No. 2 in the conference and go to Arlington.
Arizona State wins out AND Colorado loses to Kansas or Oklahoma State: Sun Devils clinch regular season conference title and are the “home” team in Arlington.
If Arizona State is able to get past BYU on Saturday, the Sun Devils are likely to roll into Tucson with revenge on their mind, setting themselves up with a trip to the conference championship leaving them only one win away from the college football playoff.
For all the attention that Deion Sanders and Colorado is rightfully getting, the biggest and best turnaround in college football is by far what Kenny Dillingham has done in year two at Arizona State. And from the looks of it, the hometown hero hopes this is only the beginning.
Game of the week: No. 14 BYU at No. 21 Arizona State, 1:30 PM, ESPN
While the national shows such as College Gameday and Big Noon Kickoff chose to go to No. 2 Ohio State vs No. 5 Indiana, the true college football fans will be glued in for what happens in the Big 12 on Saturday.
These two teams were projected to finish No. 11 and No. 16 in the conference and both have looked like the two best teams in the league this season.
Jake Retzlaff leads a high octane offense that looks to pass over the Sun Devils' spotlight and shine a light on what has been a dream season in Provo, Utah.
Sam Leavitt and Cam Skattebo have been the dynamic duo in the backfield of Arizona State, helping lead the program out of the darkness of mediocrity and NCAA violations to its biggest bright spot in a decade.
With everything on the line and potential ripple effects to reverberate throughout the country, this truly is the game of the year in the conference and the Big 12 representative in the college football playoff may very well be the winner of this matchup.
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