The Big 12 championship game is set: BYU gets its rematch with Texas Tech.

Before I get to that and my top five takeaways from the Big 12 weekend, we need to address the other big story: BYU head coach Kalani Sitake might take the Penn State job.

What started as online rumors over the weekend now has real legs after this report from Football Scoop, one of the most reliable sources for coaching industry news. 

Still, the two sides, per numerous sources, have engaged in more and more conversations the past 10 days as the Nittany Lions's search has wound a circuitous route.

Additionally, three different agents, all from different companies, told FootballScoop over the weekend and into Monday morning that the "talks are real."

"I think it's real but (is it) all for leverage," one source said. "Why leave BYU, your school as well as your church, when you have it rolling now better than ever?"

Sitake didn’t exactly deny talks with the Nittany Lions during the Big 12 championship game press conference on Monday. 

This is a huge, huge bummer if it happens. Sitake is an absolutely perfect fit for BYU. He is an ideal ambassador for the school and program who also happens to be an elite coach. 

And things are rolling right now. The Cougars are 22–3 over the last two seasons and are about to play in the Big 12 championship game for a spot in the College Football Playoff. They’re doing it with a true freshman at quarterback and a borderline top-25 recruiting class committed for 2026.

I don’t want to be too hyperbolic or a prisoner of the moment, but losing Sitake could have massive long-term ramifications for the BYU program.

I know BYU has different objectives and priorities for its football program than a typical university because of the mission of the LDS Church. I’m not nearly educated enough to speak effectively about that, but from a purely football standpoint, Sitake is worth every penny you can put into his salary, the assistant pool, and NIL.

Only one Big 12 coach (Arizona’s Brent Brennan) makes less than Sitake’s $3 million annual salary. Utah’s Kyle Whittingham makes more than double that.

I’d imagine Sitake also wants more NIL money to fund his roster. On Saturday, he’ll coach against one of the most expensive rosters in the country—the only one talented enough to beat his team this season.

After seeing the way BYU spent on the basketball roster, headlined by No. 1 recruit AJ Dybantsa, I’m optimistic they can add to the football pot too. And if that happens, this Penn State flirtation turns into a blessing in disguise for BYU fans.

There are really only two ways this ends. Either BYU gets serious about funding a championship-level roster and staff, or Sitake leaves, and everything about the momentum of the program gets thrown into question.

Kalani Sitake at Penn State seems like an odd fit, but I absolutely understand why he would consider the job. If he had an 11–1 team with this exact resume in Happy Valley, the debate wouldn’t be whether his team is in. It would be whether they’re worthy of a top-four seed.

Former Penn State head coach James Franklin was the king of getting blown out by an elite team and beating up on mediocre to bad teams every year. If Sitake can replicate that formula in the bloated Big Ten, he would basically live in the playoff.

For the sake of BYU fans and the entire conference, I hope Sitake and BYU can come to terms on a deal to keep him in Provo long term. Right now, though, that seems very up in the air. 

Here are my top five takeaways from the Big 12 weekend.

The Big 12 Took a Major Step Forward This Year

BYU and Texas Tech took care of business on Saturday, ensuring that the Big 12 took a major step forward as a conference this season. 

Those wins mean the league is in a great position to secure either a first-round playoff bye if Texas Tech wins the Big 12 championship game or put two teams into the playoff if BYU pulls the upset. 

The Red Raiders are likely to move up to #4 in the rankings this week after Texas A&M’s loss in Austin. There really isn’t a plausible path for anyone to jump them and steal a bye with a win on conference championship Saturday. The only concern is the committee rewarding Oregon’s win at Washington by sliding the Ducks ahead of Tech, but I wouldn’t bet on that.

Being that high in the rankings also makes it very unlikely Texas Tech would fall seven spots and miss the field after a loss to the Cougars. The committee has repeatedly said it won’t punish teams for losing conference title games. Dropping Tech that far would completely undercut that.

Before we rage against the machine about BYU’s at-large treatment, let’s take a moment to celebrate the position the league is in. 

In late November last year, the national conversation turned toward leaving the Big 12 out of the playoff entirely. Nobody respected Arizona State yet, and plenty of people thought Boise State and either Tulane or Army might have the juice to jump the Big 12 champ for the final autobids.

One year later, Texas Tech has earned enough respect to sit in the catbird seat for a first-round bye. There are three Big 12 teams in the top 13 and a plausible path to get multiple teams into the field.

Talk all you want about money being the only reason Tech is here. All you’re doing is reinforcing that this is a repeatable path for Big 12 teams to build a playoff-worthy roster. Uninhibited spending is here in college athletics. If you have a good GM (like Tech’s James Blanchard) and a plan, you can build a team that looks the part.

Speaking of that, the Red Raiders absolutely demolished West Virginia 49-0 in Morgantown. That’s a Mountaineers team that was playing much better than its record to end the season. 

Tech out-gained WVU 572–180 and held the Mountaineers to just 37 rushing yards. It was a fitting cap to a historic regular season by the Red Raiders’ defense.

The Big 12’s playoff position looks even better when you consider the current mess in the ACC. 

Five-loss Duke is about to play 10-2 Virginia for the ACC championship on Saturday. The Blue Devils won a five-way tie for second by having the best combined opponent winning percentage. 

Duke is only a 2.5-point underdog. If the Blue Devils pull off the upset, the ACC could be left out of the playoff entirely, with James Madison likely becoming a second Group of Five champion ranked higher than Duke.

All that brand power between Miami, Florida State, Clemson, and Bill Belichick at North Carolina, and the ACC could still wind up on the outside looking in, assuming the committee keeps inexplicably propping Notre Dame up over Miami.

I’m very grateful the Big 12 isn’t in that spot. 

However…

BYU is Going to Get Screwed Again if They Lose This Week

It’s become clear that BYU will be left out if it loses to Texas Tech again on Saturday. 

Auburn and LSU came painstakingly close to helping out the Cougars with upsets over Alabama and Oklahoma, but stumbled in crunch time. It leaves a crowded pool of worthy at-large candidates vying for two final spots. 

Notre Dame and Alabama had the final two spots in last week’s playoff rankings, and both won this week. Even with a loss to Georgia in the SEC title game, it’s highly unlikely Bama will fall out of the field. 

The only possibility for change I see is the committee deciding that Miami's blowout win over ranked Pitt this week is enough to pull them even with Notre Dame, thus giving the Hurricanes the head-to-head tiebreaker. 

I don’t like it. I don’t agree with it. But it does appear to be the maddening reality. 

BYU has a better record against the Top 25 and bowl-eligible teams than Notre Dame. The Cougars have a better strength of schedule and strength of record than the Fighting Irish. BYU’s best win is over #13, while Notre Dame’s is over #17. 

Yet, there isn’t much national debate at all about the Fighting Irish’s credentials compared to BYU’s. The “eye test” seems to be the main justification for this from the majority of college football media and fans. 

Heck, ESPN doesn’t even want to include BYU, or Utah for that matter, in the at-large conversation. 

You’ll see that the graphic conveniently leaves #11 and #13 out of the discussion. Kirk Herbstreit mentioned during the Iron Bowl broadcast that schools like Miami and Vandy would be in trouble with Alabama’s win. He didn’t think to mention the Cougars, either. 

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark should be on the phone with ESPN execs right now, going nuts about this–especially the graphic.

There’s also a conversation to be had about Oklahoma. The Sooners' resume is pretty unassailable, much like BYU’s. A 10-2 season that includes a win at Alabama should generally be playoff-worthy. But if we’re using that same eye test that gets derisively thrown at the Cougars, OU should be under fire. 

Oklahoma’s offense is UGLY. QB John Mateer threw three interceptions at home on Saturday against LSU, keeping a lifeless team with a backup quarterback and interim head coach in it until the final drive. The Sooners’ offense ranks outside the top 50 in the country in SP+, by far the worst unit for any team in the playoff conversation. It’s four spots lower than Iowa. Yes, Iowa.

What about Texas A&M? The Aggies only have one win against a team currently ranked in the Top 25. Same with Oregon. BYU has two. Yet, you won’t hear Paul Finebaum or Stephen A. Smith going at it about those comparisons. It’s not a part of the national dialogue at all. 

And that’s really my main frustration. 

Look, this is a much different situation than last season. There are far better at-large candidates vying for the final spots right now than there were in 2024. If last year’s BYU team had this year’s resume, there’s a good chance they would get in at 11-2 with a Big 12 championship game loss. 

But the fact that we’re already seeing ESPN exclude BYU from the graphic comparing at-large candidates is lunacy. The Cougars deserve to be an integral part of the at-large debate, no matter what happens in Arlington. 

BYU head coach Kalani Sitake continues to pass on press conference opportunities to make his team’s case. Yormark waited until the Territorial Cup broadcast on Friday to finally do it himself. 

I’m trying my best to pick up the slack for everybody. This team and this fanbase deserve better from the national media.

Brent Brennan and Willie Fritz Had Coach of the Year Seasons

It’s nearly impossible to pick a Big 12 Coach of the Year.

Texas Tech’s Joey McGuire and BYU’s Kalani Sitake are likely the front-runners, with nationally relevant seasons and a meeting in the Big 12 championship game.

I’d listen to an argument for either. Sitake lost his veteran starting quarterback after spring football and went 11-1 with a true freshman QB. It doesn’t get much more impressive than that. 

Many would discount McGuire because of Tech’s NIL spend, but don’t overlook how difficult it is to get all of those hired guns to fit together. K-State men’s basketball coach Jerome Tang had a top-10 NIL budget last year and didn’t make the NCAA tournament. There’s an art to making the money work, and McGuire mastered it this year.

But Arizona’s Brent Brennan and Houston’s Willie Fritz are right there in the conversation, too. Both went from 4-8 to 9-3 in year two of their tenures. 

Brennan just wrapped up the unlikeliest nine-win season in the county with a 23-7 Territorial Cup win at rival Arizona State. 

QB Noah Fifita has had a wonderful season, but the defensive turnaround continues to be the prevailing storyline. The Wildcats forced five turnovers and held ASU to just 214 yards of offense. Defensive coordinator Danny Gonzalez deserves real consideration for the Broyles Award.

Brennan’s Wildcats are going to finish ranked in the College Football Playoff poll a year after he was almost fired and the team lost many of its most talented players. 

Fritz also put the finishing touches on a nine-win season this weekend with a 31-24 win at Baylor. 

It’s undeniable how much of a difference QB Conner Weigman made this season for the Cougars. He had over 300 total yards and three touchdowns in Saturday’s win to cap off a season with over 3,000 total yards and 32 TDs. 

Fritz did it all with resources near the bottom of the league and a new defensive coordinator after Shiel Wood was poached by Texas Tech after the 2024 season. 

Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham probably deserves an honorable mention here, too, for finishing 8-4 despite losing QB Sam Leavitt for nearly half the season and WR Jordyn Tyson for multiple games. 

There are legitimately four Big 12 coaches who had Coach of the Year–worthy seasons. I’m fascinated to see who gets the honor.

Sonny Dykes Kept His Team Focused

Two weeks ago, I did not expect TCU to finish 8-4. 

The Horned Frogs were coming off of back-to-back losses, including blowing a double-digit fourth-quarter lead to Iowa State and getting thoroughly dominated at BYU. With games against Houston and Cincinnati left, it felt like a 6-6 season was on the horizon. 

But Sonny Dykes kept things on the rails to cap off a respectable eight-win campaign with a 45-23 win over Cincinnati. I don’t think it will be enough to keep fan angst at bay, but in the NIL/transfer portal era, a coach deserves credit for keeping a team together when its main goal is off the table. 

QB Josh Hoover had arguably his best game of the season with 306 yards and four touchdowns. He had more TDs than incompletions. It’s been an up-and-down season for the Frogs’ talented signal caller, but he ended on a high note. 

WR Eric McAllister had an All-Big 12 season and capped a 1,000-yard year with 101 yards and a TD.

TCU even ran the ball well on Saturday, something that wasn’t always easy for this team. RB Jeremy Payne racked up 174 yards and a pair of touchdowns. 

And that’s the frustrating thing for Horned Frogs fans. There is plenty of talent on TCU’s roster, but Dykes has failed to leverage it into a Big 12 championship game appearance in the three seasons following a trip to the national title game. 

Dykes will be quick to tell you he’s won 35 games in four seasons in Fort Worth, nearly nine wins per season. Disgruntled fans will remind him that TCU is just one game over .500 in Big 12 play the last three years.

Cincy fans might be more frustrated after another season-ending downward spiral. Once as high as 17th in the College Football Playoff rankings, the Bearcats lost four straight to end the season. In 2024, they started 5-2 before losing five in a row. It’s becoming a trend for head coach Scott Satterfield. 

The lone consolation this year is that Cincinnati will be heading to a bowl game. 

Matt Campbell and Chris Klieman Also Finished Strong

Matt Campbell and Iowa State probably aren’t writing home about a 20-13 win over Oklahoma State. They should write home about finishing 8-4, though. 

The Cyclones had lost nearly half of their starting defense to injury midway through the season and still rallied for only the 13th 8+ win season in school history. Campbell has now finished above .500 in conference play more times than every other coach in Iowa State’s 128-year history combined. 

It’s not going to move the needle very much nationally, but it should move the needle with coaching searches.

As of right now, it looks like Campbell is going to stay put in Ames yet again. There were whispers about Arkansas having interest, but the Razorbacks have now hired Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield. 

K-State was flat for large portions of its 24-14 win over Colorado. It was a 7-7 game at halftime, and the Wildcats didn’t go up by two scores until the fourth quarter. But for a team with championship expectations that started 1-3, a 6-6 season is far from the worst-case scenario. 

The fact that this team didn’t plunge into a 3-9 or 4-8 hole is a testament to head coach Chris Klieman’s relationship with his players. They generally played hard for him, even after a dreadful start. 

The Wildcats may have stumbled upon a key piece for rebuilding the roster next year. RB Joe Jackson was mediocre at best until the final two games of the season, but he rushed for a combined 435 yards and six touchdowns against Utah and Colorado.

What You Need to Know

• Here’s one of the best takedowns I’ve seen of a BYU-hater claiming the Cougars would get rolled by some of the blueblood teams competing with them for a playoff spot. 

• Does BYU make the cut in the latest College Football Playoff Bracketology? 

• Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham fired off a since-deleted tweet that seemed directed at former Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin. 

• The Big 12 has four teams in the latest men’s basketball AP Top 25, including the #2 team in the country. 

• Looking for more on BYU’s playoff resume and the state of the Big 12’s playoff chances? Check out the latest Open For Business podcast on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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