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The Big 12 Championship Game will feature a pair of first-timers in Texas Tech and BYU — one a founding member, the other a recent newcomer, respectively.

Both teams close out their regular seasons on Saturday, but managed to clinch spots in the conference title game late Friday night thanks to a loss by Arizona State. No. 5 Texas Tech (10-1, 7-1 Big 12), which lost its only game of the season to the Sun Devils, will play at West Virginia on Saturday; No. 11 BYU (10-1, 7-1 Big 12), which lost only at Texas Tech, will host UCF.

Both teams are championship-game bound regardless of Saturday’s outcomes, and will face off Saturday, Dec. 6 in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys (noon ET, ABC). It will be a rematch of Texas Tech’s 29-7 win on Nov. 8, with each school in the College Football Playoff hunt but BYU likely needing a title win to get in as an automatic qualifier.

Tech, an original Big 12 member when conference play began in 1996, will vie for the league title for the first time, and after making plenty of headlines this offseason. The Red Raiders, in their fourth season under coach Joey McGuire, spent north of $25 million on their roster, resulting in a dominant, top-five defense stocked with transfer talent up front and fueled by All-America linebacker Jacob Rodriguez. An influx of donor-funded support, led by university board chair and billionaire oil booster Cody Campbell, has helped elevate Tech to one of the best and most talented teams in FBS, with an average margin of victory of 33.8 points.

CLINCHED❗️
See you in Arlington Red Raiders

Tickets 🎟️: https://t.co/bIXU7cxPTR#Big12FB | @TexasTechFB pic.twitter.com/2ZEk0g6zFs

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) November 29, 2025

The lone loss came at ASU, 26-22, with starting quarterback Behren Morton sidelined due to injury. The Red Raiders have a chance to match the vaunted 2008 team with a program-record 11 regular-season wins if they can beat West Virginia. The program’s last conference championship came in 1994 in the Southwest Conference.

BYU is in just its third year of Big 12 play after 12 seasons as an Independent, and will have a chance to win its first conference championship since 2007 as a member of the Mountain West. The Cougars have posted double-digit wins for a second straight season under coach Kalani Sitake, though they came up short of reaching the conference championship a season ago. Led by true freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier and an opportunistic defense that ranks in the top 10 in turnover margin, BYU has managed to grind out wins over Arizona, Utah and Cincinnati.

CLINCHED❕
See you in Arlington Cougars

Tickets 🎟️: https://t.co/bIXU7cynJp#Big12FB | @BYUfootball pic.twitter.com/d6xCrtyOUK

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) November 29, 2025

Texas Tech threw its weight around in the first meeting against BYU despite having to settle for five field goals. The Red Raiders limited the Cougars to just 255 total yards, including three turnovers and converting only 3-of-14 on third down. BYU struggled with only 67 rushing yards, well below its season average of more than 200 per game.

Morton has battled injuries all season for Texas Tech, so it will be interesting to see how much he plays at West Virginia with the championship game locked in. If Tech leaves Morgantown with a win, the team should be safely in the 12-team CFP field even with a loss in the Big 12 championship. BYU, however, is currently just below the cutline for an at-large spot. A win against UCF followed by a second loss to Texas Tech in the title game probably won’t be enough to make the Playoff, unless there are a few surprise losses by teams ahead of them in the rankings on Saturday.

Meaning the Big 12’s best shot at sending multiple teams to the CFP would feature a pair wins by Texas Tech and BYU to close the regular season, and some revenge for the Cougars next weekend in Jerry World.