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SALT LAKE CITY — A conference championship appearance for BYU is slowly slipping away.
The Cougars remain in contention for the title game going into the final weekend of the regular season with Arizona State, Iowa State and Kansas State, but a loss to the Sun Devils on Saturday afternoon made their path there even more difficult.
Even after a 9-0 start to the season and a national ranking inside the top 10, the Big 12 championship game (and likely a College Football Playoff bid) is largely out of BYU's control.
So now the Cougars wait, while still having to beat Houston in the final game of the regular season to remain in contention. But even then, it's up to Arizona State — a team picked to finish last in the Big preseason poll — and Iowa State to determine the final conference pairing.
On Sunday, BYU dropped to No. 19 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 rankings after back-to-back losses in close fashion. In total, BYU has dropped by 12 spots in the rankings over the last two weeks.
As the one-time leader of the Big 12 at the top of the standings and in the rankings, BYU is now behind No. 14 Arizona State and No. 17 Iowa State. The Cougars, however, remain above No. 23 Colorado, who suffered a 37-21 defeat to a red-hot Kansas team.
Kansas State remains on the outside looking in while still receiving votes. The Wildcats would essentially be ranked No. 26.
Oregon remains at the top of the rankings with the No. 1 spot as the unanimous pick again after a bye week. Behind the Ducks is No. 2 Ohio State, which earned a convincing win over a previously undefeated Indiana team, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Penn State and No. 5 Notre Dame going into the final week of the regular season.
The official College Football Playoff rankings will be released Tuesday night.
To see the full rankings see below, or click here.
