Holy Score: The Big 12 needs BYU or Utah (not both, just one) to wear the cape in 2026

The third season of the Big 12’s current incarnation begins in full force this weekend with twin missions. The conference needs to claim an at-large berth in the College Football Playoff, and it needs to win a game in the CFP. To this point, it’s the only Power Four league that has not accomplished either goal.

But in a broader sense, the Big 12 needs more than breakthroughs in the playoff.

It needs a team that can capture the public’s imagination, muster goodwill from Tucson to Morgantown, win the conference, elevate the collective’s profile and brighten the aura.

In short, the Big 12 needs a hero to emerge. Could BYU or Utah fill the void?

A villain already exists. Texas Tech, by words and actions, has embraced the role. The Red Raiders are universally disliked and envied for their free-spending ways in the roster-construction process.

Granted, playing to win is hardly a sin. But when combined with their Texas-sized bravado, donor Cody Campbell’s attempts to command the sport and the school’s unforgivable, indefensible stance with former quarterback Brendan Sorsby, the Red Raiders have become programa non grata within the Big 12. In fact, they would be the lead antagonist for the sport writ large, except for a certain head coach in Baton Rouge.

But when a villain surfaces and alignment is fractured, a hero is required. Is there a team capable of toppling Texas Tech on the field, resetting the Big 12’s competitive narrative and removing the lingering stench from the Sorsby affair, all in three short months?

There are not many candidates. The Arizona schools are options, sure. So, too, is Houston. And maybe a sleeper emerges from the muck, whether it’s Kansas State or Oklahoma State or even West Virginia. This is the Big 12, after all. Sleepers are not only welcomed but expected.

And to be clear, this is not a two-school job. There is only one cape.

Utah has filled the role before, when it was a member of the Pac-12 and served as the likable underdog that beat back Oregon and USC.

But conference affiliation is not the only thing that has changed in Salt Lake City. Kyle Whittingham is out, Morgan Scalley is in, and unknowns exist on both sides of scrimmage.

What’s more, the Utes lack an element critical to the process: They are without a stage. Their schedule is well aligned for Scalley to win eight or nine games while lurking in the shadows, but it’s not built for an origin story.

In that regard, the terrain is far more fertile in Provo.

Despite the administrative infighting, with athletic director Brian Santiago marginalized by coach Kalani Sitake, the Cougars are arguably better positioned than Utah — better positioned than anyone, in fact — to assume the hero’s mantle.

They have perhaps the best combination of quarterback and offensive line in the conference, plus what should be an elite defense with proven playmakers at all levels. Also, the Cougars have a rich football tradition, a national following and the single greatest platform in the Big 12 from which to make their case: the Oct. 17 home showdown with Notre Dame.

A victory would not only supercharge BYU’s playoff resume. It would provide the Big 12 collective with a first-class result, creating an afterglow that would elevate whichever playoff contenders emerge.

The Cougars do not play Texas Tech during the regular season, and Texas Tech itself lacks a marquee non-conference game. In total, the Big 12 has just seven matchups against the SEC and Big Ten, which makes BYU’s date with Notre Dame all the more significant.

The stage is clear. The cape awaits. If BYU doesn’t rise to the occasion, maybe Utah swoops in. Or one of the Arizona schools.

Or maybe the Big 12 churns through the season with a willing villain, no counterweight and a playoff fate that has become all too familiar.

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