Weekend Watch Guide: An Oklahoma State Fan’s Guide to Week 12 of the College Football Season

It’s mid-November, which means college football games are starting to mean a little bit more as the race to the CFP becomes a little clearer.

Here’s a look at this weekend’s Big 12 slate, as well as a peek at some other big games from around the country.

Big 12 Schedule

Kansas State (4-5) at Oklahoma State (1-8) — 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPNU
Arizona (6-3) at No. 25 Cincinnati (7-2) — 11 a.m. Saturday on FS1
West Virginia (4-6) at Arizona State (6-3) — 12 p.m. Saturday on TNT
UCF (4-5) at No. 6 Texas Tech (9-1) — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on FOX
No. 13 Utah (7-2) at Baylor (5-4) — 6 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2
TCU (6-3) at No. 12 BYU (8-1) — 9:15 p.m. Saturday on ESPN

Zona-Cincy: The Bearcats have put together an outstanding season, and they still have a chance to finish the year with 10 wins. Cincinnati welcomes Arizona to town this weekend before closing the year with a visit from BYU before going to TCU.

Cincy is, though, coming off a thumping loss to Utah in Salt Lake — the Bearcats’ first loss since their season opener against Nebraska.

Arizona has had an up-and-down year, going 3-3 in the past six games, but the Wildcats enter this weekend on a two-game winning streak after throttling Colorado in Boulder before edging out a 24-20 win against Kansas last week.

Utah-Baylor: The Utes are still very much in the hunt to make the college football playoff and the Big 12 title game. They do have loses to Tech and BYU, the two teams ahead of Utah in the Big 12 standings, so Utah needs to keep pace if it wants any shot.

TCU-BYU: Speaking of those Cougars, they too are very much in the hunt for a big postseason even after a disappointing loss in Lubbock that left them with little room for error.

Other Games to Watch

No. 9 Notre Dame (7-2) at No. 22 Pitt (7-2) — 11 a.m. Saturday on ABC
No. 24 USF (7-2) at Navy (7-2) — 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPN2
No. 11 Oklahoma (7-2) at No. 4 Alabama (8-1) — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC
No. 21 Iowa (6-3) at No. 17 USC (7-2) — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on Big Ten Network
No. 10 Texas (7-2) at No. 5 Georgia (8-1) — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC

Notre Dame-Pitt: The top of the ACC is a bit of a mess, but that means like six teams (Georgia Tech, Virginia, SMU, Pitt, Louisville and Miami) are still capable of winning the league and securing a spot in the College Football Playoff. This is also a big game for the Fighting Irish. At 7-2, Notre Dame probably can’t afford another loss while still getting into the playoff field without a conference to win.

USF-Navy: Not only does the game feature potential OSU coaching candidate Alex Golesh, but it’s also big in the Group of Five’s journey to the CFP. The Bulls would be in the CFP based on the most-recent rankings, but a win from the Midshipmen could mean that they squeak into the CFP should they go on to win the American.

OU-Bama/Texas-Georgia: These games almost feel like mirrors of each other in that it’s a one-loss, old-guard SEC squad hosting a two-loss Big 12 defector. OU and Texas need wins to stay in the Playoff hunt, while Alabama and Georgia are in search of those top four seeds to get a bye. This thing might get really weird should OU beat Bama and Texas beat Georgia.