For the first time in a long time, the Utes hit the road, where they will face one of the country’s best quarterbacks.

In fact, the Hotline would respectfully offer the following: Short of sheer and utter chaos in other conferences — chaos that cannot be explained by football physics or comprehended by the human mind — BYU and Utah have no path into the CFP’s at-large field. For both, it’s the Big 12 title or bust.

At the moment, the Big 12 is shaping up as a two-bid league, but those two bids are BYU, which controls its own destiny toward Arlington, and Texas Tech. If the CFP were seeded and bracketed today, Utah is out.

The No. 13 Utes are in a good position with 3 weeks left. Is it possible for Utah to get into the CFP without a Big 12 title game appearance?

Big 12 football schedule strength rankings, analysis for title race: How do Texas Tech, BYU, Arizona State, Utah, Cincinnati, TCU, Houston stack up?

Want to see Arizona State football make the Big 12 football championship game? Root for Cincinnati, Texas Tech, Utah and BYU to lose on Nov. 15, 2025.

Utah State routs Nevada, hands Pack 16th straight league loss in Mountain West football; Nevada hosts San Jose State on Saturday

No. 4 Duke (3-0) returns home Friday night to host Indiana State (2-1) in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.