Saturday afternoon, no. 11 Iowa State lost to Texas Tech after giving up a touchdown with 20 seconds left. With the loss, the Cyclones fall to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the Big 12. Now that Iowa State has lost, BYU is the only undefeated team remaining in the Big 12 and one of six teams undefeated in the country. The Cougars alone occupy first place in the Big 12 rankings.

Earlier Saturday, no. 3 Penn State lost at home to no. 4 Ohio State – This was the first loss of the season for the Nittany Lions. The six remaining undefeated teams in the FBS are Oregon, BYU, Miami, Indiana, Army and Pitt. Pitt is scheduled to face SMU on the road Saturday night – the Mustangs are favored by a touchdown in this game.

Iowa State’s loss isn’t big for the Big 12’s hopes of having two teams in the College Football Playoff, but it’s good for BYU’s chances of making the conference championship game. BYU could lose a game in November and still be in a very good position to play Arlington.

There is still hope that two Big 12 teams will qualify for the College Football Playoff. If Kansas State beats Iowa State to end the regular season, the Big 12 would still have a chance to put two teams in the field.

Now that Iowa State has suffered a loss, BYU is guaranteed to be the top-ranked Big 12 team when the College Football Playoff rankings are released on Tuesday.

Most importantly for BYU, they control their own destiny toward the Big 12 Championship. If BYU wins, there’s nothing anyone can do to keep them out. BYU not only controls its own destiny toward the conference championship, but also its own destiny toward the College Football Playoff.