Utah Utes face stiff final stretch

The No. 6 Utah Utes face the hardest remaining schedule among the top contenders in the Big 12 Conference.

With five weeks left in the regular season, five teams are within one game of the league lead. Another team sits just half a game back. Utah sits alone at the top with a 4-0 conference record and a 7-0 overall mark. No. 8 BYU, No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 22 Arizona and No. 24 Oklahoma State all hold 3-1 conference records. No. 18 Houston trails those four with a 3-2 conference mark.

Each of these six teams plays nine conference opponents this season. ESPN Analytics lists the Utes as favorites in each of their final five games. However, the path is steeper than for their rivals. Utah plays on the road in three of the next four games. The team travels to Cincinnati this weekend. It then hosts BYU on Nov. 7. The Utes head to Arizona on Nov. 14 before visiting TCU on Nov. 21. West Virginia comes to Utah on Nov. 27.

The matchup against BYU is a rivalry contest at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The winner of that game is likely to secure a spot in the Big 12 championship game. BYU has three home games remaining and is favored in those contests. The Cougars are also favored in their road trip to Kansas. Texas Tech plays Arizona this weekend and visits Oklahoma State on Nov. 14. Arizona hosts Utah on Nov. 14 after visiting Texas Tech this weekend. Oklahoma State hosts Texas Tech on Nov. 14, a game that could heavily impact the standings.

Houston is on a bye this weekend. The Cougars are heavy favorites to win their final four games. Their two conference losses were by a combined 10 points. Both teams held double-digit leads at one point in those defeats. Houston has favorable tiebreakers if it finishes with a 7-2 record alongside other teams. Oklahoma State is favored in each of its final five games, including three road trips.

Four other teams currently hold 2-2 conference records: Arizona State, Baylor, Cincinnati and UCF. UCF upset No. 2 BYU last weekend. The Knights are favored in four of their final five games and face no ranked teams for the remainder of the season. Cincinnati has the toughest final five-game stretch of any team in the league. The Bearcats host Utah this week and play road games at Houston and BYU.

Cincinnati won 37-24 against Texas Tech last week. That result kept the Bearcats in contention. The Utes have not lost in 2026. Coach Morgan Scalley’s team has met every challenge thus far. The next five weeks will determine which two teams advance to the conference title game.