The Texas Tech Red Raiders are among the best teams in the Big 12 and they’re currently sitting in a tie with the Houston Cougars for third-place in the conference just behind the likes of the BYU Cougars and the Cincinnati Bearcats.
But even though the Red Raiders are behind a couple of teams that are unbeaten in the conference, Texas Tech still has a great chance of coming out on top of the Big 12 this season. If you ask ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Red Raiders have the second-best shot of winning the conference this season, just behind the BYU Cougars.
And that’s not a bad spot to be in right now as we enter Week 10.
Texas Tech holds the second-best chance of winning the Big 12 entering Week 10
Here are the eight teams who are currently being given a shot to win the Big 12 this season according to ESPN’s Football Power Index:
- BYU Cougars - 40.2 percent
- Texas Tech Red Raiders - 35.2 percent
- Cincinnati Bearcats - 12.1 percent
- Utah Utes - 8.3 percent
- Houston Cougars - 1.4 percent
- TCU Horned Frogs - 1.3 percent
- Kansas State Wildcats - 1.0 percent
- Arizona State Sun Devils - 0.4 percent
First and foremost, I’ve gotta say that I feel pretty good about Texas Tech right here. Having the second-best chance to go out and win the Big 12 this season feels good to me right now. I’ll take that.
I get that there’s a ton of math and magic and projections and algorithms and fun things that my brain will never comprehend that goes into these sorts of percentages and chances from ESPN’s FPI. I totally get that my brain doesn’t have the firepower to keep up with all of that.
Still, seeing the Houston Cougars behind the Utah Utes in this one?
That’s absolutely befuddling to me. That’s one that just flat out doesn’t make much sense to me at this point in the season. The Cougars are 7-1 overall and 4-1 in Big 12 play and the road up ahead of them is pretty smooth! UH has West Virginia, UCF, TCU, and Baylor left. The Coogs could certainly win out and end the season at 11-1! That doesn’t seem like all that much of a stretch!
We’ll see. It certainly would be quite the accomplishment if Houston were able to make that happen. And a potential rematch with Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship game? Sign me up to watch that one.