Back-to-back losses have left BYU needing outside help to secure a spot in its first Big 12 championship game and play for a bid into the College Football Playoff. Beating Houston on Saturday would only be a first step.

If all of those teams win in the final week of the regular season, BYU would be left out. Instead, it would be Arizona State and Iowa State heading to the Big 12 title game. The Cougars would lose the tiebreaker to both ASU and ISU. So, BYU needs a win and some help to punch its ticket.

After a hot 9-0 start, the BYU Cougars now find themselves mired in a two-game skid following back-to-back losses to Kansas and Arizona State.

BYU and Colorado, tied atop the conference standings at 6-1 in league play, both control their own destiny. The path to the Big 12 title game isn’t necessarily easy, but it is straightforward.

No. 17 Iowa State goes into its home game against Kansas State on Saturday night as one of the Big 12 teams with the highest probability of making it to the con