Big 12 Championship Game scenarios for Week 14: What Colorado, BYU and more need

Chaos abounds as we enter the final week of college football's regular season, with each of the Power 4 conferences' title games still unsettled. But if recent history has taught us anything, it's that no one does chaos quite like the Big 12 — and they're set to paint their Mona Lisa over the next few days.

Most conference races just hinge on one or two variables; a Texas-Texas A&M result here, a Michigan upset of Ohio State there. The Big 12, however, is still as wide open as wide open can be: There's currently a four-way tie atop the standings, with Arizona State, BYU, Colorado and Iowa State all sitting a 6-2. But wait, there's so much more. Just below that quartet are five teams at 5-3, each of which could steal a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game if enough results break their way this week.

How can fans make sense of all this? What does your team need to make sure they get to Dallas? Never fear, we're here to break it all down.

Full Big 12 standings entering Week 14

Here's where the top half of the Big 12 stands entering the season's final week, with all nine teams listed below still technically alive to reach the conference title game.

• Arizona State (6-2)
• Iowa State (6-2)
• Colorado (6-2)
• BYU (6-2)
• Baylor (5-3)
• Kansas State (5-3)
• TCU (5-3)
• Texas Tech (5-3)
• West Virginia (5-3)

What Arizona State needs in Week 14 to make Big 12 Championship Game

Of all the teams above, the Sun Devils are best positioned heading into the season's final week. A win over Arizona in the Territorial Cup will have them in great shape: Get to 7-2, and Kenny Dillingham's team is in position to come out ahead in nearly every tiebreaker scenario.

If all four 6-2 teams win, Arizona State wins the four-way tiebreaker and advances. And the same holds true for most tiebreakers featuring three teams at 7-2 as well. The one exception? Wins from Iowa State and Colorado combined with a BYU loss against Houston, a Texas Tech win over West Virginia, a Baylor win over Kansas and a Cincinnati win over TCU would result in the Buffaloes and Cyclones advancing thanks to each team's win percentage against the highest-placed common opponent in the conference standings.

Beyond that, though, it's pretty much win and you're in.

What Iowa State needs in Week 14 to make Big 12 Championship Game

There's good news and bad news for Iowa State. The good news is that, with a win, they're also in pretty good shape. The bad news is that they have the toughest matchup of any of the 6-2 teams, with an ornery Kansas State team coming to Ames on Saturday night for Farmageddon.

If Matt Campbell's team comes out of that showdown with a win, though, there's hardly any way in which they don't advance to the conference title game. The Cyclones advance in the event of a four-way tie at 7-2, and like ASU, they advance in just about every three-way tie at 7-2 as well. The exception is an inverse of Arizona State's scenario above: Wins from Arizona State and Colorado combined with a BYU loss, a Texas Tech win over West Virginia, a Kansas win over Baylor and a TCU win over Cincinnati would send Colorado and ASU to Dallas.

What Colorado needs in Week 14 to make Big 12 Championship Game

Now things start to get a bit dicier. A win over Oklahoma State, plus losses from two of BYU, Arizona State and Iowa State, would do the job for Deion Sanders' squad. But a four-way tie at 7-2 would eliminate the Buffs, as would three-way ties at 7-2 with BYU and Iowa State as well as BYU and Arizona State.

In addition to taking care of business on Friday night, Colorado needs to be rooting hard for Houston to spring an unlikely upset in Provo on Saturday. A three-way tie between the Buffs, Arizona State and Iowa State would break in Colorado's favor no matter what else happens this weekend.

What BYU needs in Week 14 to make Big 12 Championship Game

BYU is in slightly better position, although like the Buffs, the Cougars would be eliminated in the event of a four-way tie at 7-2. If either Arizona State or Iowa State lose this week, though, then all BYU needs to do is take care of business against Houston: Three-way ties with Arizona State and Colorado or Colorado and Iowa State would both break in the Cougars' favor, meaning they wouldn't even have to worry about getting a second loss to advance.

What Baylor, Kansas State, TCU, Texas Tech and West Virginia need to make Big 12 Championship Game

There are some 256 different potential scenarios here, depending on how much chaos the week brings. But all five 5-3 teams are technically still alive, even if their paths aren't very likely: Each team needs to get losses from at least three of the four teams ahead of them at 6-2 to even have a chance. From there, every other result would come in to play, affecting potential tiebreakers like record against common conference opponents, combined conference record of conference opponents and even, if it comes to it, team Rating Score metric.