Colorado isn’t dead yet in the Big 12 or CFP race — but neither are 8 other teams

Week 13 in college football flipped the season landscape on its head twice over with seven ranked upsets, five of them perpetrated by unranked teams.

The biggest benefactor of the weekend was Arizona State (9-2), bumped to No. 14 in the newest AP poll and expected to land there in Tuesday's College Football Playoff committee rankings too.

The Sun Devils lead the Big 12 Conference for the moment after handing BYU its second consecutive loss and with Colorado slipping against spoiler Kansas. But what if I told you the conference title race isn't just between the three schools?

The Big 12 title chase is a nine-horse race with one week to play

Deion Sanders and Colorado aren't out the Big 12 and CFP race by any means but they'll have to watch their backs as well as continue to look ahead and chase down Arizona State.

According to Action Network's Brett McMurphy, the conference released tiebreakers for all the potential scenarios the teams may experience in Week 14 and, incredibly, there are nine squads still alive for a spot in the championship game and potentially the CFP.

The wildest scenario would result in the currently 6-5 West Virginia Mountaineers clinching a spot in the conference championship game. Could you imagine a five-loss team as the 12-seed in the Playoff?

Most scenarios involve Arizona State advancing to Dallas but three of them also include Colorado as a participant. The Buffaloes need a little help because if all four teams currently at the top of the standings win in Week 14, Colorado would be on the outside looking in.

It would be a shame to not have the likely Heisman Trophy winner in Travis Hunter compete for a conference title and potentially a national championship but thus is the game of college football, it can be a fickle beast.