Texas-Mississippi State matchup, Big 12 playoff picture take center stage

A Yahoo Sports column by Cedric Golden and Kirk Bohls examines the Texas-Mississippi State matchup while also considering the Big 12’s path into the College Football Playoff. The discussion includes Texas, Mississippi State, Texas Tech and the upcoming CFP rankings.

Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor will not return during the 2026 season. The school said foot surgery ended his season and that he was expected to make a full recovery.

The Big 12 standings show Utah at 7-0 overall and 4-0 in conference play. Arizona, BYU and Texas Tech each have 6-1 overall records and 3-1 conference marks.

Recent results add context to the conference picture. Texas Tech fell 37-24 at Cincinnati on October 24, 2026. On the same date, UCF beat BYU 39-31.

Those results leave the conference’s leading records as a central part of the playoff discussion addressed by Golden and Bohls. The column also turns to the question of how many Big 12 teams could remain in contention once the selection committee begins releasing its rankings.

The College Football Playoff’s first selection-committee rankings for 2026 are scheduled for Tuesday, November 3. More rankings dates are listed on the committee’s calendar through December 1.

The 2026 playoff format provides four places for automatic conference qualifiers, one place for the highest-ranked Group of Five team and seven at-large selections. The final rankings and bracket are scheduled for December 6, 2026.

The committee’s first rankings will provide the next official snapshot of how the national field is being evaluated. Until then, the Big 12 standings, the recent losses by Texas Tech and BYU, and Taylor’s season-ending surgery remain the verified facts surrounding the discussion.