Joey McGuire‘s Texas Tech Red Raiders handed Kalani Sitake and the BYU Cougars their first loss of the season with a defensive masterclass 29-7 victory in weelk eleven. In the highly anticipated top-10 matchup, the Red Raiders’ defense, own the game from the very get-go. The Red Raiders forced 3 turnovers and completely shut down BYU’s offense to just 255 yards and also had their wideouts on lock. Post-game, BYU insiders gave the injury tea on the Red Raiders’ warfare’s casualty.

On November 8, BYU insider, Linton Spencer, gives the update on Parker Kingston’s injury on BYUTV Sports Nation: “What I know about Parker right now is very preliminary. I was told he’s sore, but should be okay…but the initial report was sore, but should be okay.” Spencer Linton said that overall, BYU stayed pretty healthy after the game, which is good news as they get ready for the last three games of the season.

The main concern is wide receiver Parker Kingston. The BYU’s #11 took a heavy hit from Texas Tech defensive back Dontae Balfour, causing the ball to pop loose and hit the turf in the game. Parker ended up with just 5 receptions for 43 yards. The early update is that he’s just sore and should be okay, but doctors will know more after doing tests like X-rays or MRIs. If he can’t play in the next games against TCU or Cincinnati, it would be a big loss for BYU’s offense.

The Red Raiders’ defense didn’t give any benefit of the doubt against the Cougars. Honestly, it was a masterclass in defense. They completely shut down BYU’s running game, holding the Cougars to a season-low 67 rushing yards on 27 carries. Jacob Rodriguez and Co. were suffocating BYU’s QB all night game. Spencer Linton ended his update with props to Tech’s front-seven: “That Texas Tech defensive front is legitimate out of the game.” Jacob Rodriguez led the charge with 14 tackles, a pick, and a fumble recovery.

The thing BYU can cheer about is Linton mentioned that linebacker Jack Kelly looked great and seemed much healthier after the bye week. Running back LJ Martin didn’t carry the ball as much because Texas Tech’s defense held him to just 35 yards on 10 carries. Overall, BYU’s health looks good, and having key players like Kelly feeling better gives the team confidence heading into the rest of the season.

Is BYU out of the Big 12 title game?

Although their loss to Texas Tech was a total bummer, BYU still controls its own destiny for the Big 12 title game. Think of it like this: they had some room for error before this game, but now that cushion is gone. They just need to win their remaining three games against TCU, Cincinnati, and UCF, and they’re in. Simple as that. It’s a tough road, but the path is still right there in front of them.

If they slip up again and lose one of those final three games, things get a little more complicated. They would then have to rely on a bunch of tiebreakers to fall their way, and their fate would be out of their hands. For example, if they were to lose to one conference-loss Cincinnati team (7-2, 5-1 conference), they’d have a much tougher path to the championship, but if they lost to TCU, their chances would still be pretty good since they’d have the tiebreaker over Cincinnati.

So, yes, the loss stings, it wasn’t a season-ender for the Cougars. They just need to put their heads down, focus on one game at a time, and finish strong. A lot can happen in college football, and the Big 12 is always wild, so they’re definitely not out of it just yet.