Five Black Friday Games that Impact BYU

There are multiple games around the country that will impact the Cougars

BYU defensive end Tausili Akana pressures Noah Fifita in Cougars' win over Arizona | BYU Photo

The final weekend of the regular season is here. The Cougars are 10-1 and hoping to improve to 11-1 with a win over UCF on Saturday. Although the Cougars will not be in action, there will be plenty of games that impact BYU on Black Friday. Here are five games that impact BYU the most.

1. No. 7 Ole Miss at Mississippi State

Time: 10:00 AM Mountain Time
Channel: ABC

No. 7 Ole Miss was leapfrogged by Oregon in the last CFP rankings. The Rebels are suddenly in danger of dropping out of the CFP picture if they lose to Mississippi State. Why would a one-loss SEC team be at risk? A few factors:

1. Ole Miss' resume is not very strong
2. There are rumors about Lane Kiffin leaving for another job - the committee has said they can factor that into the rankings

It would really benefit BYU if Mississippi State pulled off the upset.

2. No. 13 Utah at Kansas

Time: 10:00 AM Mountain Time
Channel: ESPN

Utah is the best win on BYU's resume. If the Cougars have any shot at an at-large bid, they would need the Utes to win and remain in the top 15.

3. No. 4 Georgia at no. 23 Georgia Tech

Time: 1:30 PM
Channel: ABC

This game only minorly impacts BYU. A Georgia Tech upset over Georgia would be a bad loss for the Bulldogs given how Georgia Tech has played of late. It's unlikely that Georgia would fall all the way down behind BYU with a loss, but it's not impossible either. The weirder and more chaotic the final week the better for a BYU team that needs to move up just one spot to be in the CFP picture.

4. No. 3 Texas A&M at no. 16 Texas

Time: 5:30 PM Mountain Time
Channel: ABC

This is one of those games where BYU fans should cheer for the higher-ranked team. Texas would jump clear up the rankings with a win over no. 3 Texas A&M and potentially be in position to steal an at-large bid. On the other hand, Texas A&M would not drop below BYU in the rankings with a loss. Therefore, it's better for BYU if Texas A&M wins this game.

5. No. 25 Arizona at No. 20 Arizona State

Time: 7:00 PM Mountain Time
Channel: FOX

No game on Friday directly impacts BYU more than this game. BYU wants Arizona to beat Arizona State for two reasons:

1. An Arizona win would send BYU to the Big 12 championship game
2. Arizona is BYU's second ranked win on its resume

Arizona could jump up a few spots in the rankings with a win over the Sun Devils, making BYU's road win over the Wildcats look better and better. Also, BYU could go into Saturday's regular season finale knowing they will be playing in the Big 12 title game no matter what.