With college football’s regular season winding down, teams across the country are jockeying for position.

There are bowl game appearances to earn, conference championships to claim and rankings to climb.

This all-out sprint to the finish is no more apparent than in the Big 12’s North division, where three teams enter their final contests with everything on the line.

Colorado, Iowa State and Missouri all approach their final game of the regular season with a shot at the North’s top position.

The Buffaloes hold a one-game advantage over the other two contenders, and can clinch the title with a win over Nebraska on Nov. 25.

They could have taken the North title outright with a win over Iowa State on Saturday, but allowed the Cyclones to stay in the picture, losing 30-16.

“In the end, the Iowa State defense made the plays and made the difference in the game,” Colorado coach Gary Barnett said. “It was hard to swallow, but you have to deal with it.”

Colorado now has 10 days to prepare for Nebraska.

“We have to get ourselves back together, figure out what went wrong and get it fixed,” Barnett said.

Colorado is 3-7 in its last 10 games against Nebraska. In the nine Big 12 Championship games that have been played, one of those two teams has represented the North in six of them. Kansas State has played in the other three.

Missouri can keep itself in contention for its first North title with a win over Kansas State on Saturday.

The Tigers are 4-3 in the Big 12, with their losses coming to Texas, Kansas and Colorado.

With so much to play for, Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said the only way to prepare for the final game of the year is to focus solely on football.

“There are always a lot of things [to play for] at the end of the season,” he said. “It’s best for our football team to focus on the task at hand. We reviewed the possibilities and options on Sunday, and then got focused on what we need to do.”

Even if the Tigers can’t claim the North title, a seventh win on their schedule is a plus. With six Big 12 teams carrying six wins right now, adding No. 7 would help any team with its bowl possibilities.

“It’s one more win,” Pinkel said.

“You want to be the best you can be. We’re going to be hungry to get that seventh win. Any time you make your record better, for many reasons, it’s a plus.”

The final team with title hopes is Iowa State. The Cyclones carry a 4-3 mark into their final game at Kansas.

Iowa State’s three losses came in two overtime games on the road and a home loss to Baylor. Those three games were also the first three conference games for Iowa State, which is riding a four-game win streak, tying last season’s team for the longest single-season Big 12 win streak in school history.

“That’s not a typical 0-3 start,” Barnett said. “They were in it all the way.”