After bouncing back with a victory over San Diego State on Saturday, the BYU Cougars have moved up a spot in the latest College Football Playoff rankings to No. 17.
BYU had risen to as high as No. 13 in the CFP rankings, before a loss to now-No. 12 Coastal Carolina dropped the Cougars to No. 18 a week ago.
With their 28-14 win over the Aztecs, BYU remains the third-highest ranked non-Power 5 team, behind the Chanticleers and No. 9 Cincinnati.
The highest ranked team from the West was No. 13 USC. The undefeated Trojans will face unranked Oregon in the Pac-12 championship this weekend.
Conference championship games featuring a pair of ranked teams include:
SEC championship — No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 7 Florida
ACC championship — No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 3 Clemson
Big 12 championship — No. 6 Iowa State vs. No. 10 Oklahoma
Big Ten championship — No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 14 Northwestern
AAC championship — No. 9 Cincinnati vs. No. 23 Tulsa
Sun Belt — No. 12 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 19 Louisiana
“It should be an exciting weekend,” said CFP chair Gary Barta.
Entering the rankings for the first time this season is undefeated San Jose State. The No. 24-ranked Spartans will face off against reigning Mountain West Conference champion Boise State in the MWC championship.
Colorado, which lost to Utah 38-21 on Saturday, remained in the rankings, if only just, at No. 25.
College Football Playoff Rankings (Dec. 15)
1. Alabama (9-0)
2. Notre Dame (10-0)
3. Clemson (9-1)
4. Ohio State (5-0)
5. Texas A&M (7-1)
6. Iowa State (8-2)
7. Florida (8-2)
8. Georgia (7-2)
9. Cincinnati (8-0)
10. Oklahoma (7-2)
11. Indiana (6-1)
12. Coastal Carolina (11-0)
13. USC (5-0)
14. Northwestern (6-1)
15. North Carolina (8-3)
16. Iowa (6-2)
17. BYU (10-1)
18. Miami (8-2)
19. Louisiana (9-1)
20. Texas (6-3)
21. Oklahoma State (7-3)
22. NC State (8-3)
23. Tulsa (6-1)
24. San Jose State (6-0)
25. Colorado (4-1)