BYU was going to fall in the rankings after losing to Kansas.
The question was, how far?
Well, the Cougars (9-1) are ranked No. 14 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, down eight spots from their placement at No. 6 last week.
BYU was ranked No. 14 in the latest iteration of the AP Poll and No. 15 in the Coaches Poll.
Explaining BYU’s placement, CFP spokesmen Warde Manuel said on ESPN: “We watch the games and see how teams are playing each week. When we saw a team (like BYU) that has close wins, struggles and comes back and wins the game. Those are great wins, but it also tells us about where that team is playing. So we are going to evaluate it each week, based on how the team plays that week as well as the season as a whole.”
The Cougars’ No. 14 ranking is the fourth highest in program history — in the CFP rankings — behind the No. 6 ranking of last week, the No. 9 ranking BYU held the week before that and the No. 13 ranking that BYU held briefly in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons
All-time, BYU has now been ranked in the CFP rankings 14 times.
Why do the College Football Playoff rankings matter?
As a reminder, since its debut in 2014 the CFP rankings have determined which teams will make it into the College Football playoff, which was previously a four-team playoff and is now a 12-team affair.
Where the AP and Coaches polls have long held a historic place in college football, the only rankings that matter currently are the CFP rankings.
In the 12-team playoff format, a top 12 ranking doesn’t guarantee a spot in the playoff, however.
The five highest ranked conference champions are guaranteed berths in the 12-team playoff, with the four highest ranked conference champions being seeded. That is expected (though not technically guaranteed) to be the champions of the ACC, the Big 12, the Big Ten and the SEC and then the highest ranked champion of one of the five Group of Five conferences.
The remaining seven playoff participants will be determined by the rankings, regardless of conference.
Who else is ranked that matters, right now, for BYU?
One of the Cougars’ remaining two regular season opponents — Arizona State— can be found in the CFP rankings, after the Sun Devils (8-2) upset Kansas State last weekend.
A win in Tempe could impress the committee and would give the Cougars wins over four teams with winning records this season — No. 13 SMU, No. 21 ASU, Kansas State and Baylor.
BYU has defeated a ranked opponent already in No. 13 SMU and that win is doing a lot for the Cougars in ESPN’s Strength of Record metric, as is the win over now resurgent Baylor (6-4) and Kansas State (7-3).
If BYU wins out and plays for the Big 12 title, the likelihood is that it will play against No. 16 Colorado, though Iowa State, which plays Utah this weekend, is still in the mix.
College Football Playoff rankings (Nov. 19)
- Oregon (11-0); Big Ten
- Ohio State (9-1); Big Ten
- Texas (9-1); SEC
- Penn State (9-1); Big Ten
- Indiana (10-0); Big Ten
- Notre Dame (9-1); Independent
- Alabama (8-2); SEC
- Miami (FL) (9-1); ACC
- Ole Miss (8-2); SEC
- Georgia (8-2); SEC
- Tennessee (8-2); SEC
- Boise State (9-1); MWC
- SMU (9-1); ACC
- BYU (9-1); Big 12
- Texas A&M (8-2); SEC
- Colorado (8-2); Big 12
- Clemson (8-2); ACC
- South Carolina (7-3); SEC
- Army (9-0); AAC
- Tulane (9-2); AAC
- Arizona State (8-2); Big 12
- Iowa State (8-2); Big 12
- Missouri (7-3); SEC
- UNLV (8-2); MWC
- Illinois (7-3); Big Ten