Updated College Football Playoff Rankings: Arizona State shut out of top 15
The lack of respect for the Arizona State football team — and the Big 12 — knows no bounds.
In the latest updated College Football Playoff Rankings, revealed Tuesday night on ESPN, Arizona State (9-2) only moved up to No. 16, well outside of the top 12. They are the top-ranked Big 12 team, with the assumption that they will win the conference.
Ranked directly ahead of Arizona State are three, three-loss SEC teams: No. 15 South Carolina (8-3), No. 14 Ole Miss (8-3) and No. 13 Alabama (8-3). Clemson, who is in second place in the ACC at 9-2, jumped to No. 12, while Boise State (9-1), who beat one of the worst teams in the country 17-13 last week, moved to No. 11.
And then there's Indiana (10-1). Somehow, after getting blown out 38-15 by Ohio State, the Hoosiers stayed in the hunt at No. 10. Indiana has played one of the softest schedules in the entire country and, going into last weekend, only had one victory over a team above .500.
With the Big Ten and SEC essentially controlling the new TV contract for the College Football Playoff — each conference will reportedly receive 29% of the upcoming ESPN contract, while the Big 12 will only receive about 15% — it makes sense why they continue to have the most teams ranked in the top 15.
But come on. If the CFP committee is actually watching the games, there's no way they can rank Indiana or Boise State ahead of Arizona State. Indiana is 51st in ESPN's strength of schedule rankings, while Boise State is 81st.
Kenny Dillingham's Sun Devils have won four consecutive games, including two victories over ranked opponents — Kansas State and BYU. They are currently in a four-way tie for first place in the Big 12. If ASU beats rival Arizona on Saturday, they will advance to the Big 12 championship game.
With No. 17 Tulane (9-2) sitting just behind Arizona State, there's a chance a Big 12 team won't make the 12-team College Football Playoff. The top five-ranked conference champions get automatic bids, and if Tulane wins the American Athletic Conference championship and finishes 11-2, there's a chance they could get the fifth automatic bid over the Big 12 champion.
Stay tuned for what promises to be a wild couple of weeks. Here are the latest College Football Playoff Rankings from the CFP committe:
College Football Playoff Rankings
Nov. 26, 2024
- Oregon (11-0) | Projected No. 1 seed
- Ohio State (10-1) | Projected No. 5 seed
- Texas (10-1) | Projected No. 2 seed
- Penn State (10-1) | Projected No. 6 seed
- Notre Dame (10-1) | Projected No. 7 seed
- Miami (10-1) | Projected No. 3 seed
- Georgia (9-2) | Projected No. 8 seed
- Tennessee (9-2) | Projected No. 9 seed
- SMU (10-1) | Projected No. 10 seed
- Indiana (10-1) | Projected No. 11 seed
- Boise State (10-1) | Projected No. 4 seed
- Clemson (9-2)
- Alabama (8-3)
- Ole Miss (8-3)
- South Carolina (8-3)
- Arizona State (9-2) | Projected No. 12 seed
- Tulane (9-2)
- Iowa State (9-2)
- BYU (9-2)
- Texas A&M (8-3)
- Missouri (8-3)
- UNLV (9-2)
- Illinois (8-3)
- Kansas State (8-3)
- Colorado (8-3)
More Arizona State & Big 12 Analysis
Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. One of his favorite memories was covering the 1999 Fiesta Bowl - the first BCS National Championship Game - at Sun Devil Stadium.