Upsets clear path for Arizona State to be in top 10 of College Football Playoff Rankings
An already crazy college football season got a whole lot crazier on Saturday.
And Arizona State was right in the middle of it.
The Sun Devils held off BYU 28-23 in a game that ended twice, creating a four-way tie for first place in the Big 12.
After it appeared Arizona State had run out the clock with a fourth down throw that sailed 50-plus yards down the sideline and landed in the stands, Sun Devils fans stormed the field and brought down the goalposts.
But the game wasn't over. Officials determined that Sam Leavitt's throw landed in the stands with one second on the clock. So they cleared the field, put the goalposts back up, and gave BYU one final play from midfield.
On the final play, BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff threw a Hail Mary pass that was caught short of the goal line, officially ending the game.
Then the fans stormed the field again.
“We won the football game,” Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham said. “We beat another ranked team at Mountain America Stadium. So this is all about the guys. These guys battled, these guys fought and found a way to win. Whatever happened at the end, it happened.
“You know what? We got to rush the field twice, how about that?”
Losses Clear CFP Path For Arizona State
The upsets on Saturday started early and continued all day.
Seven Top 25 teams lost, including No. 5 Indiana, No. 7 Alabama and No. 9 Ole Miss, No. 15 Texas A&M and No. 16 Colorado.
Arizona State's win over No. 14 BYU, coupled with Colorado's 37-21 loss to Kansas, means the Sun Devils will be the highest-ranked Big 12 team in the next College Football Playoff Rankings.
So how high will the Sun Devils climb?
You can make a case that they should be in the top 10.
Indiana (10-1) has played a historically soft schedule and showed it has no business being in the top 10 with a blowout loss to Ohio State — the only ranked opponent they will play all season.
Alabama (8-3) was soundly beaten by an average Oklahoma team and now has three losses. Ole Miss (8-3) also has three losses, including a bad one to Kentucky.
All three teams should drop out of the top 10 — and Arizona State should move in.
Predicting the Next CFP Rankings
Arizona State easily had the best win of any Top 25 team on Saturday. And they have repeatedly showed they are one of the best college football teams in the country, with NFL talent all over the roster. What they have accomplished is not a fluke.
They're better than Indiana and Boise State. The Broncos barely beat a Wyoming team that the Sun Devils blasted 48-7 earlier this season.
Here's how the Top 13 of the next CFP Rankings should look:
1. Oregon (11-0)
2. Ohio State (9-1)
3. Texas (9-1)
4. Notre Dame (9-1)
5. Penn State (9-1)
6. Miami (9-1)
7. Georgia (8-2)
8. Tennessee (8-2)
9. SMU (9-1)
10. Arizona State (9-2)
11. Alabama (8-3)
12. Indiana (10-1)
13. Boise State (9-1)
Ultimately, it doesn't matter where Arizona State is ranked because they just need to win two more games to get in — next week at Arizona, then the Big 12 championship game.
But the national respect for the Sun Devils — and the Big 12 — is long overdue.
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.