What College Football Playoff committee chair said about Boise State, Ashton Jeanty

Broncos up to No. 11 in latest CFP rankings

Boise State Broncos quarterback Maddux Madsen. / Troy Babbitt-Imagn Images

For the second straight week, Boise State moved up in the College Football Playoff rankings. 

The Broncos (10-1, 7-0 Mountain West Conference), who sat at No. 12 a week ago, checked in at No. 11 when the latest rankings were released Tuesday evening. Again slotted above every Big 12 team, Boise State has a clear path to securing a first-round bye in the 12-team playoff. 

The 13-person committee didn’t penalize the Broncos for struggling in last week’s road matchup with Wyoming. Boise State needed a fourth-quarter touchdown to escape with a 17-13 win against the Cowboys (2-9, 2-5) at War Memorial Stadium. 

Following Tuesday’s rankings release, College Football Playoff committee chair Warde Manuel met with reporters for a question-and-answer session and credited the Broncos for pulling out a victory. 

“Well, they won, and we value winning,” Manuel said. “We value how the teams play, and in the end, the scoreboard matters. What they have done, the only loss they have, as you know, is a very close three-point loss at Oregon at the beginning of the year, and they've run the tables since then. 

“We have some people on the committee that played at Wyoming when they were coaches, and they really say it’s a tough environment to play in. Obviously Wyoming gave Boise State a great game, but Boise State won.”

Here are the highlights from Manuel’s press availability. 

On Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty

“For us, Jeanty has been amazing, over 2,000 yards rushing. He appears to have some injuries that he’s dealing with, but he’s toughed it out, and they’ve won the games. We think highly of Boise State and will continue to watch them.”

On Boise State holding the fourth bye over Big 12 challengers 

“Again, I can’t project what will happen and how the committee will look at it. I think we will assess — well, I know we will assess the outcome of these games this week and championship games and rank teams accordingly based on how they perform and whether they’ll — how it will move. As you could see from this week, you had some teams drop five, six, seven, nine spots. You had teams that went up three or four or five slots. It just depends on the outcome of the games as we evaluate it.”

On No. 16 Arizona State being ranked above No. 17 Tulane 

“Well, Arizona State has had two great wins against two ranked opponents in Kansas State and BYU. As you know, Tulane at this time has played Kansas State as their only ranked opponent and they lost to Kansas State at the beginning of the year, but they played very well since those two losses to Kansas State and Oklahoma. We just felt Arizona State is playing at a level that moves them up ahead of Tulane, but as you can see, they’re one away from each other, so we think highly of both of them.”

MORE BOISE STATE NEWS & ANALYSIS

• Heisman Trophy odds: Travis Hunter, Ashton Jeanty in two-man race

• Boise State rises to No. 11 in College Football Playoff rankings

• Ashton Jeanty named finalist for three national awards

• Ashton Jeanty’s NIL value skyrockets

• Boise State featured on Scott Van Pelt’s ‘Bad Beats’

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Continue to follow our Boise State coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter.