Five Takeaways from BYU's Ranking in the CFP Top 25

Casey Lundquist | Nov 13, 2024

Nov 9, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Brigham Young Cougars wide receiver Parker Kingston (11) returns a punt against Utah Utes wide receiver Luca Caldarella (19) during the second half at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images / Rob Gray-Imagn Images

On Tuesday, the College Football Playoff committee unveiled their latest top 25 rankings. BYU, coming off a win over Utah, improved from no. 9 to no. 6. BYU surpassed both teams that lost in front of them - Georgia and Miami - and leapfrogged Tennessee. Here were our top five takeaways from the newest rankings.

1. The committee showed BYU's resume some respect

The committee showed BYU's resume some respect by putting them ahead of Tennessee. The Volunteers beat Mississippi State over the weekend, but after re-evaluating the resumes and giving BYU some benefit for beating Utah in a hostile environment, the committee put undefeated BYU ahead of one-loss Tennessee.

Last week, the committee did BYU no favors. BYU was ranked behind big brands Texas, Tennessee, and Penn State who have fewer wins over Top 25 teams than BYU combined: one. That changed this week and BYU's resume is starting to gain some respect.

There is value to going undefeated. It's incredibly challening to go into the back half of November with no losses and it appears the committee could start rewarding BYU more and more for that.

2. Some separation between BYU and Boise State

When the initial rankings came out and no. 9 BYU was only a few spots ahead of no. 12 Boise State, there was some fear that BYU could drop out of one of the top four seeds if they stumbled before the Big 12 championship. Remember, the four highest-ranked conference champions get the top four seeds.

After Tuesday, it looks like a one-loss BYU would still be ranked ahead of one-loss Boise State. There is enough separation between the two that, should BYU lose, there would still be a good chance to be ranked ahead of the Broncos if both teams have one loss.

3. An increased chance for an at-large bid

Climbing up to no. 6 greatly increased BYU's chances of getting an at-large bid. If BYU doesn't win the Big 12 championship, BYU could still go to the CFP if they are ranked inside the top 12 of the CFP.

If BYU goes 12-0 then loses in the Big 12 championship, they will still go to the CFP.

If BYU goes 11-1 then loses the Big 12 championship, it will get dicey and a few things will need to go BYU's way, but it's not impossible for BYU to get in at 11-2. BYU needs to continue winning so that they CFP committee won't be the decider of BYU's fate.

4. Someone ahead of BYU will lose

Someone ranked ahead of BYU will lose no matter what. No. 5 Indiana is scheduled to play no. 2 Ohio State next Saturday. The three other teams ranked ahead of BYU are Oregon, Texas, and Penn State. It's more likely than not that one of those three teams will lose another game by the end of the regular season. Oregon has a 67% chance to win out. Texas has a 63% chance to win out. Penn State has a 64% chance to win out. There is a 73% chance that at least one of Texas, Penn State, or Oregon will lose.

In other words, if BYU wins out, they will likely end up in the top 5 by the Big 12 championship game.

5. Penn State still makes no sense

Penn State being ranked as high as they are makes no sense. The Nittany Lions don't have a win over a top 25 team and they haven't exactly blown teams out either. If BYU remains undefeated, it's not unrealistic to think BYU could leapfrog Penn State based off resumes.