Greg McElroy Believes BYU is a Candidate to Leapfrog Miami in CFP Seeding

Casey Lundquist | Oct 31, 2024

BYU tight end Ray Paulo / BYU Photo

At 8-0 and no. 9 in the AP poll, BYU is not only in the mix for a Big 12 title but a College Football Playoff birth as well. This season will feature the first 12-team playoff in College Football Playoff. The four highest-ranked conference champions will get the top four seeds in the playoff. If BYU wins the Big 12, for example, the Cougars would likely earn a top four seed in the CFP.

ESPN analyst Greg McElroy believes that BYU could be a candidate to leapfrog Miami (the projected ACC champion) if the Cougars continue to win. In the latest projections, BYU is projected to earn the four-seed if they win the Big 12 and face the five-seed. The five-seed will likely be the runner up in the SEC or the Big Ten.

"If you look at what BYU has done, for example, the fact that BYU is in the position that they're in, having to potentially play against the five seed, assuming they win the big 12 and they become the four seed, they should be looking at the possibility of jumping Miami and avoiding the five seed or whoever the runner up is in the big 10 or the sec," McElroy said on ESPN's preview of the first College Football Playoff rankings. "Who we assume gets that number five seed could potentially be massive for the fallout and the shakeout kind of all the rest of the way...I don't think we're giving enough love to BYU because we haven't seen them on the cusp of a playoff spot in the past. So therefore, we're allowing it to cloud our judgment here in the present. So I just, I hope that now that everyone has access to the playoff, we're able to more remove ourselves from what we think teams are capable of based on the recruiting rankings and what they've accomplished in the past."

McElroy's comments start at the 8:00 minute mark in this video.

Miami has been a top 10 team throughout most of the season and, as a result, most analysts have assumed the Hurricanes would get the third seed if they win out and win the ACC championship game. However, BYU currently has two top 25 wins compared to zero for Miami. BYU handed both Kansas State and SMU their only losses of the 2024 season.

The initial CFP rankings will be very telling next Tuesday. Comparing 8-0 BYU to the other unbeaten P4 teams will help determine BYU's chances to earn an at-large spot if they don't win the Big 12.

If both BYU and Miami win out, the Cougars could have a legitimate argument to move into the third overall seed.