BYU's CFP Ranking is Unprecedented - And Not in a Good Way

BYU tight end Carsen Ryan against UCF | BYU Photo

On Saturday, BYU didn't get any help from the teams ahead of them in the rankings. Oklahoma and Alabama won - not convincingly - but they won nonetheless. Somehow, ESPN brought up teams like Vanderbilt and Miami who could potentially replace the likes of Alabama or Oklahoma if they lost, but they failed to mentioned the first team out in the last rankings: BYU.

For some reason - although you could probably guess a few reasons - ESPN and the national media are doing everything in their power to exclude BYU from the at-large CFP conversation.

BYU came in at no. 11 in the CFP rankings last Tuesday. Unless the College Football Playoff committee has a change of heart and moves BYU into the top 10 on Tuesday, BYU's no. 11 ranking will break a record. And it's not the kind of record that BYU fans want to be broken. BYU will be the lowest-ranked 11-1 P4 team in the College Football Playoff era, which dates back to 2014.

No P4 team with an 11-1 record has ever been ranked outside the top 10. In fact, only 4 out of 40 P4 teams have ever been ranked worse than 8th nationally with an 11-1 record.

Here are the CFP rankings of 11-1 P4 teams dating back to 2014.

CFP Rankings of one-loss P4 teams after the end of the regular seasons | BYU On SI

That outlier in the top right-hand corner is BYU in 2025. Besides BYU, this 2025 committee is treating the one-loss teams just like every other committee that came before them: they are ranking them between #4-#7.

Being outside the top 10 is critical for BYU. The top 10 will be the cut line for the at-large playoff conversation. In other words, if the season ended today, BYU would be the first team out of the College Football Playoff.

BYU was uncompetitive against Texas Tech and that's presumably why the committee is hesitant to put BYU in the top 10. However, that didn't seem to bother last year's committee when Indiana was blown out in their only game against a ranked team in Ohio State.

The most head-scratching of all is BYU's resume suggests it deserves better than a no. 11 ranking. As a thought exercise, let's compare BYU's resume to the four other P4 teams that have been ranked between 8-10 with an 11-1 record: 2015 North Carolina, 2024 SMU, and 2024 Indiana.

Resume comparison of 11-1 P4 Teams (Ranked #8 or lower) | BYU On SI

BYU has more top 25 wins than all of those teams combined. BYU also has the most wins over teams with 8 wins or more. BYU also has the toughest strength of schedule and the best strength of record. And BYU's lone loss came on the road against a top five team. It's also worth noting that SMU's and Indiana's strength of schedule is inflated because it includes their playoff appearances.

In other words, BYU has better wins against a much tougher schedule than those teams. Mysteriously, BYU is the lowest ranked of those four teams (assuming the committee keeps them at 11).

BYU's resume suggests it shouldn't be in the conversation with the lowest-ranked 11-1 teams. Instead, it should be with the 90% of 11-1 P4 teams that were ranked #7 or better. BYU's ranking goes against every precedent the committee has set since they were formed in 2014.

BYU's Resume vs Notre Dame

If you compare BYU's resume to the other teams ahead of them, it's head-scratching why BYU is being excluded from the conversation. Take Notre Dame, for example. BYU has more top 25 wins (assuming Pitt drops out), has a better record, and has played against a tougher schedule. Still, the Fighting Irish are viewed as safely in the 12-team field.

The College Football Playoff selection process appears to be broken. Unfortunately for BYU fans, the Cougars are on the wrong end of a process that lacks transparency and a clear criteria. The College Football Playoff committee could still correct the rankings, but if they don't, BYU will go down as the least respected 11-1 team from a power conference in the history of the College Football Playoff committee.

And very few people in the national media have noticed.

BYU's ranking does not bode well for the program, nor does it bode well for the Big 12. The Big 12 is already fighting an uphill battle against the SEC and the Big Ten. If the selection criteria is also skewed in favor of those two super leagues, it's difficult to foresee a scenario where the Big 12 consistently gets multiple teams into the 12-team playoff. The margin of error for Big 12 schools, and BYU in particular, is razor thin.

Fortunately for the Cougars, they don't have to worry about the selection committee just yet. If BYU beats Texas Tech in the conference championship game, not even the selection committee will be able to keep the Cougars out of the playoffs.