Instant Reaction to BYU Standing Pat in the Latest CFP Rankings

BYU cornerback Evan Johnson against UCF | BYU Photo

On Tuesday, the College Football Playoff committee unveiled the penultimate CFP rankings of the 2025 season. BYU came in at no. 11, the same spot as last week. Here is our instant reaction from BYU's stagnant placement in the CFP rankings.

If the season ended today, BYU would be on the outside looking in at the College Football Playoff. Below is the updated top 25.

The Updated CFP Top 25

1. Ohio State
2. Indiana
3. Georgia
4. Texas Tech
5. Oregon
6. Ole Miss
7. Texas A&M
8. Oklahoma
9. Alabama
10. Notre Dame
11. BYU
12. Miami
13. Texas
14. Vanderbilt
15. Utah
16. USC
17. Virginia
18. Arizona
19. Michigan
20. Tulane
21. Houston
22. Georgia Tech
23. Iowa
24. North Texas
25. JMU

1. Bye Bye to At-Large Hopes

BYU's resume got better over the weekend. No. 24 Arizona dominated no. 20 Arizona State and moved all the way up to 18. That didn't matter in the end.

The re-evaluated the order of the teams just ahead of BYU. Still, it didn't matter. Despite having a better record, strength of schedule, and strength of record than Notre Dame, the committee declined to move BYU ahead of the Fighting Irish in the rankings.

Tuesday's rankings essentially shut down BYU's hopes of an at-large bid. The Cougars will need to win the Big 12 championship to get in.

2. BYU Should Not Be Labeled as a "Bid Stealer"

The ESPN crew has called BYU a potential "bid stealer" on the rankings reveal show.

It's, frankly, disrespectful to BYU and their resume. A 11-1 team in a Power Four league with BYU's resume has never been ranked outside the top 10. Yet nobody on the panel is questioning BYU's ranking. The disrespect towards BYU is literally unprecedented.

A team with a playoff-worthy resume should not be labeled as a "bid stealer".

3. The Big 12 Campaign Did Not Work

For the first time this season, the Big 12 commissioner went to bat for BYU on Friday night. Brett Yormark, who was in attendance for the Arizona-Arizona State game, was interviewed by FOX. At the end of the interview, he asked if he could say something about the College Football Playoff.

"If you would have told me a couple of months ago that we would have 3 in the top 13 I would have taken it," Yormark said. "And I'm thrilled where this conference is going. As it relates to Texas Tech, [I] feel really good about them. I feel they are a shoe-in for the CFP. And Utah obviously they won their 10th game this year and they should get strong consideration. As it relates to BYU, I think they've been under-appreciated all season long. When you compare them to a Notre Dame, there is no comparison. When you think of strength of record, strength of schedule, and win-loss."

Yormark's comments obviously did not move the needle for the playoff committee.