Rankings Update: BYU's Resume Gets A Boost Despite the Bye Week

BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier attempts a throw against Stanford | BYU Photo

BYU is the first team outside the top 25 for the fourth straight week. That’s probably some kind of record. However, as we mentioned last week, in a poll with so much bias and human ignorance, it’s important to anchor expectations in how BYU is performing in the computer rankings to track BYU’s progress from week to week. BYU was off this week, but that certainly doesn’t mean BYU’s predictive and resume metrics remained stagnant. If this is your first time reading this type of article, a full breakdown of what predictive and resume metrics mean was given here. With that said, lets dig in.

How the AP Voters View BYU

BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier attempts a throw against Stanford | BYU Photo

BYU is kind of the forgotten man of college football.

For a fourth straight week, BYU is first or second team out of the top 25. The logic behind that makes sense. “I wouldn’t rank BYU yet,” CBS’s Bud Elliot said on the Cover3 Podcast, “Play somebody.” And he is right. BYU has been dominant in their first two games, but haven’t yet played a top half team in the country. The issue is that logic is not being applied to teams like Utah and Texas Tech, both top 20 teams despite not playing a top 90 team in six combined games.

The reality is that BYU is still being held out of the polls because no one expected them to be that good after losing their quarterback this offseason. Conversely, everyone expected Texas Tech and Utah to be good after stellar portal classes and their dominant wins are simply confirmation of what pollsters want to believe. Meanwhile, BYU is quietly being stashed away in the recesses of some beat writers’ mind until BYU does something that makes a real splash.

How the predictive metrics view BYU

SP+: 28

FPI: 22

KFord: 25

FEI: 19

Average: 23.5 (Prior week: 22.75)

Verdict: Based on predictive metrics, BYU is still underrated by the AP poll. However, BYU moved down in both SP+ and FPI after strong showings by Nebraska and Vanderbilt this weekend. On average, BYU would still be favored by 13.4 points over an average team, down slightly from where they were last week. It’s important to note that preseason expectations are heavily weighted into predictive metrics this early in the season, which means BYU is still being dragged down by the unknown at quarterback. SP+ creator Bill Connelly recently showed that if preseason expectations were removed, BYU would be 4th nationally in SP+, and 7th in FPI.

Current SP+ rankings if based solely on 2025:

1 Texas Tech
2 Oregon
3 Penn State
4 BYU
5 Indiana
6 USC
7 Washington
8 Utah
9 Missouri
10 TCU
11 OU
12 Florida St
13 Illinois
14 Nebraska
15 Miss St

Is this the CFB world in which I want to live? I can't say no!

— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) September 16, 2025

What do the resume-based metrics say?

SP+: 16

FPI (SOR): 32

KFord: 35

FEI: 34

Average: 29.25 (Prior: 30.75)

Verdict: The resume metrics are still lagging the predictive metrics as BYU has played two lesser opponents so far this season. Still, BYU moved up 1.5 spots despite not playing this week due to a shocking 10-point win by Stanford over Boston College last week. The win vaulted the Cardinal up 17 spots in SP+, making BYU's win much more impressive than it looked at the time.

Conclusion

While frustrating, BYU is still about where they should be in the rankings based on what the metrics say. Fortunately, BYU will have their first opportunity of the season to make a statement while most of the voters are still awake. ECU ranks 52nd in FPI and 40th in defensive efficiency, giving BYU it’s first real test of the season. BYU is favored in the matchup by 9 points per SP+, so a strong performance on the road against a high-flying offense will give BYU a great opportunity to move up.