Analysts React to BYU Football's College Football Playoff Ranking

Analysts were very surprised by BYU's ranking in the College Football Playoff rankings.

On Tuesday night, the College Football Playoff committee released the first edition of the College Football Playoff rankings. BYU was ranked #14, six spots lower than their ranking in the AP poll. The ranking surprised BYU fans, but it also surprised national college football analysts:

ESPN's Bill Connelly has been an advocate for BYU for the past few weeks. Connelly called BYU's ranking "a complete joke."

"Firmly believe the committee was looking for reasons to rank BYU low... instead of looking at the positives they've shown to determine their ranking. They aren't a playoff team in my mind, just not 14... most mis-ranked team in these rankings." - Dari Nowkhah

"I understand BYU's schedule is dreadful, but two-loss Georgia's wins came against opponents that are a combined 15-22. Auburn only team w/ winning record they beat." - Heather Dinich

“BYU being all the way down at no. 14... I just don’t understand it.” - Kirk Herbstreit

"My gosh, BYU (at) No. 14? That is absolutely nuts to me, just watching how dominant they are, not just analytically, but physically, when you turn on the tape." - David Pollack

"BYU football at #14? Completely disagree." - Matt Leinart

"Yes... the SOS is awful... but clearly the #CFBPlayoff didn’t watch a minute of BYU football this season." - Anish Shroff

"Wow, were the undefeated and dominant Cougars disrespected at No. 14. Yes, the schedule is weaker than a cocktail in a Provo bar, but this is a team that has passed the eye test with flying colors. BYU is explosive offensively, tough defensively and owns the largest average margin of victory in the country at 33.7. The Cougars also have a fat 3.14 yards-per-play advantage over opponents to date. (Alabama, by comparison, is plus 2.78 yards per play.) The message is clear: If the Cougars want to move up, they’d better schedule another game in the coming two weeks." - Pat Forde

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