BYU, a team many felt the CFP committee shortchanged in its first rankings released Tuesday, has a strong fan base for home games such as this one against Arizona in October. But with a large alumni base in the Phoenix area, many may try to attend ASU’s Nov. 23 game the Cougars in Tempe. (Photo by Boyd Ivey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PHOENIX – One of the strongest messages to come out of Tuesday’s initial College Football Playoff ranking was the committee’s lack of respect for the Big 12, with its current leader ranked lower than many expected, despite an undefeated record.
BYU was slotted in at No. 9, despite a strong resume of ranked wins over No. 13 SMU on the road, and No. 19 Kansas State. Compared to teams ahead of the Cougars, only Georgia and Oregon have two or more ranked wins based on the committee. Over half of the top 9 have zero as of week 10. All of the teams ahead of BYU, besides No. 8 Indiana, would be considered “traditional” football powers.
The Cougars ranking “really came down to more of an eye test,” said Warde Manuel, the director of athletics at Michigan and current CFP selection committee chair.
A clump of Big 12 conference contenders trailed the Cougars, ranked from 17-20. Arizona State (6-2), fresh off a resounding 42-21 win at Oklahoma State, did not crack the rankings yet, but will get opportunities to bolster its resume in the coming weeks when it faces No. 19 Kansas State on the road on Nov 16 and hosts BYU on Nov. 23.
Arizona houses the fourth-largest population of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints members in the country, so expect to see plenty of blue and white at Mountain America Stadium for that matchup.
As expected, the 9-0 Oregon Ducks topped the rankings, but No. 2 was a bit of a surprise. The Ohio State Buckeyes (7-1), whose only loss was a one-point defeat to Oregon, came in ahead of Georgia (7-1). Miami (9-0) at No. 4 was the most controversial selection since it has just one ranked victory on its schedule, to No. 22 Louisville.
“The committee was impressed with (the Miami Hurricanes’) offensive explosiveness,” Manuel said. “They had a good win on the road at Louisville.”
A major discrepancy revealed itself among Miami, BYU and Indiana – all undefeated. The Hoosiers, who came in at No. 8, do not have a ranked win and probably won’t have that chance until Nov. 23 when they travel to Ohio State.
The committee is allowed to use a variety of metrics, including the eye test, which makes the rankings “subjective by design,” Manuel said.
The top ranked Group of 5 team in the first poll was no surprise as Boise State (7-1), slotted at No. 12, has looked strong, earning a Top 25 win over No. 21 Washington State, and its only loss coming on the road to No. 1 Oregon by three points.
Heisman hopeful Ashton Jeanty has been a star for the Broncos, as he’s on track to potentially break Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record. Jeanty is averaging 190 rushing yards per game this season, but is still 1,103 yards short of the record. With four regular season games left on the schedule though, plus a potential Mountain West championship game and CFP games, the possibility is there. Sanders’ record 2,628 rushing yards in 1988 was achieved in just 11 games.
The only other Group of 5 team ranked that could take the Broncos’ bid was Army (8-0), which barely snuck in at No. 25 despite its perfect record.
The state of Indiana has two top 10 teams as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish were ranked 10th. But the state also houses two of the most difficult teams to project at this point in the season.
The Hoosiers could argue for a higher ranking than Miami, since the teams sport similar resumes, but Indiana has posted more dominating performances, or they could be dropped out of the top 10 due to their 103rd-ranked schedule.
The Irish, on the other hand, hold two top 25 victories, over No. 14 Texas A&M and No. 22 Louisville, but also have one of the most puzzling losses of the year: a 16-14 loss in Notre Dame Stadium to Northern Illinois (4-4) of the Mid-American Conference.
A big game awaits the SEC this weekend, as a possible elimination game is happening in Baton Rouge between No. 11 Alabama and No. 15 LSU, both 6-2. Alabama was the only team inside the projected 12-team playoff to have two losses. The other big matchup of the weekend, also in the SEC, is No. 3 Georgia traveling to No. 16 Ole Miss(7-2), where the Rebels most likely need to win out to make the CFP.
Other rankings of note are No. 5 Texas (7-1), No. 7 Tennessee (7-1), and the Big 12’s No. 17 Iowa State (7-1), No. 19 Kansas State (7-2), and No. 20 Colorado (6-2). The next rankings will be released Tuesday in between the college basketball doubleheader on ESPN, at approximately 6:30 pm MST.