BYU, Utah Football Make Jumps In Latest College Football Playoff Rankings
Nov 23, 2021, 5:36 PM
IRVING, TX - OCTOBER 16: A detail view of the College Football Playoff logo shown during a press conference on October 16, 2013 in Irving, Texas. Condoleezza Rice, Stanford University professor and former United States Secretary of State, was chosen to serve as one of the 13 members that will select four teams to compete in the first playoff at the end of the 2014 season. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The latest College Football Playoff rankings see both BYU and Utah making jumps.
Like in the AP Top 25 poll, Utah was a big riser in the rankings after dismantling the Oregon Ducks over the weekend. The Pac-12 South Champion Utes, now at 8-3 on the season, jumped four spots from No. 23 to No. 19 in this week’s rankings.
New @CFBPlayoff rankings are out!@BYUfootball jumps to No. 13@Utah_Football climbs to No. 19#GoCougs #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/xOR0XVnEu1
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) November 24, 2021
Oregon made a significant fall down the poll dropping eight spots from No. 3 a week ago to now No. 11 after suffering their second loss of the season.
BYU is still hovering around a potential New Year’s Six bowl at-large spot as the Cougars jumped from No. 14 to No. 13 in the poll. The Cougars are 9-2 and, according to ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, “an incredible story this year.”
The Cougars are coming off a 34-17 win over Georgia Southern from the Sun Belt Conference this past Saturday in Statesboro.
For BYU to be in the pool of teams for a potential New Year’s Six bowl game, the Cougars need to be in the Top 12 of the committee’s rankings. Then to go to a Fiesta or Peach Bowl, they have to be selected as an at-large bid by the playoff committee. As an Independent, BYU has no guaranteed access to the major bowl games.
Here are the full #CFBPlayoff selection committee rankings for games played through November 20 and as we head into rivalry week
Where does your team rank?
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) November 24, 2021
If Utah wins the Pac-12 Championship on December 4, they will be in the Rose Bowl as the Pac-12 Champion representative.
BYU travels to Los Angeles this weekend to close out their regular season against USC, who enters the game with a 4-6 record. BYU under Kalani Sitake has never expressed a desire to produce “style points,” but maybe an emphatic statement against a blueblood brand could elevate the Cougars into the Top 12.
Utah will host the Colorado Buffaloes on Senior Day at Rice-Eccles before traveling to Las Vegas the following week to play in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
College Football Playoff Rankings
1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Alabama
4. Cincinnati
5. Michigan
6. Notre Dame
7. Oklahoma State
8. Baylor
9. Ole Miss
10. Oklahoma
11. Oregon
12. Michigan State
13. BYU (9-2)
14. Wisconsin (8-3)
15. Texas A&M (8-3)
16. Iowa (9-2)
17. Pitt (9-2)
18. Wake Forest (9-2)
19. Utah (8-3)
20. NC State (8-3)
21. San Diego State (10-1)
22. UTSA (11-0)
23. Clemson (8-3)
24. Houston (10-1)
25. Arkansas (7-4)
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
