BYU Football’s History In College Football Playoff Rankings
Nov 5, 2024, 10:00 AM
BYU football has appeared in the College Football Playoff Top 25 in two previous seasons under Kalani Sitake. The 2024 season will be the third. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
PROVO, Utah – BYU football is knocking on the door of its highest-ever College Football Playoff Top 25 ranking.
The first installment of the CFP rankings for the 2024 season will be released tonight. Undefeated BYU’s profile is one of the more intriguing storylines entering the initial poll.
Because this is the first year of the 12-team playoff, it could set the tone for how much respect conferences receive in the rankings.
Before the 12-team playoff, there was the four-team College Football Playoff, dating back to 2014. BYU never threatened to crack into the top four during those 10 seasons, but it did have a couple of seasons where it was ranked in the College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings.
BYU has made 11 weekly appearances in the College Football Playoff rankings.
2020: BYU didn’t receive respect from the Playoff Committee
The first was in 2020, during the COVID-19 season.
Undefeated BYU was viewed by many as one of the best and most dominant teams in the country. They cobbled together a schedule as an Independent when no one from the power conferences was willing to play them.
That ended up being a knock on them as the Playoff Committee felt BYU’s strength of schedule was too weak. So BYU debuted at No. 14 in the initial Playoff rankings.
Former Playoff Committee Chairman Gary Barta became a point of contention for BYU fans and national pundits when he consistently knocked the Cougars strength of schedule.
“Great respect for BYU, but what is it that holds them back? If you compare the games they’ve played, the teams against whom they’ve competed, and you compare those to some other teams, it’s really the strength of schedule or the games that they are playing not being as strong as some of the teams we’re ranking ahead of them,” Barta said on BYU in 2020.
The Playoff Committee bumped BYU up only one spot the following week to No. 13. That forced BYU to do the unthinkable: play a cross-country game against fellow undefeated Coastal Carolina on 72 hours’ notice.
BYU came up short against Coastal Carolina, falling 22-17. That sent them tumbling to No. 18 and out of reach for a New Year’s Six bowl game.
My prediction for tonight's College Football Playoff Top 25.#CFBPlayoff #BYU #BYUFootball https://t.co/lSpH3fEKK9
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 5, 2024
2021: Lack of conference affiliation hurt BYU
The following year, BYU had an outside shot at a New Year’s Six bowl game, but with two losses and no conference affiliation, the odds were stacked against BYU. They finished the 2021 season ranked No. 13 in the final College Football Playoff rankings.
It will be fascinating to see where BYU ranks in the 2024 rankings. KSL Sports projects BYU at No. 8 in the initial rankings.
BYU football history in College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings
2020
Week 13: 14
Week 14: 13
Week 15: 18
Week 16: 17
Final Ranking: 16
2021
Week 10: 15
Week 11: 14
Week 12: 14
Week 13: 13
Week 14: 12
Final Ranking: 13
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
