BYU holds its ground while Utah slides again in the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings
SALT LAKE CITY — The biggest storyline around BYU this week wasn’t what unfolded on the field or the looming rematch with Texas Tech in the Big 12 title game.
Instead, the program faced a high-profile challenge when Penn State pressed to hire Kalani Sitake as BYU’s next head coach, a distraction before what could be one of the program’s most significant games.
Yet BYU kept their coach in place, and attention shifted back to championship weekend. First up was a midweek check of the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings ahead of the regular-season finale.
BYU enters Saturday’s showdown with Texas Tech with a guaranteed playoff path if they win, but at-large chances remained slim in this final look before the last rankings are released on Sunday.
Texas A&M, previously ranked No. 3, dropped after a loss to Texas, while BYU remained at No. 11 for the third consecutive week, narrowing the route to an at-large berth to a win on Saturday.
Texas Tech climbed one spot to No. 4, benefiting from A&M’s defeat, after a convincing road victory over West Virginia to cap an 11-1 season.
Utah, outside the top four, stayed on the fringe of the playoff cut line. The Utes dropped again to No. 15 after defeating Kansas on Black Friday, continuing a two-week slide despite garden-variety victories.
Miami had surged past Utah last week, and Utah’s rank slipped again this week, now sitting behind No. 13 Texas (9-3) and No. 13 Vanderbilt (10-2). Utah briefly rose to No. 12 before slipping once more.
Joining the other top-15 programs in the expanded field are No. 18 Arizona, following a rivalry win over Arizona State, and No. 21 Houston.
The four teams holding byes in the playoff picture this week are No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana, No. 3 Georgia, and No. 4 Texas Tech.
For the full rankings, see the chart below or visit the interactive visualization here: https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/26593072/.
