BYU is No. 14 in initial College Football Playoff rankings

PROVO, Utah — BYU made its debut in the College Football Playoff Rankings announced Tuesday, receiving a No. 14 ranking by the CFP selection committee.

BYU head coach Kalani SItake appeared live on the ESPN College Football Playoff: Top 25 show to discuss his team and the rankings. Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Zach Wilson has led the Cougars to the program's first 9-0 start since 2001 and the fourth time overall in school history. 

"Great motivation for our guys," responded Sitake on the show to the news of BYU coming in at No. 14. "Love our team, love our players—I think we play a great brand of football with excitement and passion, and we have a lot of work to do and a lot to prove, obviously, in a short amount of time, and hopefully we can get that done."

This is the first time the Cougars have been ranked in the CFP Top 25. BYU's No. 14 ranking is also the fourth-best initial ranking received by any team not in a Power 5 conference since the rankings began in 2014. Cincinnati, at No. 7 in Tuesday's rankings, is the highest, while UCF in 2018 was ranked No. 12 and Memphis in 2015 was ranked No. 13. The highest-rated team last season in the initial rankings was Cincinnati at No. 20. 

Alabama (7-0) received the top rating on Tuesday by the CFP Committee, followed by Notre Dame (8-0), Clemson (7-1), Ohio State (4-0) and Texas A&M (5-1). Florida (6-1) came in at No. 6 with Cincinnati (8-0), Northwestern (5-0), Georgia (5-2) and Miami (7-1) rounding out the top 10. 

Oklahoma (6-2) is No. 11, with Indiana (4-1) and Iowa State (6-2) being placed just ahead of BYU (9-0). Oregon (3-0) is the top-rated Pac-12 team at No. 15 with Wisconsin (2-1), Texas (5-2), USC (3-0), North Carolina (6-2) and Coastal Carolina (8-0) rounding out the top 20. The final five teams in the initial top 25 are Marshall (7-0), Auburn (5-2), Oklahoma State (5-2), Iowa (3-2) and Tulsa (5-1).

BYU has maintained the No. 8 ranking in both The Associated Press Top 25 and Amway Coaches Poll the past three weeks and has been ranked in each of the 11 regular-season polls released this year.

In the NCAA statistical rankings, BYU is the only FBS team ranked in the top 10 in scoring offense (4th; 47.6 ppg), scoring defense (5th; 13.9 ppg), total offense (7th; 535.8 ypg) and total defense (7th; 292.6 ypg). BYU's explosive offense is also apparent in the rankings of chunk plays downfield.  The Cougars rank No. 1 in plays of 30 or more yards and No. 2 in both plays of 10 or more yards and 20 or more yards. BYU's leads the nation with the most passing plays of more than 10 yards. 

Triggering that attack is Wilson, who ranks No. 1 in points responsible for (208), No. 2 in passing touchdowns (26), No. 2 in passing efficiency (205.3), No. 3 in passing yards (2,724), No. 3 in passing yards per attempt (11.49), No. 4 in completion percentage (.743), No. 7 in points responsible for per game (23.1), No. 8 in passing yards per completion (15.48), No. 11 in total offense (323.9) and No. 14 in passing yards per game (302.7).