BYU up one spot to No. 13 in CFP rankings

PROVO, Utah — BYU moved up one spot to No. 13 in the College Football Playoff Rankings announced Tuesday.

The top seven teams stayed in place with Alabama (8-0) receiving the top rating again on Tuesday by the CFP Committee, followed by Notre Dame (9-0), Clemson (8-1), Ohio State (4-0), Texas A&M (6-1), Florida (7-1) and Cincinnati (8-0). Georgia (6-2) is up one slot to No. 8, while the CFP selection committee advanced Iowa State four places to No. 9 after a 23-20 win over No. 17 Texas (4-3), who fell out of the rankings. Miami (7-1) maintained its No. 10 ranking. 

Oklahoma (6-2) and Indiana (5-1) stayed at No. 11 and No. 12, respectively, just ahead of BYU (9-0). Northwestern (5-1) fell from its initial ranking at No. 8 to No. 14 following its first loss of the season, while Oklahoma State (6-2) came in at No. 15. Wisconsin (2-1), North Carolina (6-3), Coastal Carolina (9-0), Iowa (4-2) and USC (3-0), which fell two places, round out the top 20. 

Marshall (7-0), Washington (3-0), Oregon (3-1), Tulsa (5-1) and Louisiana (8-1) were the final five teams to be selected in the CFP Top 25. Washington and Louisiana made their debut in the rankings while Auburn, previously No. 22, joined Texas in falling out of the CFP rankings. 

Led by Heisman Trophy candidate Zach Wilson, BYU has maintained its No. 8 national ranking by the media and coaches each of the past four weeks. The Cougars have been included in all 12 of The Associated Press Top 25 and Amway Coaches Poll rankings released during the regular season.

Reflecting the strength of the rankings in the two national polls, BYU ranks in the top 10 in 14 different statistical categories in the NCAA statistical ratings. The Cougars are the only FBS team ranked in the top 10 in scoring offense (No.4; 47.6 ppg), scoring defense (No. 4; 13.9 ppg), total offense (No. 5; 535.8 ypg) and total defense (No. 6; 292.6 ypg).  

Triggering BYU's offensive attack is Wilson, who ranks No. 1 in points responsible for (208), No. 3 in passing touchdowns (26), No. 3 in passing efficiency (205.3), No. 3 in passing yards per attempt (11.49), No. 3 in completion percentage (.743), No. 6 in passing yards per completion (15.48), No. 7 in passing yards (2,724), No. 7 in points responsible for per game (23.1), No. 11 in passing yards per game (302.7) and No. 11 in total offense (323.9).  

Biggest Movement

In addition to Iowa State's four-position jump in the CFP rankings, Oklahoma State and Iowa made the biggest advancements in this week's CFP selection committee evaluations. The Cowboys made the largest jump, up eight spots, following its 50-44 home win over 3-6 Texas Tech, while 4-2 Iowa moved five slots from No. 24 to No. 19 after defeating 1-4 Nebraska 26-20 at home on Friday. The Hawkeyes, with losses against 2-3 Purdue and 5-1 Northwestern, have four victories against teams that to date have a combined six victories with only one or two total wins each on the season. 

Conference Breakdown

The SEC and ACC are well represented at the top of the rankings with SEC's Alabama and ACC-representing independent Notre Dame leading the way among four SEC teams and three ACC programs in the top 10. Both league's have four teams ranked overall in this week's CFP evaluations.

With Oregon's loss and USC dropping two places, the top-rated team in the Pac-12 is currently the Trojans at No. 20. The Pac-12 has three programs overall in the rankings. Iowa State is the top-rated team from the Big 12 at No. 9 among three ranked Big 12 teams. A CFP rankings-best five Big Ten programs are currently ranked with Ohio State favored at No. 4.

No. 7 Cincinnati is the highest rated of two ranked teams from the American Athletic Conference, while Coastal Carolina at No. 18 is the top-ranked team among two Sun Belt programs in the top 25. Marshall represents Conference USA at No. 21 and No. 13 BYU is the lone independent in the rankings.