BYU stays put, Utah slips again in the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings
SALT LAKE CITY — The week’s biggest news for BYU wasn’t about on-field action or Saturday’s looming rematch with Texas Tech in the Big 12 title game. Instead, the program faced a high-profile distraction as Penn State explored hiring Kalani Sitake as its next head coach, a move that could have dramatically altered the program’s trajectory before one of its most significant games in history.
Yet BYU held steady with its coach, and attention returned to the championship weekend. First, here’s a look at the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings of the season released on Tuesday night.
BYU still has a defined route to the playoff if it defeats Texas Tech on Saturday, but its at-large chances remained slim in this final pregame snapshot before the regular season ends and the final rankings are revealed on Sunday.
Texas A&M, previously ranked No. 3, dropped after a loss to Texas. BYU, meanwhile, remained outside the playoff mix at No. 11 for the third consecutive week, meaning the Cougars’ best path to the postseason is a victory on Saturday.
Texas Tech climbed to No. 4, rising after A&M’s defeat and closing the season with an 11-1 record following a blowout win at West Virginia.
Utah, the other locally prominent team outside the top four, sits near the edge of the playoff picture. The Utes dropped to No. 15 after a 10-point win over Kansas on Black Friday, continuing a downward drift despite recent victories.
Joining the top four in the playoff-protected group are No. 18 Arizona (which beat in-state rival Arizona State) and No. 21 Houston.
The current top four teams, all on byes for the playoff, are No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana, No. 3 Georgia, and No. 4 Texas Tech.
For the full rankings, see the visual below or click the link to view the interactive chart: https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/26593072/
