College Football Playoff Rankings: How The Top 25 Should Be Done – Top 15
15. BYU Cougars (7-2)
The Case For This Spot: BYU will be one of the most interesting calls on Tuesday night. The loss to Boise State at home will sting a bit, but there won’t be a whole lot of punishment for losing at Baylor.
The Cougars – even with those two losses – might have a better overall resumé than Cincinnati when it comes to arguing over the teams outside of the Power Five conferences.
BYU beat Utah, Arizona State, Washington State, and Utah. The 66-49 win over Virginia will play a large role.
Win That Matters: BYU 26, Utah 17
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: Boise State 26, BYU 17
Up Next: Idaho State
14. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8-0)
The Case For This Spot: There’s no meat on that schedule bone, but how many other unbeaten Power Five teams are there? Three – Georgia, Oklahoma, and Michigan State. That will be enough to get Wake Forest at least this high, and maybe into the top ten.
The big games are coming.
Win That Matters: Wake Forest 37, Virginia 17
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: Wake Forest 37, Louisville 34
Up Next: at North Carolina
13. Texas A&M Aggies (6-2)
The Case For This Spot: Texas A&M beat Alabama. Mic drop.
The losses to Arkansas and Mississippi State will hurt, but the committee will love how the Aggies are moving forward, getting better, and won their last two games over Missouri and South Carolina by a combined score of 79-28.
And, they beat Alabama.
Win That Matters: Texas A&M 41, Alabama 38
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: Mississippi State 26, Texas A&M 22
Up Next: Auburn
12. Baylor Bears (7-1)
The Case For This Spot: Is the win over Texas enough? Not really, but when the committee dives in, it’s going to love the 14-point victory over BYU and adore the win over Iowa State a bit more than it should.
Win That Matters: Baylor 38, BYU 24
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: Oklahoma State 24, Baylor 14
Up Next: at TCU
11. Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-1)
The Case For This Spot: To be a broken record through this piece, big wins mean everything to the committee. Being the team that handed Baylor its only loss will be a big deal, and the close loss at Iowa State will be seen as reasonably acceptable.
Win That Matters: Oklahoma State 24, Baylor 14
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: Iowa State 24, Oklahoma State 21
Up Next: at West Virginia
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