CFP chair: BYU's lack of quality wins 'came into play' in No. 14 ranking
BYU is likely the team that feels most aggrieved after the release of the first College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday.
Despite their spotless 9-0 record and placing No. 8 on the latest AP Poll, the Cougars were ranked No. 14 on the CFP list, drawing raised eyebrows across the country.
@BYUfootball at #14? Completely disagree.
— Matt Leinart (@MattLeinartQB) November 25, 2020
An independent, BYU doesn't have the luxury of being assigned specific conference opponents. After the release of the rankings, CFP selection committee chair Gary Barta acknowledged that BYU's light schedule up to this point hadn't done them any favors.
"BYU's best win is over Boise State and I think they got down to their third-string quarterback," Barta said, according to Bryan Fischer of Athlon Sports. "Cincinnati has four wins over teams over .500 and had quality wins as recently as this weekend against UCF.
"Certainly schedule compared to teams around them came into play," Barta added, per Fischer.
BYU's 51-17 victory over Boise State is its only game against a ranked opponent. A scheduled game against a ranked Army team was postponed.
BYU has scored at least 41 points in all but one game, but its wins have come against Navy, Troy, Louisiana Tech, UTSA, Houston, Texas State, Western Kentucky, and North Alabama.
The Cougars next scheduled game is Dec. 12 against San Diego State.
There's been talk of BYU booking a date with a Power Five team that has lost an opponent due to postponement, but a potential booking with Washington fell through.
"(The game against Washington) didn't work out for whatever reason," head coach Kalani Sitake said, per Stadium's Brett McMurphy. "We're not afraid of anybody."